Bush Pie and Mash is burning a bright beacon for the West London Pie and Mash scene since opening in 2021. The club’s first official visit came at the end of April ’22, under sullen skies and grumpy, grime laden gusts straight out of Acton.

Gathering outside its bright blue premises at 13.11, our critical mass reached eight, and in a remarkable turn of events we were advised to return at 14.00 when the requisite tableage would be available. Unprecedented appetisers were imbibed a few short minutes away at the Coningham Arms [pronounced ‘Cunningham’] – an authentic, unreformed boozer.

At 14.00 orders were placed at the counter of 191D, whose compact interior is tastefully illumined in the modern ‘retro’ style. Our dinner ladies were Marylou and Fiona.

Of note on the menu board was the special ‘Ivy’s Eel Deal’ – pie, mash, liquor, ‘or with eels’, jelly and ice cream for £10.

Reuben Diaz, Paul Gale, Alan Smith and Linda Jones  – in trademark liquor cardigan – occupied one of two aft tables.

The grub was dispatched from the basement kitchen by dumb waiter and delivered to the marble-tops, whence it was attacked with alacrity.

Vikki Cole Richardson takes in the steam. 

Vikki ventured to join us in spite of recent bereavement, as ‘Bush’ is most local to her; hopefully the food and company was sufficiently heartwarming and mind-diverting in the circumstances.

Diaz looked dazed – but not confused.

The zenith view of pie and mash. These are vehicles upholstered in a rich pastry shortcrust.

The milieu was enriched yet further by John Holdsworth esq, friend of Doug and newbie to the world of p-n-m. His cutlery handling pointed to more refined tastes . . .

[Far right]  ‘Phwoar!’ as Kenneth Connor would say.

There was much to discuss and digest.

The Bush frontage – note the sliding takeaway window. Your key URL’s:

bushpieandmash.co.uk
@bushpieandmash

A Burberry baseball hat is recommended headgear if you’re beating about the Bush. Accessorise with a Burberry baseball bat – and ball.

This sponge confection, topped with hundreds and thousands, is described as ‘school pudding’ in some quarters.

It wasn’t for me, so I took the opportunity to slip below deck and meet the brains [and brawn] behind this endeavour. They are Carly and Dave, pictured here. It was a pleasure to meet fellow travellers on the pie and mash trail – much of their spare time has been spent sampling the fare of other shops, providing valuable intel into what makes the perfect pie and mash experience. 

[Far right] Fiona, Marylou and Carly. ‘Ivy’s Eel Deal’ is named after Carly’s gran.

The Bush Pie Shop started life in a church hall on QPR match days, and the choice of these premises was the result of long deliberation – even Hughes considered 191D before settling in Ruislip. I reckon the Bush Pie embodies the experience and know-how of its proprietors – theirs is a well crafted, tasty and substantial pie designed to keep the punters coming back for more.

Back to the Coningham for afters. Over tables which looked remarkably similar to the ones we’d just left, the talk turned to music, as John recalled his glory days in niche pop group Parsley and the Herbs – notable more for their home-made Star Trek outfits than genre-busting musical output. Savoury rock? Well, the conversation was to savour as we digested the output from a notable new addition to the Pie and Mash directory – one that’s putting the ‘West London flavour’ back on the map.

Pies and pints definitely worthy of a 15-minute hike from Shepherds Bush Station.

St@