As others have mentioned, the service is aggressively sub par. The shopkeeper treats customers like a serious inconvenience and necessary evil she deigns to put up with. Pie Shoppe just want to bake pies. Pie eaters get out of their way.
Gracelle M.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
Known as the smallest pie shoppe in Vancouver, on a whim, I decided to grab a pie for a family dinner. On the website, it said to call ahead of time to reserve a pie to make sure you’re guaranteed one. So I called, but no one answered. However, I took the risk anyways and went there after work to see if I could pick one up. When I arrived, they were very accommodating although they were clearly busy fulfilling orders. Personally I wanted something more rich, but my dad is diabetic so I needed something not so sweet. They ended up recommending me an apple and cranberry crumble. Because I was just a «drop-in» they ended up giving me one, literally fresh out of the oven and I had to lug that thing back to Surrey. Overall, the pie was expensive, but it was so worth it! You can tell that the ingredients they used were high quality. My family and I gobbled it up and were on my case for not getting two…
H.J. K.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Very delicious pies with fresh, ripe seasonal ingredients. Expensive for a slice of pie(and slices are quite small, I mind you) but for me the quality and flavors make up for it. However, I always get this condescending vibe from the two shop keepers. It feels like I am inconveniencing them with every second of me being there. So just be prepared to pick a flavor, pay with cash or credit(no debit, and they will roll their eyes if you attempt to pay with debit card. Yikes!), grab your pie and get the f$%@ out of there. Don’t ask about things or try to start a conversation with them, or you will have an extra heaping scoop of sarcasm on your pie, free of charge. So five stars for good pies, minus two stars for bitter animosity from the shop keepers, equals three stars and hurt feelings.
Laura R.
Place rating: 1 Stockstadt am Main, Germany
Today I went to this shop for the second time, cause is so near to where I work and also because, yeah, those pies are delicious. But I don’t care how amazing your pies are when you don’t seem to be able to serve a slice without feeling the urge of being unpleasant and sarcastic to your customers. I asked what kind of pies they had today, and after she listed them, i asked for a slice of one pie. Instead of simply saying«oh sorry, that is already sold», which would have been perfectly fine, she responded with a sarcastic and dismissive tone«that one wasn’t even offered…». Ok. Sorry. So i ask if the«honey pie» had only honey in it(cause YOUKNOW, i’m not canadian, i’ve never seen a pie like that, nonetheless never tasted it so YEAH i dare to ask). She basically scoffed saying«no…» with a tone which was pretty rude and implying I was some kind of stupid for not getting it right away. I just ASKED an information. Jeez. I picked up a couple of slices but i don’t think they’ll see me again there.
Flat S.
Place rating: 2 Vancouver, Canada
I liked the Pie more than the Worker(owner?). I wanted a slice of apple pie — they said they only had yesterdays but could heat up a slice, I said that would be great as I didnt like cold pie. In the mean time my Fiancée orders the chocolate pecan — which she found okay but nothing special. 10 minutes later I get my slice of apple pie … no offering of Ice Cream which I found very strange with warm apple pie… but whatever… I dig in only to find it is still 100% freezing, and the middle is actually frozen, so as I don’t like cold pies let alone frozen ones, we go in to pay. I was asked why I didn’t eat it, I said it was still frozen in the middle and was told ‘well if you have a toaster oven you can heat it right up.‘ What a great suggestion, I will go home and eat this slice of pie now heated for the 3rd time, by myself, instead of at your shop with my fiancée who I went with to eat some pie… not like you specifically said you could heat it up… then didn’t… Don’t offer a warm pie if you can’t heat it up, I would have never ordered in the first place.
Elaine O.
Place rating: 4 Millbrae, CA
Visited my mom over weekend and had the BEST impulse buy of a strawberry rhubarb pie here. Two ladies doing a great job with huge bowls of fresh fruit and the apple pie had already sold out. it’s on my list for next visit. Brava!
Mars S.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
The best pie you can find in the neighbourhood. I recently tried out the Salted Honey along with their Lemon Chess pie and they were both amazing. I would definitely come here again and again. Their pies are sort of pricey at $ 6 but it’s worth it for a big piece of deliciousness. I found the service great and friendly too, on top of that. If you ever stop by the Strathcona area, this place is a place you HAVE to try out! I’m definitely coming back again soon!
Gabriel C.
Place rating: 4 Richmond, Canada
I’ve never had pie by the slice from The Pie shoppe, but a client came in with one of their whole apple pies one day and it was amazing! I normally don’t even eat apple pie and when I do, I would slather it in tons of vanilla ice cream. However, this apple pie was perfect by itself and totally opened my eyes to the world of pies! The crust was very flaky and buttery while the apple filling was absolutely sublime(sweet and not too tart). Anyways, I would love to try some of their other pies someday but the prices are putting me a bit off!
