Best Christmas festive Cornish pasty in Cornwall: review

While the traditional Cornish pasty recipe is hard to beat, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy a variation on a classic – at least for one month of the year.

We spent November and December hunting out the different options available – and while other festive pasties around Cornwall have of course been available, we’ve tried and tested ones available in the Helston area as this is where the review was written.

Sadly Warren’s isn’t included, following the closure of the Helston branch in September.

Here’s our review of this year’s offerings, and how they rated:

Ann’s Pasties, Helston, Porthleven and The Lizard

A good sized pasty with flaky pastry and a cute little pastry star to differentiate it from traditional steak, which felt very festive.

You could tell it was made that morning with fresh ingredients that tasted of good quality. The traditional base of potato, turnip and onion still had bite to it, while good sized chunks of turkey, bacon, stuffing and a spattering of chopped cranberries brought the festive elements.

There was plenty of filling and the seasoning was enough to add some heat to your mouth without being over the top.

It had a hefty crimp to it, which was a bit much for me but I know many people consider the pasty ‘handle’ the best bit and will love it. Indeed my husband described the pastry as “a delight, as always.”

I enjoyed this one a lot and it all felt very Christmassy.

The pasties are available from Ann’s Pasties shops at The Lizard and Porthleven, as well as from its Tresprison headquarters in Helston where there is availability.

Cost: £5.50

Our rating: 9/10

Rowe’s Bakery, across Cornwall

The smallest of the festive pasty offerings, it was still enough for lunch or maybe a light tea.

This one comes with shortcrust pastry and had a light seasoning of pepper.

I found the pasty quite sweet, as there was quite a high proportion of cranberries, but not in an unpleasant way.

It is filled with potato, onion, turnip, turkey, cranberries and I think stuffing although it was harder to tell as it was more blended through.

The filling was a little ‘mushier’ than some of the pasties, where the ingredients were more defined.

Although tasty, it felt a little more mass-produced than some of the others – although as the biggest company in our review, with many branches, perhaps this should be expected.

However, if you want a quick grab-as-you-go lunch or snack to get you in the festive spirit this serves the job well.

Available from Rowe’s Bakeries across Cornwall.

Cost: £4.05

Our rating: 6/10

Gear Farm, St Martin

It would be impossible to do a festive pasty comparison without including Gear Farm. Pasty fans in the area literally count down the days in November until Gear announces that is seasonal pasty is available once again.

This is a big old boy, although it needs to be to contain all the filling. Alongside the standard pasty ingredients, it has chunks of turkey and a whole ‘pig in blanket’ sausage running the length of the pasty.

Beautiful crispy pastry that’s not too thick, quality meat and veg that holds its shape, this is the festive pasty to beat.

Cost: £6

Our rating: 10/10

Philps, Helston, Porthleven and Hayle

Philps have a whole range of festive pasties to try – turkey, festive sausage, cauliflower cheese and a vegan offering.

I went for the turkey option, as the closest to all the others. The balance of vegetables was higher than on some, but there were nice chunks of turkey and a definite flavour of sage and onion stuffing to it, with the odd cranberry dotted around.

The pastry had a good flake to it, although I found it slightly tough on the bottom.

For those of you that like lots of seasoning, this one was heaviest on the pepper and left my mouth tingling.

This wasn’t the biggest pasty I tried, but also not the smallest, and made for a nice lunch.

Cost: £4.95

Our rating: 8/10

Cornish Oven

I think this was the one that reminded me most of actual Christmas dinner in a pasty, in many ways.

The one I had slightly fewer chunks of turkey than some of the others, although they tasted good quality.

A good amount of cranberry sauce and the crimped side of the pasty was packed with stuffing, to the point of almost being a little overpowering if you got a whole mouthful, although it did give a very festive flavour.

A perfectly satisfactory sized pasty.

Cost: £4.95

Our score: 7/10