Words and images: Natália Maria de Oliveira Magalhães
Among the many establishments along the bustling Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey, there is one in particular with the power to transport anyone back to the Victorian era. This is M. Manze, the oldest surviving pie and mash shop in the city, established in 1892. And yes, never call it a restaurant, bar or café – it is a shop.
Its façade is simple, with wooden structures supporting the large glass windows, with the shop’s name painted in gold on a green sign. Stepping through the door, it is impossible not to notice the warm and comforting scent of buttery pastry, well-seasoned beef and mashed potatoes.
The history of M. Manze is deeply intertwined not only with British culinary tradition but also with the story of migration and family enterprise. Its founder, Michele Manze, arrived in Britain from Ravello, a picturesque hillside village in southern Italy, at the age of three in 1878.
His family initially worked as ice merchants and later became ice-cream makers in Bermondsey. But recognising the growing demand for hearty meals in a fast-developing London, Michele eventually opened his first pie and mash shop in 1902, following his marriage to Ada Poole.
Over time, he opened several more shops, including on Southwark Park Road and Peckham High Street, as well as two in Poplar. By 1930, Michele and his brothers had established 14 pie and mash shops across London, all bearing the Manze name.
Although many of these shops have since closed or been taken over, the family legacy remains strong. Michele’s descendants continued the business after his death in 1932, with his son Lionel managing the Tower Bridge Road and Peckham locations, which carry the abbreviated M. in their name.
In the 90s, Lionel’s sons Graham, Geoff and Richard rebuilt the Peckham shop after it had been destroyed in the 1985 riots. A third M. Manze shop was added in Sutton in 1998, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018.
Today, the business is in its fourth generation under the leadership of Michele’s great-granddaughter, Emma Harrington, and her husband Tom.
While there are now only three M. Manze shops in operation (Tower Bridge Road, Peckham and Sutton), the shared family history remains central to their identity.
Inside, the century-old architecture is remarkably well-preserved. The walls, lined with long mirrors and featuring white, green, and occasionally floral tiles, give the space an Art Deco feel. The room is filled with the same marble tables and wooden benches that have been in place since the shop’s opening, along with the counter at the entrance, decorated with portraits of famous figures who have frequented the shop, such as artists Elton John and Roy Orbison, and footballers David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, and Charlie George.
Pie and mash originated in London’s working-class neighbourhoods in the 19th century and, for decades, it was an affordable and nutritious meal for East End workers.
At the time, industrial pollution was worse in the east of the capital, where the working class, known as Cockneys, resided, while the wealthier classes lived in the west.
Savoury pies were already a traditional food, but they became essential when heavy manual labour demanded a meal rich in carbohydrates that was also healthy, nutritious and accessible. Back then, the pies were filled with cheap minced meat, usually mutton, and always served with mashed potatoes and the signature green parsley sauce, known as liquor.
More than 100 years later, the dish remains faithful to its origins, as does the shop’s menu. Even jellied eels are still on the menu for those adventurous enough to try something different. Often associated with pie and mash, eels became a common meal for workers, as they were one of the few types of fish that could survive in the heavily polluted River Thames at the time.
“We’ve had up to five generations of families coming in all together, which is so nice. We’ve got ninety-four year old nans that come now with little babies weaning on pie and mash. It’s just amazing how it’s passed down in generations. It’s a real culture,” says M. Manze’s director, Emma Harrington.
I visit the shop on a Tuesday morning, around 11 a.m. The clientele, once almost exclusively local workers and middle-class families, now reflects the diversity of London. Labourers arrive for a hearty “two and two” – two pies and two portions of mash – sharing space with families, suited professionals and even students seeking a more affordable meal, opting for a “one and one.”
“It’s a fairly cheap meal, but it is for everyone who comes and enjoys it. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. So, yeah, we have our hardcore regulars that live in the local area and also many city workers coming in. There’ll be a table full of people sitting in suits, another with students and so on. It’s a real mix of clientele that we have now,” Emma tells me.
Just then, a father enters the shop with his teenage son and takes a photo of him beside the blue plaque reading “The oldest surviving eel and pie house – First opened in 1892”. Then, the older man turns to one of the women behind the counter, a big smile on his face: “Two pie and mash, please. We came all the way from the United States for this. We’re excited.”
