The Pie Hut

This is not the review I wanted to write, but here goes.
For those not from Sandpoint, one must understand that the majority of revenues going into restaurants derive from the heavily-​touristed summer months. This fact leaves far too many restaurants catering to the summer crowds and kind of dissing the locals. So it is not so easy to find a local restaurant that truly caters to locals. At the same time, one wants to write great reviews of local restaurants as it is good for Sandpoint.
We have been to the Pie Hut about a half a dozen times. Here is the breakdown on a 1 – 10 scale.
Food: I am partial to Bahn Mi. But the Bahn Mi here is a ²⁄₁₀. It is loaded down with an overly salty, soy-​based sauce. Not exactly Vietnamese. I love Banh Mi’s but would not go back again – three strikes and you are out. Even the soups are too salty, something pointed out each time by the kids.
Pie: The pies are OK, but nothing amazing. Rather garden variety. Not sure about the raving. ⁵⁄₁₀.
Service: Here is where I agree with a number of Unilocalers. My goodness, it is awful. My experiences have only been with the same person (the owner?). Whoever it is, she is rude, short, rather mean and seemingly oblivious to the whole idea that while customers are always right and return customers are kings, the local return customer with kids are your bread and butter. We are unlikely to ever return to such nasty experience. I think she is in the wrong business. That said, I see she donates funds to support local causes so that is a good thing. That moves her from one to three, so ³⁄₁₀. And clearly there are locals who go there. However, she needs lessons on dealing with people and to drop the arrogance. Very un-​Sandpointian.
Overall, a 4/​10, hence ²⁄₅ stars. For pies, the Panhandler people are more genuine Sandpoint. Also, try the key lime pie at Baxter’s for dessert. Mmmm!!! For a much better Banh Mi, try Foster’s Crossing (although it is a menu special).

I love this place! Homemade pies made daily with fresh fruit. When they run out they runout! Lots of different berry pies and combinations. They have cheesecake and they even had a crème brûlée pie! Generous sliced portions and priced reasonably. If you like pies then this is the place to go! I wish they had a place like this back home in California! I think they had every pie possible. Their specialty is the huckleberry pie!

The owner is a total c-​u-​next Tuesday! Terrible customer service and gets orders wrong. The food is okay, but only if you don’t mind dealing with a troll.

Had lunch with my wife and parents. Two thumbs up all the way around!!! Great Food! I had the Monty Cristo with the Pesto Pasta. The Pesto Pasta is the best I’ve ever had! Of course the pie is wonderful as well!

Any place that’s called «The Pie Hut» better make an amazing pie. Unfortunately, the slice I had was terrible! Bottom crust was like a soggy diaper and the top crust had an over powering taste of raw flour. YUCK! Safeway makes a better pie than what I had and that’s not saying much… After a couple of bites I threw the rest of the slice away. Will not be returning to The Pie Hut.

The Pie Hut has long been me and my boyfriend’s favorite spot for pie. We moved to Portland recently and returned for a visit, and went to go see if they had our favorite-​Crème Brulee. They happened to be out for the day, so we put in an order for the next morning. Heather got irritated when I asked her to save us half of a pie, but she eventually agreed. When we came back, she looked at our card and snappily told us to go get cash, because they didn’t take cards-​without any apology. She acted like we were wasting her day and her time, even though we told her how much we love their food. It’s hard for me to understand that kind of attitude, as I work in a small mom-​and-​pop type café and it’s not hard to make a customer happy with an apology for any kind of inconvenience and an acknowledgement of thanks when someone praises our food instead of a smirking glare. I’m posting this because I honestly hope the owner sees this and tries to encourage more genuine politeness to customers. Good job on the food, though.

For the sophisticated palate that can appreciate high end flavor, you’ve got to make this your next lunch stop. Yes, they have a variety of the most delicious pies, but there’s sooo much more to this quaint little place. Heather is a serious chef, her flavors are a culinary delight! Everything I’ve ever had has been amazing! Her knack for creating the most delicious soups is genius Seriously can’t believe there would ever be a questionable review for this place. Only thing I can think of is some people don’t have refined taste buds… too much boxed food?

Great sandwiches!!! Heather’s Banh Mi is THE best in town!!! LOVE IT! Yummmmmy!

Love the pie hut. The pork belly sandwich is crazy good.

Pies «looked» wonderful. Knew people who liked them, so tried two pies for party.
SO disappointed!
Bottom crust was like super soggy thin cardboard. Terrible!
Complained, nicely, they laughed… what? Really? Rude-rude-rude.Typical Sandpoint.
Ick, never go back, Safeway or Super One pies are much better. Sad huh?

I’m so surprised this place doesn’t have 5 stars. The food is amazing and the staff is funny and friendly. It’s not your run of the mill sandwich shop. Try it today. You will not be disappointed! And the pie… To die for.

Totally rude staff, «if you’re not buying move out of the way». So, how else are we suppose to see what’s in the pie case? Even other customers gave the girl strange looks. Sloppy prep area, hanging hair… no thanks. I don’t care how local or if anyone thinks their pies are great, go for it.

Give these guys a try! Get one of their combo meals with a piece of pie… you won’t be sorry!

The soups, the sandwiches, the PIE!!! I love the huckleberry but we just had the Crème Brûlée WOW! It’s incredible and my new all time favorite pie! The Chocolate peanut butter is also excellent!

What a horrible place. After the server placed an uncooked pile of slop in front of me, and I took one bite which literally made me gag (I’m not exaggerating), and I couldn’t eat any more, the server came over packed full of attitude and accused me of having no taste. Then she left the disgusting mess on the table, wouldn’t even take it away, and just walked away with a smirk on her face, as though she thoroughly enjoyed treating me like gulag prisoner instead of a customer. To add insult to injury, she even made us pay for the garbage. These people should be ashamed of themselves for their horrid food and even worse service.
Visitors to Sandpoint would do well to avoid it.

These folks in Sandpoint take their fruit pies seriously. And they also serve food. I was drooling over the panini sandwiches with side salads of sprouts and veggies, but I was only on a mission for some good huckleberry pie, so I admired the other patrons meals vicariously. They said I would not be disappointed and they were right. Not cheap but the pie was great. I could taste the berries, it had that little bit of tartness that sets it off, and a very good crust. Best served heated. They do use some tapioca as a thickener. Overall well done. All of their fruit pies I expect to be excellent.

The Pie Hut is a must do for us anytime we’re in Sandpoint, even if we have to stop skiing early for the day so we can get down to town before this little restaurant closes (they’re not open for dinner). I’ve never had a bad meal here, whether it’s been soup and salad or a sandwich, pasty, quiche, or pot pie – all fresh and flavorful and as far as I can tell, made on the premises. There’s always a great variety of pies to choose from, and I’ve yet to find a flavor I don’t like. They usually have family size chicken pot pies frozen and available to take and bake, which is a great option if you get there just before closing (and have an oven where you’re staying).

We visited Sandpoint from Portland and had the very best pie we have ever eaten — the crème brûlée. After having a slice we bought a whole pie! We’re both sorry and pleased that this pie is so far away from us — our waistlines would suffer! The pumpkin sausage soup was also delicious with a hint of licorice.
The antiques store attached to the Pie Hut is excellent for browsing.

Monte cristo sandwich, clam chowder, sour cream lime pie and raspberry-​rhubarb pie… all fantastic! Chicken pot pie and beef pasty quite tasty! Cilantro black bean soup too salty, but has potential. Service was great. This is one hole-​in-​the– wall restaurant that is well on its way to becoming one of those must-​stop dives. We drop by every time we come to Sandpoint.
By the way, did I mention the pies are unbelievable?