I’m from West London. I didn’t grow up eating this style of pie & mash. I completely understand the criticism it gets. It’s a bland dish and doesn’t look great either – the liquor (thick green parsley sauce) can be off-putting to some. That said, I’ve grown pretty fond of the dish over the past few years. I’ve even started liking the way it looks… and once hit with the right amount of salt, pepper and chilli vinegar maybe it doesn’t taste so bland. I’ve always been a big fan of greasy spoons and chippies with dated decor and I feel the same way about pie & mash shops so it’s only right that I’m drawn to pie & mash shops too. A lot of these places are over a hundred years old. It feels like you’re stepping back in time when you enter them. I love the small wooden benches and marble tables. When you eat pie & mash it feels like you’re eating part of London’s history. Even though there are a lot more exciting things to eat in London these, I urge people to have a pie & mash now and again to help keep these places alive and preserve a piece of history.
Find a Google Map link here.
A few rules;
📝 Pie & mash is always eaten with a fork and spoon, not a knife and fork. If you use a knife and fork you will be judged.
📝 Salt, white pepper and chilli vinegar should always be used. Especially the chilli vinegar.
📝 The correct way to eat your pie is to flip it upside down, cut open the bottom, and dash the chilli vinegar inside.
📝 Pie & mash is traditionally eaten with a carton of juice or a cup of tea.
1. Noted Eel & Pie House
📍Leytonstone. Noted Eel & Pie House was established in 1926. The great grandfather of the shop owner had a barge selling eels on the Heegermeer Lake in the Netherlands. Exporting eels to London was such a lucrative trade he decided to move one of his children to London who eventually opened the first pie and mash shop in Bow in 1926. In 1976 they were asked to buy the property so ended up moving to Leytonstone where they have been an important part of the community ever since. I really liked the pies here. The mince was a nice rich brown with a strong beefy taste. They had nice crispy tops but the bottoms were soft like the texture of a steak and kidney pudding. The chilli vinegar has a very good kick to it here too. It’s a lovely looking shop and service is friendly. Singburi and Leytonstone Tavern aren’t the only places in Leytonstone worth visiting.
2. Tony’s
📍Waltham Abbey. Established in 1995. Tony’s is just outside the M25 but such a gem I wanted to include it on my guide. This pie & mash quest has been taking me to places I’ve never been before. Although the shop only dates back to the 90s it looks the part inside with beautiful wooden benches and green and white tiles. Tony’s provides the pie & mash sold at West Ham’s football stadium. They’re also David Beckham favourite pie & mash shop. The pies are up there with the best. Nice crispy tops, soft bottoms, a rich gravy with the beef filling, and a strong, thick liquor. I love the Jack Daniel’s-style chilli vinegar bottles too. Waltham Abbey is really nice too. Well worth visit.
3. Maureen’s
📍Poplar. Maureen’s is located in Poplar’s Chrisp Street Market. Although they were previously at the other end of the market, the shop has been in this area for over 60 years. The pie and mash was good. The gravy in the pie was thick & rich and the mash was creamy & smooth. On top of that they serve very good salt beef bagels & sandwiches. Friendly service too. For me they’re right near the top of the list of London pie & mash shops.
4. M.Manze
📍Tower Bridge Road & Peckham. M.Manze opened on Tower Bridge Road in 1902, although there had been a pie & mash shop there since 1892. The owners are distant relatives of the owner of Manzes in Deptford that recently closed for good earlier this month. M. Manze also have a shop in Peckham but I visited their original location on Tower Bridge Road. It’s a beautiful shop. At their height they had 14 locations across London. If you’re wondering where the surname ‘Manze’ comes from, it can be traced back to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, where apparently it’s quite common. The Manze family came over in 1878 and started as ice merchants, then ice cream makers, opening a shop next to the original pie & mash shop on Tower Bridge Road. It’s great to see the shop being run by the 4th generation of the family, so they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. I enjoyed the pie. It had a nice dark brown gravy (I still covered it with salt, pepper, and chilli vinegar though). Nice crispy tops and soft bottoms. The mash was smooth and lot more yellow than it usually is. Friendly service too. I love the beautiful green tiled walls here too.