Judy J.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
I came here for lunch mistakenly thinking the place served meat pies. That said, the place is bare minimalist. One tabletop with 3 stools and a recliner sofa are the only seating areas available. I’m not a big fan of dessert pies but the chocolate pecan was quite good. The best part was actually the fruit filling inside. Lots of chocolate also makes it quite filling. That big slice of pie and a mint tea cost $ 9 even. After some research, I found out the pie is wheat free, which goes for the steeper price I suppose. All in all, decent but I wasn’t blown away.
Heather S.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I’m not sure if they lowered their prices or if they just cut us a deal, but I had a fabulous piece of pie for $ 5 here this weekend. Despite living around the corner from this place since it opened, I hadn’t been in since their first week in business because, in my opinion, $ 7 is a LOT for a small slice of pie. But this weekend — after first trying Savary Island in West Van and finding it closed — we called The Pie Shoppe. Yes, they confirmed, they were open. No, they didn’t have a lot of pie left. So we drove like maniacs, and when we arrived, the staff had set aside a slice of apple without us even having to ask. And it was only $ 5. Very rad; thanks pie ladies.
Miss S.
Place rating: 3 Port Coquitlam, Canada
Unfortunately we picked the day before they close for a month to check this place out so the pickings were slim. We got a slice of the salted honey. It was good not something we would usually order so it’s hard to judge but it was nothing special and a tad bit pricey for size. Picked up a bag of fresh coffee too we would try this place again with a pie more to our picking next time depending on availability.
John B.
Place rating: 2 Vancouver, Canada
I like the pies, for the most part. Last fruit pie we had, however, was gloppy with pectin. What I don’t like is the rather surly attitude of one or both of the women who run the place. It’s as though they’ve looked up «service culture» in the dictionary and are now trying to skate around it. If they’ve got a pal visiting, they’ll ignore me and carry on with a conversation until I’ve coughed into my hand enough times to suggest contagions. So, as with some of the other reviewers, I reckon it’s not good, but it’s good enough.
Yvonne B.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I came across this shop while searching last minute for places that made gluten free desserts as I was going to a gathering where one of the hosts was gluten intolerant. I called ahead first, just to make sure, and was told they do have them available upon request and they’d set it aside for me. I don’t think they keep them out all the time, as they’re probably kept separate for people who really need to be gluten free. :) I almost passed it by, as the storefront is very small — only 300 square feet! It really is a cute little shop though, with pies sitting out on the counter, Panoramic Coffee for sale(who doesn’t love coffee AND pie?), vintage records playing in the background. I love simple little places like these. Since that first day, I’ve been back a few more times. Just yesterday, I brought home half of a salted honey pie… when I tried some, it was almost like a caramel custard. I’m dreaming about having some right now, even though I already had a slice this morning for breakfast. I am also a huge sucker for a good ol’ apple pie. Guess what else I bought yesterday? Half an apple pie. They really do it well here — not too sweet or tart — I think I could probably eat a whole one. This was also part of this morning’s breakfast. Prices aren’t the cheapest, but I will pay that extra dollar for handmade crust(I guess the buzzword is «artisanal», haha), with interesting flavours that change with the seasons. You can pretty much taste the love they put into that pie. Did I mention the crust is made from real butter? BUTTER! See? True love.
Aimée S.
Place rating: 1 Vancouver, Canada
I was excited to see this cute little pie place so close to my home, so I popped in for a slice of my favourite — apple — and a cup of tea. They were nice, if not attentive, but it was Good Friday, so I figured they’d had a long day. I sat down outside in the sun with my lovely apple pie, and with the first forkful, I tasted disappointment. There was very little flavour to be had. In fact, the fruit — though it had a nice, firm texture — was so bland that it hardly registered at all. I tried a few more bites to see if there was some subtlety I was missing, but no, it really was just dull. I left the remaining two-thirds of the pie, and when I took the plate back in, they asked if I’d enjoyed it. I felt badly, but had to tell the truth. «No» I said, «not very much.» Now, if I were the person behind the counter at a lovely little pie shop, I’d think this was a good opportunity for great customer relations. The women at The Pie Shoppe didn’t seem to think so. In fact, they seemed to view it as a good time to school me in apple varietals. «Oh, I guess you just don’t like Jonah Golds» she said. I told her that I didn’t really think it had anything to do with the kind of apple(I’ve made pies with all kinds of apples, and if you use a mild apple, you need to perk it up with some kind of spice and/or a bit of lemon), and she just shrugged. The lack of interest they showed was disheartening. It really felt like a big«Eff you! We got your $ 5 for our mediocre pie, now bugger-off!» At least the tea was good.
