When I see "traditional pub fare," it is often a warning of some pale imitation of what you enjoy in a real pub over home.
So I ordered the Steak & Murphy's Pie ($13) at The Dickens with mild dread.
Mind you, there was some hope in the promise of in-house pastry. Perhaps this would not be the undercooked uniform shell with a round of pastry plopped on top that is often the case.
To my delight, a cheerful server brought a massive platter with a real pie, and a monster at that. It was irregular and beautifully bronzed and crispy. A fork sunk in its top released a wonderful gust of gravy and spicing.
This was the real thing and almost too much of a good thing. Whereas pub pies often have merely a handful of meat pellets lurking in a lot of gravy, the Dickens' version was chock full of big sirloin chunks in a savoury mix of Murphy's stout gravy with mushrooms and onions.
Dickens Blog 
