Bermondsey Pie Shop Since 1902, Late Saturdays: M. Manze

M. Manze, at 87 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 4TW, has served pie, mash and eels from the same room since Michele Manze bought it in 1902, and the family calls it the oldest eel and pie shop still in business. It opens at 10:30am Monday to Thursday and 10am on Friday and Saturday, with a short Sunday window from 11am. The shop sits about a mile south of Tower Bridge, a few hundred metres north of the Old Kent Road, so a pie shop near me search anywhere in Bermondsey should end at this tiled counter.

According to the family's own history, the shop was first established in 1891 by Robert Cooke and bought in 1902 by Michele Manze, who had arrived in Britain from Ravello on the Amalfi coast in 1878, aged three. The Manzes first traded next door at number 85 as ice merchants and then ice cream makers before turning to pie, mash and eels. Back then the address was 87 Bermondsey New Road, because Tower Bridge had not yet been built.

Michele went on to open further shops, and by 1930 there were 14 eel and pie houses in London carrying the Manze name. He died in 1932 and his son Lionel ran the survivors. During the war the building next door was bombed and the front of this shop was sucked out by the blast, yet trade continued. Since May 2019 Emma, daughter of Richard Manze, and her husband Tom have run the business as its fourth family generation.

The pies are baked fresh every day. Pastry is made and rolled by hand, the beef is minced on site from prime cuts with no other meats or offal, and a little gravy goes in before the lid. The trays then go into traditional stone ovens. Order a single pie and mash for a light lunch, or double up on pies if you have walked from the river, and take your plate to one of the long marble-topped tables.

The liquor is the house signature. Manze describes it as uniquely different from any other pie and mash shop because it contains a special, secret ingredient, so do not expect the staff to tell you what it is. Pour it over both pie and mash, then add salt, pepper and a splash of chilli vinegar. Ask at the counter about the vegan pie made with soya mince if someone in your group skips meat.

Eels arrive fresh and are cooked on the premises. Stewed eels are made on the day and served hot in liquor, while jellied eels are cooked in advance so the jelly can set in the fridge. Be honest with yourself here: jellied eels are cold, bony and an acquired taste, and a first-timer is usually happier with a second pie. Order a small portion of stewed eels to share if curiosity wins.

The Tower Bridge Road shop opens Monday to Thursday 10:30am to 5:45pm, Friday 10am to 6:45pm, Saturday 10am to 7:45pm, and Sunday 11am to 2:45pm. From Monday to Saturday takeaway is available for up to 15 minutes after closing, which is useful if you are running late from the bridge. Saturday is the long day, open until 7:45pm, so an early evening visit is the easiest way to avoid the lunchtime crowd.

Sunday is short, under four hours, and draws families, football fans and locals who treat it as their weekly fix, so arrive near opening if you want a seat. Service is quick and counter based: order, pay, carry your plate, and clear the table for the next person when you finish. If you are driving, the shop advises parking on the right of Tower Bridge Road on pay and display, and warns that turning left puts you in the congestion charge zone.

The room has been used as a set for films and adverts, appeared in the video for Elton John's single Made in England, and hosted Rick Stein for his Food Heroes series. The photographer Chris Clunn shot it for a series called Eels, Pie and Mash that was shown at the Museum of London. Footballers including Rio Ferdinand have eaten here, and the broadcaster Danny Baker is named as a regular on the shop's own list.

None of that changes how the room works. Manze calls pie and mash the original fast food takeaway, and the counter still runs that way, with plates handed over in moments and tables turning steadily through lunch. The tiles, marble and mirrors make it feel like a period piece, but it is a working canteen first. The shop even shows a photo of comedian Rob Beckett bringing Jamie Laing here to try what it calls the food of the gods.

On a cold October or November afternoon a hot pie under liquor is about as warming as London food gets, and pie and mash keeps well enough to carry. If every bench is taken, take a pie to go and eat it in Bermondsey Square. If you find yourself here on a Sunday afternoon after 2:45pm, the Goddards at Greenwich pie and mash house is open later, a short train ride east beside Greenwich Market.

Combine the meal with a loop through Bermondsey. Walk north along Tower Bridge Road towards the bridge itself, then cut west onto Bermondsey Street, lined with galleries, cafés and the Fashion and Textile Museum. On weekends the railway arches of Maltby Street Market fill with food stalls, which makes a good pudding stop after a savoury pie. Finish at the river by Tower Bridge for the view back towards the City.

Address: M. Manze, 87 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 4TW. Hours: Monday to Thursday 10:30am to 5:45pm, Friday 10am to 6:45pm, Saturday 10am to 7:45pm, Sunday 11am to 2:45pm, with takeaway up to 15 minutes after closing Monday to Saturday. The shop is about a mile south of Tower Bridge. Hot delivery runs through Just Eat and Deliveroo in select areas, and chilled pie, mash and liquor can be posted anywhere in the UK through the Manze website.

Open the Karpo APP to pin M. Manze next to Tower Bridge and Maltby Street, so your Bermondsey afternoon runs from bridge to bench to market without backtracking.