112 Years of Jellied Eels

Manze’s eel, pie and mash shop has stood on this site on Tower Bridge Road since 1902, except for the fact that Tower Bridge hadn’t been built then so the road had a different name.

Manzes Tower Bridge ©Stuart Freedman

And despite the fact that everything around this little café has suffered at the hands of bridge building, a couple of world wars and the recent march of urban gentrification; Manze’s remains, refusing to succumb to the passing of time.

Pie, mash and liquor (parsley sauce) costs £2.85, unless you want a double portion, in which case you need to stump up about a fiver.

But it’s not really the food you come for. By all means, do eat the mash and devour the tasty pies but much more importantly, drink deeply in the culture that surrounds you. People have been eating what you’re eating, and sitting on that dark-wood pew where you’re sitting for over a century.

Chew on that for a moment.

Ben Mason
Head of Community UK
@benmason