Exploring Iconic Pie and Mash Shops in London

As traditional as black cabs and complaining about the weather, pie and mash shops have been a staple of London since the mid-1800s. Considered the original fast food, London’s pie and mash shops began life by serving quick, inexpensive and sustaining meals to working-class Londoners, predominantly in London’s East End. By the end of the 1930s, there were as many as 150 pie shops in London, but as many working-class Londoners continued to move out to the suburbs, the number of shops waned significantly. Today, the number of traditional pie and mash shops with a London postcode has reduced to around 20.

As has been customary for centuries, the remaining traditional pie and mash shops specialise in just one meal, comprising minced beef pies with flaky lids and suet-enriched pastry bottoms, simple mashed potato and liquor – a vivid green parsley sauce demanding to be irrigated with chilli-infused vinegar, which you’ll find on the tables. All the establishments compiled below are essential visits for an authentic taste of traditional pie, mash and liquor: a true London institution.

M.Manze Tower Bridge Road

First opened in 1902, M.Manze (colloquially known as Manze’s) on Tower Bridge Road is London’s oldest remaining pie and mash shop. It is arguably the most visually striking, with its gleaming green and white tiles, marble surfaces and dark wood pew seating. Manze’s also serves some of the best pie and mash in London. The pies are generously filled with minced beef and deep brown gravy, with a suet pastry base and rough puff lid; the mash is smooth and scraped onto the side of the plate, and the liquor has a good texture and depth of parsley flavour, even better when doused with chilli vinegar.

Address: 87 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 4TW

Harringtons, Tooting

A short walk from Tooting Broadway, Harringtons has been operating as a family business since 1908. Today the pie, mash, and liquor are prepared to the same recipe as over 100 years ago, but in 2018 the shop underwent a refurb to modernise the interiors, which has taken away some of the classic pie and mash shop charm. As for the food, the pies are made to an excellent standard, but the liquor is often thickened too heavily with cornflour. Nonetheless, Harringtons is still worth visiting if you’re in the area.

Address: 3 Selkirk Road, London SW17 0ER

Maureen’s

Maureen’s has been a staple of Chrisp Street Market in Poplar for over 60 years. The shop originally operated from a site at the other end of the market, so the newer shop has less traditional interiors, although it’s clean and spacious, serving outstanding pie, mash and liquor at some of the city’s most competitive prices. The pies are filled with beef that’s minced on-site each morning, soaked with a thick, rich gravy; the mashed potato is whipped into a smooth puree, and the liquor has a deeper flavour than most, with a dark green complexion from all of the fresh parsley. Maureen’s was also one of the first shops to offer nationwide delivery during the first national lockdown in 2020, which is still available today.

Address: 6 Market Square, London E14 6AH

Cockney’s Pie & Mash, Notting Hill

During pie and mash’s heyday, south and East London were home to the vast majority of shops, especially popular amongst the working-class locals. As such, pie and mash rarely made it over to west London. One of the best examples, A. Cooke in Shepherd’s Bush, closed down in 2015, but Cockney’s at the Ladbroke Grove end of Portobello Road is still going. Cockney’s is a relative newcomer, but the food served is very authentic. The pies have a suet base and contrasting flaky crust, generously loaded with minced beef and gravy, served in china bowls to accommodate plenty of liquor.

Address: 314 Portobello Road, London W10 5RU

G. Kelly, Roman Road

One of East London’s oldest remaining pie and mash shops, G. Kelly re-opened in 2019 following a two-year refurbishment project. Having restored some of the original fittings from when the shop first opened in 1939, the space has been refreshed but retains the white tiles, framed black and white photos, marble table tops and warm globe lighting. As for the food, very little has changed over the years besides introducing a trendy vegan pie, while very high-quality beef is used in the pies, which makes all the difference to the overall dish. Alongside jellied and stewed eels, a selection of fresh seafood is also offered at weekends.