5. G Kelly
📍Roman Road. G Kelly opened in 1939 on Roman Road. They used to have a second location but only this one remains. Both were popular hangouts for the Kray twins. As well as pie, mash and jellied eels they also have a small selection of fresh shellfish at affordable prices. I went for some cockles. The pies are solid. The place was refurbished a few years ago but they’ve still managed to keep its character. Service is friendly.
6. Castle’s Pie & Mash
📍Camden. Castles Pie & Mash opened in 1934. It’s got to be one of the most beautiful pie & mash shops in London. I love the wood panelled walls and fixed brown seating. They also have a big selection of school dinner-style puddings with thick yellow custard at only £3.50 a pop. The treacle sponge is my favourite. They’re not made in house but they hit the spot with a side of nostalgia.
7. Barney’s Pie & Mash
📍Walthamstow. Barney’s Pie & Mash (est 2018), Walthamstow. Even though Barney’s has over four hundred reviews on Google they’ve managed to maintain a 5 star rating. The owner of the shop, Tommy, is an ex-plumber who decided to teach himself how to cook pies after becoming bored of his job. Despite pie & mash shop numbers dwindling, Barney’s has been extremely popular since opening seven years ago and is known to sell out early. The pies here are on the smaller side of the pie spectrum, and the pastry is particularly thin, even to the point of breaking a little at the bottom, but the flavour of the beef in a rich gravy, taste of the pastry and the thick liquor were all on point. The shop has a beautiful front and service is friendly – I overheard the owner helpfully explaining to two Italians how to eat pie & mash whilst I was there. Well worth a visit if you live nearby.
8. BJ’s Pie & Mash
📍Canning Town. This is going to upset a few people… Pie, chips and liquor at BJ’s Pie Shop in Plaistow. This is the only pie & mash shop in London that offers chips with your pie as well as mash. Before you get too angry they’re fried in beef dripping and they’re pretty good. Watch the reel here.
9. Robins Pie & Mash
📍Wanstead. Robins dates back to 1929. I had no idea Wanstead was such a nice area before I came here. It’s is a lovely little shop and service is formerly. I liked the pies – the pastry was nice, they had a thick gravy inside and good flavour. However they were a quite small in size and there wasn’t much mince either. The liquor was a lot more pale than usual. Apparently they also supply pies to Queens Park Rangers.
10. Eastenders Pie & Mash
📍Poplar. The shop has been open since 1976 so not that old by pie & mash standards, but old for regular restaurant standards. It’s only two minutes walk from Maureen’s, and both are always busy, showing the popularity of pie & mash in this area still. The walls are homage to West Ham. The pies were good – nice pastry, a richer brown gravy, crisp on top and soft on the bottom. The liquor was a darker shade than it usually is. School dinner-style cake (made in house) & custard for dessert.
11. Cockney’s Pie & Mash Shop
📍Portobello Road. Cockney’s Pie & Mash Shop (est 1995), Portobello Road. This was my second time here. It’s one of four (as far as I know) remaining pie & mash shops in West London. Despite only dating back to the mid-90s it looks the part inside with beautiful green and white tiles. Surprisingly this is the first pie & mash shop out of the twelve I’ve visited so far that serve in a bowl instead of a plate. The pies are noticeably larger than average here (maybe the largest). The pastry is also a lot thicker than usual too. They’re well filled with mince and gravy too. A solid pie, although South and East London traditionalists might not be convinced. The owner is super friendly and the shop is full of locals.
12. Raymond’s
📍Eltham. This spot is around thirty years old. It’s sort of half pie & mash shop/half greasy spoon as you can get a fry-up and other items too. The pastry is thick and doughy. The liquor on the paler side but thick and buttery. A good amount of meat inside and fairly seasoned for this type of pie. They go for the ice cream scoop-style mash here which I know rubs some people up the wrong way – I’m not bothered either way.
