By Cameron Ruh

As I enter the doorway, I am immediately greeted by the sweet aroma of coconut cream, lemon meringue, buttermilk, and raspberry. This is Proper Pie Co., a New Zealand-inspired pie restaurant in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond.

Proper Pie was founded in 2012 by New Zealander Neil Smith and his wife Nikki Price. On their website, the duo explains their goal to “bring people joy through a fun, affordable, and new food experience.” They began with New Zealand-style meat pies and eventually expanded their menu to include sweet pies, soups, pastries, and other treats. 

I ventured to Proper Pie on a Sunday afternoon in February with Kate Aaronson (‘21) and Henry Mountcastle (‘21). Excited to try a variety of different pies, we were initially disappointed in discovering that most of the flavors had long been sold out. An employee told us that Sundays are typically busy days and that many of the flavors are quickly bought up by customers. Even with the limited selection, however, we were excited to choose the red velvet pie (a seasonal flavor) and a lamington, an Australian sponge cake coated in chocolate and coconut. 

The red velvet pie had a chocolate and raspberry fudge filling on a classic pie crust, topped with a light cream cheese frosting and a dusting of freeze-dried raspberries. Customers are also given the option of topping their pie slices with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and we chose ice cream as a delicious addition to the pie. The pie’s filling was smooth and had the perfect amount of sweetness, balancing the cocoa and raspberry flavors. Aaronson described it as “exceptional,” with the filling being “the perfect texture.” Mountcastle claimed that the pie’s favor was “immaculate” and that its crust was “exceptionally crispy and crunchy.”

The lamington, an Australian classic, was a new treat for us. A large cube of buttery sponge cake was coated in a chocolate sauce (colored pink for Valentine’s Day), sweetened coconut flakes, and a dollop of whipped cream. After the first bite, the lamington offered an explosion of sweetness and flavor. The most distinguishable flavor was the coconut, which Aaronson said “added a nice crunch and tied the whole cake together.” Unanimously, we had one complaint about the slight dryness of the sponge cake. Mountcastle explained, “when I had a bite of the lamington without the whipped cream, I was disappointed in the dry texture.” 

Hoping to beat the afternoon pie crowd, I returned to Proper Pie the next Sunday for an early lunch. I was joined by my parents, Colin and JoAnn Adrales Ruh, who were also excited to try some sweet and savory pies.

My mother and I decided to share the Brekkie, a savory breakfast pie containing bacon, sausage, eggs, and cheese. The pie, complete with a layer of sausage at the bottom, a creamy mixture of eggs and cheese, and cubes of thick-cut bacon, was wrapped in a perfectly flaky crust. My mother claimed that she experienced “a revelation of the taste buds,” explaining that “when I first bit into it, I was taken by how perfectly seasoned it was.” The amount of salt in the pie was impeccable, and each of the components complemented each other pleasantly. The eggs were creamy, and the crust was flaky, buttery, and rich. 

For dessert, we first decided to try the blueberry sour cream pie, which was incredibly delicious. It had a classic pie crust with a creamy blueberry filling, a streusel topping, and a dusting of powdered sugar. My favorite element of the pie was the streusel crumble, which added a delightful crunch to the pie. The filling was creamy but not overly rich; whole blueberries in the filling added a delightful textural addition. My mother noted the pie’s “perfectly balanced amount of sweetness,” adding that “one could eat the entire slice without it becoming cloying or overly sweet.”

We also treated ourselves to a slice of coconut cream pie, which soon became my personal favorite. Atop a graham cracker crust, a creamy coconut filling was finished with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes. The pie was served chilled, which I found to be very refreshing. The natural coconut flavor was delicious, and the graham cracker crust and toasted coconut added a lovely contrast of texture to the creamy filling. My mother enjoyed the pie, but admitted that “it was less flavorful than the other pies, so I would have enjoyed it more if I had eaten it first.” My father, not typically a coconut fan, liked the pie because “it wasn’t too sweet, unlike other coconut cream pies.”

Both of my trips to Proper Pie Co. were immensely enjoyable experiences. Not only were the pies delicious, but the shop was charming, clean, and inviting. My father described the staff as “relaxed, friendly, and helpful” and “loved the ambiance” of Proper Pie. Even though it quickly filled with customers, we had a pleasant experience sitting at the bar and did not feel overcrowded. We enjoyed looking straight into the kitchen to see the bakers at work. 

Editor’s Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Proper Pie is closed for now. One of their employees wrote about their last few weeks for Style Weekly.

All photos by Cameron Ruh.