History

Pie and mash shops opened in east and south London from the 1840s, serving cheap minced-beef pies with mash and a parsley liquor made from the cooking water of jellied eels. F. Cooke (1862), M. Manze (1902 at Tower Bridge Road) and Goddards in Greenwich kept the form unchanged through the twentieth century: heavy ceramic plates, a knife and fork, optional jellied eels on the side. The trade declined as Cockney London moved out post-war; the survivors (G. Kelly on Roman Road, F. Cooke in Hoxton, several Manze's branches) trade as heritage spots in 2026.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes 4 piesHands-on 40 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g beef mince (15% fat)
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 300ml beef stock
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt, pepper
  • For pastry: 200g plain flour, 100g lard or beef suet, 100ml cold water, pinch salt
  • For mash: 800g floury potatoes, 50g butter, 80ml milk
  • For liquor: 30g butter, 20g plain flour, 400ml fish or vegetable stock, large handful chopped parsley, splash white vinegar

Method

  1. Brown onion in a dry pan 5 minutes. Add mince, fry hard 10 minutes until coloured.
  2. Stir in flour, cook 1 minute. Add stock, tomato puree, Worcestershire. Simmer 30 minutes uncovered until thick.
  3. Make pastry: rub lard into flour with salt, add water gradually, knead briefly. Rest 20 minutes.
  4. Heat oven to 200C. Line 4 pie tins (10cm) with pastry. Fill with mince. Top with rolled-out pastry lids, crimp edges, slash steam vents.
  5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until deep gold.
  6. Boil potatoes, mash with butter and milk.
  7. Make liquor: melt butter, stir in flour, cook 1 minute. Whisk in stock until smooth. Add parsley and vinegar, simmer 3 minutes.
  8. Serve a pie upside-down on the plate with mash beside, liquor poured over both.

Tip from the editors. The pie comes out of the tin and onto the plate inverted, pastry-side down; that's the orthodox way at Manze's.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat pie and mash

Pie and mash in London

The Eagle ★ 4.4

Gastropub££clerkenwell

Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning daily-changing food at the bar.

Signature: Bife Ana steak sandwich, Whatever is on the chalkboard

Order: The Bife Ana steak sandwich, on the menu since 1991, and a pint of bitter.

Tip: Walk-in only. The chalkboard menu rewrites every day at 12:00; the best dishes go by 14:00 on a busy lunch.

159 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AL

Quality Chop House ★ 4.6

Modern British£££clerkenwell

The 1869 Farringdon Road working-class dining room in Clerkenwell London, restored under Will Lander since 2012, runs daily-changing British cooking in original Victorian booths.

Signature: Confit potato, Mince and potatoes

Order: The famed confit potato, then mince and potatoes off the daily menu, with a bottle from the shop next door.

Tip: The wine shop next door is corkage-free if you buy a bottle there. Lunch takes walk-ins at the counter Tue-Sat.

92-94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA Book →

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