What Is Pie and Mash? A Guide to London's Traditional Food
A savoury pie, comforting mashed potato and a distinctive green parsley sauce: old-style London comfort food, without the fuss. Here is what to know before your first visit.
What is traditional London pie and mash?
Pie and mash is a hearty meal of a savoury meat pie, commonly filled with minced beef, and mashed potato. In London's traditional pie shops, it is often served with a green parsley sauce called liquor. Eels are part of the dish's wider history, but they are not a required part of a pie-and-mash meal.
It is a focused introduction to a London food tradition, rather than a tasting menu of many different British dishes. Individual shops have their own recipes and menus.
What is the liquor served with pie and mash?
Here, liquor means parsley sauce, not an alcoholic drink. The green sauce accompanies the pie and mashed potato. Arments describes its liquor as parsley sauce and says its current recipe is no longer made with eel juice.
Do not assume that every shop uses the same ingredients. If you have an allergy or dietary requirement, check the current ingredients with the venue before booking or ordering.
A brief history of pie and mash in London
London's pie-and-mash tradition developed through nineteenth-century street food and eel-and-pie houses. It became an everyday, filling meal associated with the city's working life. Historical accounts differ in their details, so there is no need to label one venue the first or the oldest to appreciate the tradition.
Arments dates its own story to 1914. Visiting a traditional shop connects the meal with a living food culture, rather than simply treating it as a historical curiosity.
Trying pie and mash at Arments
Arments Pie & Mash is a family-run shop on Westmoreland Road, London, frequented by locals. Its official food pages describe pies made on site and a menu with steak and vegetarian options. The menu and suitability for individual dietary needs should be checked directly with the venue.
On this experience the meal — pie, mash, parsley liquor and a cup of tea — is included in the price, with an optional jellied eels sharing bowl for the table. Arments is the food venue visited by this experience. Naming the venue does not mean that Arments operates the guided experience or that an official partnership exists.
Make it a guided London food experience
Meet your guide at Borough Underground Station, London (Northern line) for an approximately 2-hour experience. You are collected by vehicle and driven to Arments Pie & Mash, Westmoreland Road, London, a family-run shop where the locals eat, for traditional pie and mash with liquor and a cup of tea — all included, with an optional jellied eels sharing bowl. Then walk to a traditional London pub nearby for one complimentary pint per person. The pub's name is kept secret until the day — part of the fun.
£35 per person, or £30 per person for a booking of 6 or more guests.
Book the pie, mash and pint experience