F Cooke Pie & Mash Hoxton

"Nostalgia is a powerful thing and given this was the location of our first pie and mash experience, there is a degree of bias. However F Cooke’s spoonfuls of mash, mince, and liquor still hold up as the best. The pastry is the star (a well-browned top with a soft suet bottom that’s begging to be doused in vinegar), and the beef mince is decidedly meaty. The mash could well be a useful stand-in were you thinking of relaying your driveway anytime soon. Lunchtime is always appreciated in this bright and homely, marble-topped room." - jake missing

"F Cooke’s Broadway Market location stood for 120 years before closing and turning into a glasses shop that purports to offer ‘HOT JELLIED EELS’. Thankfully, its Hoxton sibling hasn’t fallen to this decidedly east London fate yet. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and given this was the location of our first pie and mash experience, there is a degree of bias. However F Cooke’s spoonfuls of mash, mince, and liquor still hold up as the best. The pastry is the star (a well-browned top with a soft suet bottom that’s begging to be doused in vinegar), though the beef mince is decidedly meaty. And the mash could well be a useful stand-in were you thinking of relaying your driveway anytime soon. Lunchtime is always appreciated in this bright and homely, marble-topped room. " - Jake Missing

"Opened in 1987, the Hoxton shop is the newest in the family’s East End empire, joining Broadway Market and Dalston, the latter already closed. While the space is relatively new, the recipe adheres to age-old tradition, with everything prepared on-site. Beef is butchered and minced in house, both sets of pastry dough are also prepared by the family: a thick suet base is utilised to hold the meat and gravy, topped with a short crust lid. Vegetarian pies are also available and cooked to order — made with vegetable suet pastry — yet gravy remains frowned upon. The liquor here is also thicker than typical, soupy in consistency and gloriously herbed." - Jonathan Hatchman