13. Cockney’s of Bromley
📍Bromley. Cockney’s of Bromley. This is the third Cockney’s pie and mash shop I’ve been to in London although none of them are related. The owner is from Turkish descent although he’s about as South London as it gets. I really liked this one. £8.50 for a double pie, single mash. The liquor was nice and thick and had a strong parsley taste. They go for the scooping method with the mash here which is actually as common as the scraping. Tops nice and crispy. Bottoms soft. A bit of colour to the meat. Chilli vinegar in a two litre Jack Daniel’s. I like the plates they use here too and the place, like the owner, definitely has character.
14. Arments
📍Walworth Road. Arments Pie & Mash opened in 1914 (the year WWI kicked off) on Walworth Road. In 1959 they opened two more shops – another on Walworth Road and a third on Westmoreland Road. The two Walworth Road shops eventually closed and in 1979 they moved again to a larger location on Westmoreland Road, where they are now. All the moving is a bit of a shame, if you ask me, as the shop doesn’t have the Victorian/Edwardian decor that a lot of pie & mash shops do (like the beautiful green & white tiles at M.Manze). The look of the shop is very plain and doesn’t add much to the character. I liked the pie pastry but the pie mince wasn’t in much of a gravy and a little dryer, like the filling of the pies at F. Cooke or Manze’s in Deptford. I’m not a big fan of the vinegar being in plastic bottles instead of the traditional glass with chillies floating in them. Service was ok. Some South Londoners aren’t going to be happy but I’m ranking it lower down on my list.
15. F Cooke
📍Hoxton. The shop only dates back to 1987, but the original F Cooke which was just off Brick Lane was established all the way back in 1862, making it the oldest eel and pie house in London. At their height, the family business had twelve shops across city, but now only the Hoxton location remains, along with two newer ones in Essex. I remember visiting the Broadway Market one but it closed in 2019. Robert Cooke, the founder, and grandfather of the current owner, was the first person to pair a minced beef and kidney pie with mash potato and liquor. It quickly became a success and spread across East, North and South London. The pies here are a little drier inside and don’t have the same brown gravy you’d find in others.
16. Cockney’s of Croydon
📍Croydon. Despite the name, it’s nothing to do with Cockney’s on Portobello Road. Despite only being thirty or so years old it’s a beautiful looking shop. I love the signage, wooden benches, marble table tops, and white tiles. I’m a fan of the re-purposed Jack Daniel’s bottles for the vinegar and chilli vinegar too. It is however a little disappointing they ruin the traditional look and feel by serving on green plates instead of classic white. I’m not sure what they were thinking there. The pastry on the pies were good. A little on thicker side. The filling was on the drier side like other South London pie & mash shops (Arment’s & Manze’s Deptford) with no gravy at all. Some people prefer it like that but I’m always going to lean towards a pie with a gravy filling myself. The liquor was very pale although a decent thickness.
17. Goddard’s
📍Greenwich. Goddard’s is one of the oldest shops on the list dating back to 1890. I heard pretty mixed opinions on this place and I can see why. The pie quality is definitely better than most other spots – they’re also larger and filed with more meat. The chilli vinegar, which is very good, is actually made with real vinegar too – at a lot of the other pie & mash shops they appear to be using non-brewed condiment now (as they do at most chippies now too). On the downside, the place is full of tourists with rucksacks so it doesn’t have that nice local community vibe to it. Also I don’t like the fact that they offer nine different types of pie as well as the option of gravy instead of liquor – it’s not traditional at all. I respect the ones who stick to their guns and don’t break tradition just a little bit more.
18. Millers Pie & Mash
📍Belvedere. Ticking off the final few pie & mash shops I haven’t been to yet and they’re all in places I’ve never been before in deep South East London. I can’t find much about the history of this place online. Asked for two pies, ended up with one. Watch the reel here.
19. Lawrance’s Pie & Mash
📍Eascote. Watch the reel here.
20. Golden Pie
📍Batersea. Established in 2011 by a Lebanese man who previously worked for 22 years at F Cooke in Shepherds Bush before it closed down and decided to carry on making pie & mash himself. The pies here are good. The pastry is nice, crispy tops, soft bottoms and they’re filled with a rich beef mince in gravy. The liquor is thick and a nice colour too. I’m never a fan of a bowl over a plate but at least it’s white. Golden Pie may not have the charm of some of the older looking spots with their tiled walls and marble table tops (it looks a little more like a greasy spoon) but the pies are good.
