The holidays are built on rituals—decorating the tree, singing carols, baking pies—and for designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, one of the season’s most enduring tastes is the humble mincemeat pie. “It reminds me of my childhood in Britain,” he says. “That mix of spice, fruit, and pastry is pure nostalgia.”
Thomas J. Story
So when Bullard discovered The Pie Room by Curtis Stone, a Los Angeles mash-up of an Australian pie shop and a neighborhood bistro, Bullard found a new tradition that felt both fresh and familiar, a place where savory and sweet pies carry the same holiday magic.
Thomas J. Story
Chef Stone, the Australian-born chef who lives in L.A. and is a household name on U.S. food TV, has long helmed the sweet shop. With The Pie Room, formerly the tasting menu restaurant Maude, Stone leans into something more casual yet equally soulful, serving pies that are comforting, transportive, and celebratory all at once.
Thomas J. Story
The menu spans the savory comforts of Stone’s native Australia—flaky beef and stout pies, chicken and leek sandwiches, or mushroom and Gruyère quiches—to sweet showstoppers that channel holiday spirit: pumpkin pie or fruit-filled hand pies, perfect for gifting or sharing. The setting works as both a counter for takeaway and a convivial bistro. It’s this balance—tradition reframed for today—that appeals to Bullard. “Curtis has created something that feels celebratory,” he says. “These pies are a little indulgent, a little nostalgic, and absolutely festive.”
Curtis Stone’s Individual Apple Pie
Thomas J. Story
These beautiful single-serving pies are lattice-topped at The Pie Room, but for ease of making, this one skips that step.
