The year was 1985, late 1985, approaching my 1st 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. read more