21. Manze’s Depford
📍Deptford. Established in 1914. Surprisingly not related with M. Manze in Peckham and Tower Bridge Road. In two weeks time they close their doors for good. The lease is up and owner of the property is selling. Don’t feel too sad though as the bloke who runs the place said he can’t wait to get rid and scoffed at new customers like me coming in the final weeks. It’s a beautiful shop, especially the front, but the pie it’s isn’t ranking above the others I’ve been to so far. The liquor is a much paler colour too. Yes, pie and mash isn’t the most exciting dish, but it’s part of London’s history, and some of these spots are beautiful. Support them whilst you can.
22. Scott’s
📍Orpington & Cotmandene.
23. Flo’s Pie & Mash
📍Crayford. Two pie, single mash at Flo’s in Crayford. This is the 24th London pie & mash shop I’ve been to now. Flo’s is one of the newer shops being only 11 or so years old. They now have three shops two in London and one in Folkstone. You may have seen people trying the 12 pie challenge here. The pies are crispy on top but quite undercooked below. There wasn’t a lot of meat inside compared to other pie shops. Service was friendly. Watch the reel here.
24. Heath Pie & Mash
📍Dagenham. Heath Pie & Mash in Dagenham (just a few doors down from one of my favourite chippies, The Golden Fish). This shop has been in the same family for 73 years and I think it was around for a year before that which means it was established around 1952. I’m a big fan of the old English font outside. A double pie & mash was only £7.80.
25. Brooke Pie & Mash
📍Dagenham. The pies were good – a little dry but the beef was a good dark brown and rich in flavour.
26. Hughes’s Pie & Mash
📍Ruislip. Established in 2021 during the days of social distancing. This is probably the furthest west you’ll find a pie, mash and liquor. It isn’t as pretty as the old pie & mash shops you’ll find in East and South London but the pies are solid – nice crispy tops, with soft bottoms and a rich gravy mince. The liquor has a strong parsley flavour too.
27. Bush Pie & Mash
📍Shepherd’s Bush. Bush Pie and Mash, Shepherd’s Bush. A lot of people in the area grew up eating pie & mash at F Cooke in Shepherd’s Bush Market (as well two other pie & mash shops that are now gone) but in 2015 it closed down. This left a gap in the market. Bush Pie and Mash started on an estate near Loftus Road but in 2021 opened up this shop on Uxbridge Road. It’s supposed to be heaving on QPR game days. I just went for a single pie & mash. The pie was a good size and the filling had a dark gravy. The liquor was a little thinner than I prefer. Like Barney’s in Walthamstow, it’s good to see a new pie & mash shop doing so well.
28. Harrington’s
📍Tooting Broadway. Harrington’s (est 1908), Tooting Broadway. As far as I know this is one of only three pie & mash shops in South West London (the other being an M. Manze in Sutton and Golden Pie in Clapham). The property is currently up for sale so they could close any month now. Out of the traditional London pie & mash shops they serve the softest pies I’ve had so far. It’s a welcome change compared to the tough pies I had at S & R Kelly yesterday, but I definitely prefer a slightly crispy top. The liquor was paler in colour but nice thickness and flavour, and the pie filling had a nice dark brown colour. It was served in a bowl instead of a traditional plate. I’m not sure how long ago they refurbished but I definitely preferred the original look & feel to how it is now (see slide 4 & 5 for old pics). The owners are friendly and I’m sure for locals it’s a shame to see it go.
29. S & R Kelly & Sons
📍Bethnal Green. S & R Kelly & Sons, Bethnal Green Road (a minute walk from E Pellicci). This pie & mash shop dates all the way back to 1915. Surprisingly the owners aren’t related to the famous G Kelly on Roman Road. As far as the pie & mash went it wasn’t one of my favourites. The pastry was a little too tough and hard to break with the spoon, the meat filling was a little light, and the liquor was thin.
James Dimitri 