Pie and mash: London tradition faces closures even as interest revives

London’s pie and mash shops, once numbering in the hundreds, now total just more than 30 and are experiencing a tentative revival even as closures continue, the Guardian reports. The Washington Post has said the dish is “making a surprise comeback”, fuelled in part by social media interest and younger customers.

Behind the flurry of enthusiasm sits a longer decline: the Pie and Mash Club lists five closures in Greater London in 2025 alone, including a Manze’s branch in Deptford that shut after more than a century. At the same time a few new shops have opened in recent years, such as Barney’s in Walthamstow (2018) and Bush Pie & Mash acquiring premises in 2021 to fill a gap left by a 2015 closure.

Observers point to competing trends. Food blogger James Dimitri says some shops “are packed at lunchtimes” while others feel “kind of dying”; Jonathan Nunn, co-editor of Vittles, says the trade’s insularity and arcane ordering rituals make it harder to induct new customers. Social media and influencers have also brought attention: M Manze’s in Bermondsey and Goddards at Greenwich have reported busy weekends, and proprietors note visits from TikTok and YouTube creators.

At BJ’s Pie and Mash in Plaistow, proprietor Nathan Jacobi highlights practical pressures and choices: a “CASH ONLY” sign is displayed, the shop offers chips fried in beef dripping as well as mash, and Jacobi describes intensive preparation routines (mincing meat and starting work early).

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