Address: 526 Roman Road, Old Ford, London E3 5ES

Robin’s, Chingford

Robins Pie and Mash is well-known for its ready meals, available in various shops around London and Essex, but visiting one of the shops for pie and mash promises an infinitely better experience. With five shops around the outskirts of London and in Essex, Robins has been serving exemplary pie, mash and liquor since 1929. The Chingford shop is no exception, with the pies being incredibly delicious here. Moreover, if you’re after something a little different, poached salmon is also offered as an alternative, served with mash and liquor.

Address: 50 Station Road, London E4 7BE

M.Manze, Peckham

From the same owners as the Tower Bridge Road shop, the Peckham branch of Manze’s opened in 1927. If you can only visit one, the Bermondsey original is an absolute essential, but the actual pie and mash here is arguably marginally better. In theory, the recipes used by both shops are the same, but the Peckham shop is slightly more consistent when it comes to food being served at a good temperature and the liquor being at its optimum level of thickness. The service is also slightly warmer here, but the interiors are somewhat less breathtaking.

Address: 105 Peckham High Street, London SE15 5RS

Castle’s, Camden

Just around the corner from Camden Road Overground, Castle’s has been operating from its current site since 1934, and it’s unlikely that much has changed over the past 90 years. Inside, the wood panelling, Formica tables and burnt umber fixed plastic seating give the space an aesthetic more in keeping with classic British caffs, but Castle’s is very much a traditional pie and mash shop. The mash and liquor are beyond fine, but it’s the pies that are the main draw here, with customers regularly queuing outside the small shop.

Address: 229 Royal College Street, London NW1 9LT

F. Cooke, Hoxton

One of the most famous families in pie and mash, the Cooke family have run shops in London since 1862, with the first shop opened by Robert Cooke, just off Brick Lane. Until fairly recently, there were two remaining Cooke’s pie and mash shops in London: on Broadway Market and in Hoxton. The Broadway Market shop, which was the oldest, closed down in 2019. However, the Hoxton site still operates today, established in 1987 and run by Joe Cooke. Here, the pies are unusually large and generously filled, while the liquor is also of note. It is soupier than other shops on the list and rampant with fresh parsley, giving the sauce a profound depth of flavour.

Address: 150 Hoxton Street, London N1 6SH

B.J’s Pie & Mash

In addition to being one of the smallest pie and mash shops in London, B.J’s is the only one that also serves chips as an alternative to mash. With communal bench seating and friendly staff, the shop serves pies with desirably well-done lids for additional texture, smooth mash and generously seasoned liquor, with the option to order a side of either jellied or stewed eels. The chips are also delicious and taste typically home-cooked, if you really must.

Address: 330 Barking Road, London E13 8HL

Noted Eel & Pie House, Leytonstone

Very little has changed at this shop since the owners of Noted Eel & Pie House relocated to Leytonstone during the 1970s, although vegan pies are now available, made using soya mince. The décor is pleasing retro with its white tiles and rickety red benches, as are the prices. The pies are a little smaller than typical, and the pastry is occasionally somewhat anaemic, but the filling is delicious, with its Scotch beef and appetising gravy, while the liquor has a good depth of flavour and texture.

Address: 481a High Road Leytonstone, London E11 4JU

Arments, Walworth

Just around the corner from East Street Market, Arments is another south London institution, and one of only a few still open south of the river. The family has been serving pie and mash since 1914, and this particular Westmoreland Road shop has been operating since the mid-20th Century. One of the city’s most competitively priced pie and mash offerings, Arments’ pies have excellent pastry, but the meat filling can be somewhat grey on bad days, occasionally lacklustre, yet the shop remains an important pillar of London’s pie and mash culture. Arments also serves vegan pies of note, more generously seasoned than the traditional beef versions, loaded with soya mince and chunks of carrot.

Address: Pie House, 7-9 Westmoreland Road, London SE17 2AX