PIEbar AZ — Restaurant in Payson

My husband and I were visiting the Strawberry/Pine area and stopped in after seeing a video on Social Media about this place.

It had recently snowed, so we decided to grab a few empanadas and eat them in our truck. The building is for walk up service only, but they do have a few spots to sit and eat outside. The woman at the register was super friendly and welcoming.

We ended up ordering a few empanadas:

Philly Cheesesteak (8/10) My husband really liked this one, but it didn't quite hit the spot for me. The steak was a little too thick for my liking and it lacked in the true gooey cheese of a Philly. Still pretty good!

Mountain Baby (6/10) I am a sucker for anything including mac and cheese. Overall it was good and had decent sizes of bacon inside but it was pretty dry. I'd love to try this one again with double the cheese!

Chicken Pot Pie (10/10) Genius! This was a winner for both my husband and myself! Included large chunks of chicken and just the right amount of veggies. Legit a portable Chicken Pot Pie... wish we bought extras to bring home!!

Ham & Cheese (?/10) Unfortunately, we didn't get to try this one as we bought it as a treat for our two dogs 🤣. They loved it and it looked great! Diced Ham and Cheese.

Pecan Pie (4/10) As a southerner, I was massively disappointed in this one. The only thing remotely close to Pecan Pie was that it contained pecans. It tasted more like a bland pumpkin pie filler with lots of pecans added. Overall really dry and not at all a Pecan Pie.

I wouldn't make a special trip to visit this spot, but it is absolutely fun and worth it to stop when passing through. I hope we do pass through again one day... that Chicken...

Road trips are made for special treats like this

When my friend called and said meet me at the PieBar I was like ummm what

My foodie brain immediately defaulted to a bar full of… well pie 🥧

So imagine my surprise when I arrived and saw that I could pretty much build my own empanada

An empanada 😳

I appreciate the staff for allowing me to take my time skimming the menu because who could have known there would be soooo many options when it comes to empanadas

Now as a an extra bonus they do indeed also have pie there

I couldn’t tell how they tasted because I dipped out of there with about 5 different empanadas so my tummy didn’t have any room for pie

Here were my favorites listed from most delicious to still delicious just not as delicious as the one above it

Ready…. Let’s rank them: The mountain mama

Let’s talk about FLAVOR!!! Now my boyfriend was like ummm that’s a veggie empanada but there was bacon in it and pepper flakes that offered the slightest hit of heat that sits blissfully in your tummy

Green Chile pork

This also had some solid flavor and you can tell they take the time to marinate the meat and grill it up just right so it’s tender

BBQ Pork

I was actually surprised that the pulled pork was as good as it was because who knew Strawberry could be known for some delicious BBQ. The BBQ sauce was good as well and tangy

Philly Cheesesteak

Flavors were on par with what you would expect for the all lightly cheesesteak and it was an interesting take to eat it with a crispy and flaky empanada crust

My only regret was not being a complete big back and getting some dessert empanadas to go and eat later

I’ll know better...

I would like to start by saying thank you to all of your lovely staff. I made sure when we went back in for our sweet empanadas, to let all of them know their work is greatly appreciated 🙏🏼 Their smiles from ear to ear, said thank you! ❤️

We ordered 6 empanadas to begin with, The Mountain Man, Chicken Pot Pie, Picadillo Beef, Green Chile Pork, Red Chile Beef, Bean and Cheese, and Chorizo and Bean. They were all made to perfection! They had a very nice crunch to them and slightly soft on the inside. Our favorites on the Savory Side were Green chili pork, Picadillo, and Chicken Pot Pie! These absolutely stood out! They were all great, but I will definitely make a trip back for these. Oh, and the ChimiChurri sauce is spicy 🌶️ but very flavorful 😋

We needed to get back on the road, but not before buying some sweet empanadas 🤗 We ordered Apple Dulce de Leche, Strawberries and Cream, Pecan Pie empanada, Molten Chocolate, and Pineapple Upside down. These were all equally delicious! Sorry no photos on these since we ate them in the car 😅

The place is very warm and welcoming. Nice outdoor seating area with natural tree shade to enjoy your freshly made empanadas 😋

I’d like to thank you and your team once more. We typically don’t stop on our way back home from fishing, but so glad that we did. My fiance and I loved your spot. We will definitely be back and recommend our other friends that make these same fishing...