Arments

I has been since 1992 that I first had Arments pie and mash with eel liquor and a side of stewed eels. I still think about that first time, better than losing my virginity. It is fabulous. If you are a fussbudget, someone concerned about calories or décor or the hipster factor (actually, I suspect that London hipsters probably plague this place now), do not go to Arments. If you want the best god damned pie and mash on the planet, go to Arments.

The year was 1985, late 1985, approaching my 1^st birthday I could now eat solid foods and this is where I was wheeled in my push chair on a regular basis. Arments has been a very special place to my family for many years, long before I was created and it is just as special today.
Thanks to the quality of Arments, Pie & Mash is my favourite food in the World and NOBODY does it better than Arments. I’ve eaten in many Pie & Mash shops in and around London, which have ranged from below average to good, but nothing comes close to what you get here. This is real, wholesome, geniune cockney food.
The thought of stewed eels and liquer both confuse and put people off, so I will briedly explain just what it is Arments and other Pie & Mash shops serve.
The Pie = A fully closed meat (lamb I believe) Pie. A traditional Pie & Mash shop such as Arments will have a speciel pie oven that part steams the pies, leaving a soft underbelly and a very crisp outershell. At Arments the meat is solid and generously packed into beautiful tasting pastry.
The Mash = Thick mashed potatoes, made from real potatoes, no freeze dried packet stuff.
The Eels = For those unfamiliar, an eel is a long, ugly, sea snake looking creature found in the sea or fresh water rivers. I belief Arments are the fresh water breed. They are very meaty. You can get your eels stewed (hot) or jellied (cold and incased in the jellyfied juices). They don’t sound great, they don’t look great, but they taste good.
The Liquer (pronounced licker) = I saved the best till last. I’m told liquer is made from the eel stock (it tastes nothing whatsover like eels or fish in general) and parsley. When you by unauthentic Pie & Mash it is just parsley sauce (not the same). It is a bright green, somewhere between thick and runny sauce that is poured over your Pies & Mash or Eels & Mash.
This is another all business establishment (staff still friendly), but you order at the counter, you grab your own cutlery, you take your plate of food, find an empty table, eat and leave straight away.
If you want a real Londoners experience, you don’t get any more real than Arments. It’s a family run business and employs people from the area. You can see into the kitchen and watch a little of the magic happening, but the recipe is secret and it’s the same recipe than has been used for generations.
Best food on the planet.

An old fashioned Pie and Mash shop, still serving cheap, authentic and quick pie, mash and liquor. Make sure you douse your meal in plenty of vinegar, and if you are really brave, try the jellied eels.
The prices are, as you would expect, a bargain. The décor is classic formica tables with a canteen feel, and the service is friendly and efficient. I would imagine the whole experience hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years. It’s a classic London experience, and judging by the popularity when I went it is not one which will be disappearing any time soon.

Let’s name delicious things that come from under the sea: Mahi Mahi, lobster, swordfish, Tuna, seaweed, pineapples, mermaids, mussels, shrimp, Sponge Bob, fried green tomatoes — the list goes
on and on like some boring politician. But, oh! WAIT. I forgot the most important item of all: eel.
Now, being the dumb foreigner I am, I had no idea that eel was a national dish, a food item of unending traditional importance. I didn’t think it was. I was so set in my beliefs. Then, Arments shook up my foundations and made me think otherwise.
Eel mash, eel mince, eel mince pie — Arments is a purveyor in the fine cuisine of eel. I didn’t quite have to heart to try the eel upon my visit, but I was astounded to see the place as busy as the tube at rush hour. It was packed. At every table sat happy people eating eel. I looked at it. Studied it hard. Brown. Chestnut brown. Kinda ooey looking. Kinda not. Sat next to a dollop of mashed potatoes and green stuff (which I think was pea mash), people happily noshed away like they were eating giant bars of the world’s finest chocolate.
The place had a great feel to it — the real local, comforting kind of feel despite is cafeteria-​like style. If people eat caviar, why not eat eel? I am putting «braving the eating of the eel» on my list of things to do. If that many people love it, I have to try it. I’ll just have to strap some courage to my stomach with a metal cage and dig in.

This is a great place to go and eat, set just minutes from the East Street market in London and close to the Classic Old Kent Rd! This place serves up the best pie and mash in the world! The prices here are really cheap and the quailty of the food is amazing. The staff here are really freindly as well! This shop does get very busy on Saturdays when Millwall play at home, so you be prepered for a little wait if you come between 12−2PM. But this is a must if you want real british food.