Hayley D.
Place rating: 2 Toronto, Canada
Was originally expecting a cozy pie shop to catch up on long distance travels accompanied with delicious pie. Instead what we found was an inhospitable pie hole. There was a Bernese mountain dog taking up ¾ of the place. I love dogs. I grew up with them, I foster them now. I do not want to step on their tails while I order pie. Then came the time to order. I asked what kinds we could get by the slice. The girl told us all but one which was clearly being sold by the slice siting right in front of her. I really wouldn’t have cared that much but she seemed so apathetic and uninterested. Listen girl, we like pies, we want to support your business so lay off the attitude(this is a personal message for the owner). Ok now a note about the pie– Just plain not good. Edible bit nothing more.
Steve V.
Place rating: 2 Vancouver, Canada
I truly do love pie, so this place was in the back of my mind ever since I had heard of it. Tiny little place in a neat spot on Gore St.(thumbs up for that), but«hipster prices» which I guess on some level reflects the true costs of production in some was, but when the tiny pie that is essentially the size of a slice elsewhere is $ 8, then I have to think twice about going back. I should mention that I had a gluten free min-pie(mixed fruit). My sister and I shared it and thought it was good(not great compared with some of Vancouver’s more notable recipes like Savary Island), so I still feel the need to try a regular slice(which I think runs closer to $ 6 so will save a few bucks).
Jennifer Y.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
I’m not a pie fanatic. I’m not even a die hard chocolate lover. And even when I find myself eating pie I’d ask for a scoop of ice cream just so I can trick my brain into thinking I’m eating ice cream and not pie. So what on Earth compelled me to eat this slice of Chocolate Pecan Pie at $ 7/slice?! THANKYOU UnilocalUNIVERSE! This was BYFARRRR the most delicious pie I have ever consumed. I don’t know what makes a pie a good pie. I really don’t. The crust seemed crispier than other pies I’ve had in the past. I don’t know if that was considered good or bad. I loved it. So lets just say it was a good thing. The chocolate part of it was not too overwhelmingly chocolatey. And the gooey pecan filling was so amazingly delicious I licked the fork clean. And even the take out container that it came in. No joke. Yes, $ 7 is craaaazy expensive for a slice of pie. But holy crap it was worth it. Would I pay $ 7 to experience this«foodgasm» again? You betcha.
Allison H.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
I drink a lot of coffee. Like a lot. Like more often than not, my anatomy more closely relates to that of a coffee bean than a human being; so I am going to go ahead and say I know my ish when it comes to the drip. Well, after a gut busting lunch in Chinatown, some coworkers and I were wandering around to find something sweet to continue our gorging. Enter The Pie Shoppe. I didn’t know what intoxicated me first, the aroma of the pies baking and cooling or the beans being ground for the pour over coffee contraption… Salivating like mad, I scraped together my change for a coffee and a piece of freshly baked heaven still gently steaming from behind the counter. My instatiable sweet tooth almost demanded a slice of BOTH the chocolate pecan AND the blackberry crumble! But alas, $ 10 for a small coffee and a piece of pie is on the high end of the price scale for me. Like an addict waiting for the next hit, I handed the amazingly friendly and easy to talk to lady behind the counter a shakey fist full of change — she laughed and packaged my pie to go then poured my coffee. The boiling water was poured with a quiet elegance, dancing over the ground beans –it was like poetry in the pouring motion. The mahogany colored liquid was rich with flavor, notes of chocolate danced across my taste buds without being sour, bitter or too strong for my stomach as I was drinking it black. It took every ounce of strength remaining in my body not to rip that recycled-material container into shreds in a fit of passion as we left the shop. But I succeeded. I waited all the way back to the office, where I closed my office door and proceeded to have a life altering foodgasm over the buttery/chocolatey/flakey perfection that I had the honor of demolishing. Just go to The Pie Shopp. I will accept all forms of thanks(including slices of pie) later.
Joyce D.
Place rating: 5 Burnaby, Canada
Ok I checked out the original Gangster Chinatown nite market Sat evening and had a blast but what was without a doubt THE highlife of the evening… one of the pies from The Pie Shoppe. Chocolate Pecan best f$@ken pie ever. Being pretty good myself in the baking dept I was amazed at their absolute perfect crust and the filling will blow your mind. I kid you not. Spectacular. If you haven’t yet tried it, what are you waiting for? Winner here! Big time!
Roanna Z.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Can’t wait to try a gluten free chocolate pecan pie! I had a pour over coffee. These guys are clearly about quality. This weekend you can catch them at the GotCraft show(April 27&28th) at Templeton Secondary, just south of East Hastings and the village.