Score: 8.1 ⁄ 10

Well... A pie review without Pistol present. He won't be pleased as he's missed a right good 'un. Here we have a terrible picture of an excellent pie. The pie is cooked in a large tray and cut up into portions for serving. The short crust pastry wrapped the pie both a-top and a-bottom, creating two delicious textures. To be amongst the greatest it needed more real-ale punch, but flippin' good none the less.
Dave

We hit lucky with our first pub this time round, which was brilliant - because I was very hungry.

First - a non-pie related note; the Black Swan is looking much better since I last visited. A new longer bar and a great selection of real ales.

Another "proper pie". Home cooked with chunks of tasty meat and excellent pastry. Since they'd run out of chips we were offered mash or roast spuds, and they happily gave us a combination after our request (with some added friendly banter!).

My only criticism would be that no ale flavours showed through.

They also do a pigeon pie - and apparently a squirrel one!
Jon

Hats off to the chef!.. It was clear the moment it was delivered to the table that this was going to be good.. and it was. Home made pastry - what a difference it makes! Great filling; plenty and meat and gravy and accompanied by roast AND mash potatoes as a substitute for chips... Would strongly recommend this pie.

Pistol, you missed a good'en.
Lee

An obviously handmade, proper shortcrust, extremely tasty pie. Lack of chips was more than made up for by the roastie/mash combo and friendly banter. A stronger ale taste would be my preference, but still a serious contender.
Steve

As this was the first steak and ale pie i had ever had i wasnt quite sure what to expect, and i have to say that it was extremely good the steak was perfect and so was the mash, and roasties were nice and crispy. The only thing i had a slight problem with was the paistry i couldn't say what but it wasnt right.

Overall: A very nice pie.
Lewis

Score: 5.4 ⁄ 10

I enjoyed this pie, the filling was good - loads of meat, mushrooms and a strong ale flavour to the gravy. But, the floating pastry lid did let it down - to be honest it was tasteless and over done. Can't help but feel that if the filling was surrounded by (good) pastry - ie, like a pie, we might have a strong contender here, but it didn't, so we don't...

Nontheless, was still tasty and I was very happy with the option of chips, mash or new potatoes. There was even a choice of two pastry hats.
Lee

If I were reviewing service, the Judges Lodgings would have scored highly. A knoweledgable, friendly landlord with the perfect amount of banter and pleasantness.

This is however a steak and ale pie website....

There were a multitude of options; chips, mash or new potatoes & short crust or puff pastry.

The filling was very nice - the beer flavour showed through and there were chucks of decent beef. The accompanying chips were good too. This meal was quite obviosuly home made.

What let the whole thing down (once again) was a lack of effort on the pastry front - the filling was topped with a pastry lid. As a group we had some fun deciding on the best words to describe said lid, which included: biscuit, pop tart, pitta bread, etc.

Improvements - with a decent pastry surrounding the filling, this could be a terrific pie.
Jon

Good points up top... good tasty ale stew and decent chips, but that's unfortunately it. The lasting memory of this “pie” (yep, those quotes are double) is the brittlest pastry I've ever eaten, which not even the cute π symbol a top, or the very tasty half price beer could salvage.

Steve

Well now.. Tricky one this..After two failed attempts to procure pie at other, as yet unnamed establishments, we arrived at the Judges Lodgings slightly dejected and very hungry.. However, we were in luck, as the menu boasted a home-made pie and the service from the ever-knowledgable landlord was excellent.. Then came the pie.. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but once again I've been let down by the form factor; this pie was without sides.. Sad face.. Even worse was that the pastry topping was too brittle to be enjoyable — pressing down to cut through pressed the filling out of the sides..Other than that there was little to complain about, the filling itself was delicious, with a very distinctive ale flavor.. This pie was let down only by the pasty, it's lack thereof and the texture of what remained..Now if you'll excuse me, Pistol has ladies to impress with some powerful potato-based chat..
Pistol

Well, we got off to a good start. After spying that I only ordered a half of bitter, the pleasant bar man offered me a free coffee as he thought I was driving. I wasn't driving, however, and informed the amicable man. Coffee cancelled. But it was good of him to offer. Anyway, to the pie, which was more a plate of stew with a flip flop resting on top. And a dry, underwhelming flip flop at that. The meat mixture however was very tender, perfectly perfumed with ale and very tasty. Almost one of the best fillings yet - just a shame that it wasn't filling anything.
Dave

Score: 8 ⁄ 10

Best one yet! Packed with meat, pastry all the way round, excellent chips and gravy. My only complaint, and it is minor, is that they could have put more ale in it. Oh, and lose the evil broccoli on the side! Other than that, mega.
Lee