“Tourists have been coming in a lot more in recent years than they ever have—more than likely because of social media, as we also welcome many content creators now. I think tourists watch the videos too and become curious about it. Not too long ago, we had a guy from Australia. He was visiting London and came in because he’d seen a video on YouTube,” Emma says.
She acknowledges that digital influencers have played a key role in growing the shop’s popularity in recent years: “We do get a lot of influencers. I think there’s a story to tell about such a unique product that attracts a lot of engagement. We don’t usually contact them, they all just seem to come to us. I think they’ve either seen another video from a different content creator and want to create their version, or it’s been a request from their followers for them to come here.”
Today, the shop has over 35,000 followers on Instagram. Alongside pictures of the dish and archival images, as well as videos following current social media trends, the profile also promotes their delivery service, which she admits has become essential to the business.
At present, the shop delivers across London, as well as to parts of Kent, Essex and even the Highlands of Scotland.
Most of the menu remains exactly as it was 133 years ago when the shop first opened. Pie and mash are still made the same way, following the original recipe. I opted for the classic one-on-one. The pastry was perfectly golden, the minced beef filling was richly flavoured, and the mash incredibly smooth. All this combined with the iconic green liquor—which I confess didn’t give me the best first impression, but added a fresh, herbaceous depth to the dish.
It is a dish that offers plenty of sustenance, and even the one-on-one was more than enough to keep me satisfied for long hours.
There is a certain comfort in the simplicity of it all – and, perhaps more importantly, in the flavour of something that hasn’t changed for over a century.
The menu now features a vegan pie and split pea soup, as well as desserts like cakes, puddings and gelato. These are family traditions, rediscovered from years past and reintroduced to the menu over the last two decades.
Yet, while some shops have managed to adapt to the times, many have not been so fortunate. In the late 1800s, Greater London had more than 100 pie and mash establishments. By 1995, this number had dropped to 87. By 2024, only 34 remained.
Gentrification has had a significant impact. Where once stood shop fronts with vintage signage from century-old establishments, modern cafés and international restaurants have now taken over – or, in some cases, entirely unrelated businesses, such as the optician that replaced the historic F. Cooke in Hackney in 2023.
There is also the generational factor. Traditional pie and mash shops are essentially family businesses, and, as Emma puts it, “[many shops closed] possibly because they might not have family to pass it on to or their family simply don’t want to continue it.”
Among the closures that have marked recent years, one of the most significant was that of the Manze shop in Deptford, which had been in operation since 1914.
In 2023, the location was granted Grade II listed status by Historic England for its “beautifully preserved interior”, considered a rare example of early 20th-century vernacular food culture. However, in early 2024, owner George Mascall announced his retirement and revealed that no family member was willing to continue the business. It marked the shop’s final day of trading earlier this year, leaving customers and staff alike emotional. “Another piece of history gone,” Mascall told local newspapers.
A growing movement aims to protect pie and mash as part of Britain’s culinary heritage. A proposal has already been presented to Parliament to grant the dish Traditional Specialty Guaranteed status, which, if approved, would place it alongside other British delicacies such as Gloucestershire Old Spots pork and Bramley apple pie.
Legislator Richard Holden, who represents the Basildon and Billericay constituency east of London, told Associated Press that he wants “to celebrate and really promote pie and mash, which has spread out from its beginnings in central and east London, down the Thames Gateway and out into the world. They’re the original fast food.”
For Emma, having the dish recognised with a TSG label would be an important milestone in preserving one of the last authentic symbols of London’s identity: “I think it’d really help to get us on the map a little bit more and make more people aware of it.”
Indeed, for anyone stepping into a traditional pie and mash shop, it is immediately clear that this meal is much more than just food. For some, it is a nostalgic link between generations; for others, it is a curiosity that, who knows, may one day turn into a new tradition.
And despite the vast array of dining options available in London today, Emma is confident that interest in pie and mash will never fade. “Obviously, there’s so many more options now than what they used to be back in the day, but I think it still definitely has its place. And I can’t see it dying out, because it’s not anywhere else in the world. It’s really only in London.”
Featured image by Natália Maria de Oliveira Magalhães.