M.Manze

The main and flagship location of M.Manze is located on Tower Bridge Road in the Bermondsey district of London. It was opened in 1892 by Robert Cooke. Michele Manze, Cooke's son-in-law, bought the restaurant from him in 1902. He and his family had immigrated to Britain from Ravello in Italy in 1878 and worked as ice merchants and ice cream makers. They wanted to offer a more "substantial food", so they turned to selling pie, mash, and eels. Manze continued to open restaurants, including another one in Bermondsey in 1908, which closed by 1932. Two stores that opened in Poplar were destroyed in World War II. Manze opened a location in Peckham in 1927, one of three M.Manze stores still operating. Manze's brothers also opened stores, reaching fourteen Manze restaurants in 1930.

When Michele Manze died in 1932, his son, Lionel, took charge of both shops. The Peckham location was burnt down during the 1985 Brixton riot, starting a legal battle that was not settled until 1995. Lionel died in 1988 and left his three sons, Graham, Geoff, and Richard (Rick), to run the restaurants. The Sutton location opened in 1998. The Islington location of the restaurant, which had been open since 1911 at Chapel Market, became a Grade II listed building under Historic England on 30 September 1994. After years of struggling and low sales, it closed on 30 April 2019.{{Cite web |last=Cumiskey |first=Lucas |date=2019-04-30 |title=M. Manze closes: Chapel Market punters ‘terribly sad’ as historic pie and mash shop closes |url=https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/21227940.m-manze-closes-chapel-market-punters-terribly-sad-historic-pie-mash-shop-closes/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Islington Gazette |language=en |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809055606/https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/21227940.m-manze-closes-chapel-market-punters-terribly-sad-historic-pie-mash-shop-closes/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Coghlan |first=Adam |date=2017-07-27 |title=M. Manze Pie and Mash Shop in Islington Is Closing |url=https://london.eater.com/2017/7/27/16049020/m-manze-pie-and-mash-shop-restaurant-in-islington-is-closing |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Eater London |language=en |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002042127/https://london.eater.com/2017/7/27/16049020/m-manze-pie-and-mash-shop-restaurant-in-islington-is-closing |url-status=live }} It was later replaced by The Beefsteaks in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Hanly |first=Catherine |date=2023-02-14 |title=The Beefsteaks take over the Manze pie shop on Islington's Chapel Market |url=https://www.hot-dinners.com/2023021412125/Gastroblog/Latest-news/the-beefsteaks-chapel-market-manze-islington-london |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Hot Dinners |language=en-gb |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314204740/https://www.hot-dinners.com/2023021412125/Gastroblog/Latest-news/the-beefsteaks-chapel-market-manze-islington-london |url-status=live }} Another Grade II listed building of the Manze brand, in Walthamstow, was opened by Michele's brother Luigi in 1929 and was run by the Manze family until 1970.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Mark |last2=correspondent |first2=arts |date=2013-10-30 |title=Walthamstow pie and mash shop granted listed status |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/oct/30/walthamstow-pie-mash-shop-listed-l-manze |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=The Guardian |language=en-GB |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809055611/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/oct/30/walthamstow-pie-mash-shop-listed-l-manze |url-status=live }} It closed in 2022, from a comination of reduced footfall from the COVID-19 pandemic and a change in demographics.{{Cite web |last=Coghlan |first=Adam |date=2022-03-18 |title=Walthamstow’s Iconic Pie and Mash Shop L. Manze Has Permanently Closed |url=https://london.eater.com/2022/3/18/22981229/l-manze-walthamstow-closing-pie-and-mash-london |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Eater London |language=en |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228233409/https://london.eater.com/2022/3/18/22981229/l-manze-walthamstow-closing-pie-and-mash-london |url-status=live }} It was replaced by a Japanese restaurant, Taro.{{Cite web |last=Akhtar |first=Sharmin |date=2022-07-26 |title=One of London's oldest pie and mash shops to be replaced by Japanese restaurant |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/one-londons-oldest-pie-mash-24592605 |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=MyLondon |language=en |archive-date=21 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921102424/https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/one-londons-oldest-pie-mash-24592605 |url-status=live }} Geoff and Graham both retired in May 2019, causing Rick's daughter Emma and her husband Tom to start working at the restaurant.{{Cite web |title=Official website |url=https://www.manze.co.uk/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |language=en-US |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809055606/https://www.manze.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}

The pies are handmade and are created in the restaurant daily. The crust is filled with minced beef and gravy and covered, then cooked in the oven. A vegan version made with soybeans is also available. The potatoes are then mashed to make the mash. The pie and mash is then served with a variant of parsley sauce called "liquor". The eels are delivered to the shops daily and prepared there.{{Cite web |last=Freedman |first=Stuart |date=2012-06-01 |title=Slip sliding away: The rise and fall of eels |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/slip-sliding-away-the-rise-and-fall-of-eels-7804795.html |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=The Independent |archive-date=20 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520154135/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/slip-sliding-away-the-rise-and-fall-of-eels-7804795.html |url-status=live }} When they are in season, the come from the River Thames, and when they are not, they are imported from Holland.{{Cite web |last=Oppenheim |first=Maya |date=2014-07-03 |title=London's Dining Scene Is Killing Off Jellied Eel Shops |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/londons-jellied-eel-shops-are-disappearing/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Vice |language=en-US |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809055606/https://www.vice.com/en/article/londons-jellied-eel-shops-are-disappearing/ |url-status=live }}

M.Manze works with Just Eat and Deliveroo to supply hot food to customers in London.

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.manze.co.uk/ Official website]

Category:1892 establishments in England

Category:Restaurants established in 1892

Category:Restaurants in London