This pie impressed upon first sight. It looked delicious and tasted delicious. Packed full of meat and wrapped in a good short pastry, this pie had superb flavour and texture. Slightly lacking the punch of real ale, but very impressive overall. A lesson to all on how to serve a good pie.
Dave

Oh man.. Mad dinner fatigue kicking in over here.. From the second this pie was placed in front of me I started to feel full, such was my anticipation for digging in.. Thick, crispy chips at one end of the plate, and a damn fine chunk of pie at the other.. Packed with meat and cooked with obvious care, this pie was a feast from the first mouthful to the last, and it's not often Pistol clears his plate, yo.. There was some veg too, which wasn't unwelcome, but did nothing to improve the pie - it simply didn't need improving.. Great pie - a credit to ebay would eat again AA+++++
Pistol

Lovely country style pub, and a warm welcome (as the sign on the front stated).

The pie was impressive - chunks of steak (and a little carrot/spuds) wrapped in a delicious pastry and covered in gravy. Crispy chips and three veg added to the delight.

This pie is definitely a contender.

Why haven't I given it a higher mark? Because anything can be beaten, and I challenge anyone to do it.

I'll be visiting The Gillygate again.

Oh... and a very nice pint of Hobgoblin too!
Jon

Score: 4.7 ⁄ 10

With the removal of the pasty hat and addition of some dumplings, this would make a lovely meal, but still not a pie.

The stew was tasty (but a little thin, like soup) and the beer flavour showed through. Served with very nice chips and some lettuce (eh?)

Overall, a nice filling lacking any thought with the pastry.

Jon

This first thing that struck me with this average pie was: "That meat could do with more time and more ale." And it was crying out for a beurre manié to thicken the broth too. Now, I'm not too bothered about the jaunty pastry hat. I'll call it a pie. But the fluffy top was rather pointless, offering neither taste nor texture to the dish. Good chips lift the rating a touch, while the limp, drab lettuce leaves do nothing for its score.
Dave

Hmm, well. A stew with a roof, which instantly loses points. A hearty flaversome filling; real meat (slightly) chewy and slightly watery.

The roof/lid was ok, slightly flambuoyant.

As an inexperienced reviewer I give it...

More work required.
Jim

This pie pretty much pirouetted out of the kitchen wearing a ridiculous pastry hat at a rakish angle.. As thrilling headgear as it was, I was little disappointed to find the rest of the pie sitting in a dish, with no sign of pastry below the hat.. I'm of the school of thought that that doesn't constitute a pie, so we weren't off to the best start.. The meat was pretty tough, and the gravy was far too watery, but the stew itself was tasty enough.. Not sure about the inclusion of mushrooms though—Lee was stunned into silence for a full 45 minutes.. Controvesy!

I'll be honest; I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a pub named after a domestic terrorist.. Daft looking, but fairly tasty pie..

Bloody good chips, mind..
Pistol

The meat and gravy were tasty, albeit a little underdone, and the chips excellent. That said, the pastry was a major disappointment, consisting of only an entirely detached puff hat. I'm not convinced this could even be called a pie (probably just), but for me the lack of stodgy pastry spoiled the experience.
Steve

I enjoyed this pie and walked away full. The filling was tasty and plentiful, albeit the gravy was a bit on the watery side. Accompanied by good home made chips and an unnecessary salad... Not sure this counts as a pie, more of a casserole with an oversized pastry topping floating on top. Overall, not bad.
Lee

The first, and benchmark for all future pies, was sampled at The Punch Bowl Inn on Stonegate. The sign next to the front door claimed they had the best pies in York - well it's early days, but we'll see. The ale was Timothy Taylors Landlord and apparently they'd sold 696 pies this week.

Score: 6 ⁄ 10

Overall a good, tasty pie. Although not quite homemade, it was well presented and filling. The gravy was a touch glutenous but it did taste of ale. Chance upon this pie while stranded in the city and you won't be disappointed, but it's not one of the greats.
Dave

A perfectly shaped pie served with mash (no chips option) and two veg. Filling consistency excellent, though it would have benefited from more chunks. Food arrived very quickly. Service was friendly, interiors lovely. I’d happily pop in here again.
Jon

Overall, quite good. A cubic shaped pie with good pastry and gravy, but I was disappointed with the quality and quantity of meat inside - bit fatty. I also have to dock 2 points because it was not made on the premises and 1 point for not having the option of chips.
Lee

'The best pies in York' is quite a claim, but this pie still impressed. Shame it wasn't made on-site, but it was still tasty, and definitely filled us up.. Lack of chips (and not even an option to switch the mash) was disappointing, but ultimately there isn't really much to complain about here. Solid construction, good meat, great gravy. I'd definitely have this pie again.
Pistol