We were surprised to see Castle’s Pie & Mash, just up near the Lemongrass restaurant on Royal College Street, listed as #3 in the Observer’s Top 40 restaurants the other day – and recommended by no less a (local) legend than Giorgio Locatelli himself.
“You might think it odd for an Italian to pick a traditional pie and mash shop,” he was quoted as saying, “but believe it or not Castle’s reminds me a lot of the sort of places I went with my dad when I was growing up in Lombardy. They do just one thing and they do it brilliantly.”
But did you know that the cafe has been around since the 1934, making it one of Camden’s oldest eating institutions? And as it had been a few years since we last ate there, we popped by for lunch on the Friday lunchtime before the May bank holiday.
You can forget any notions of tourists crowding the small space: the queue, which snaked out onto the pavement, was all (presumably longterm) regulars. You might even call the interior ‘vintage’, with its fixed plastic orange seating and Formica counter.
The menu is short, and attractively displayed behind the counter: there’s pie and mash (£4.65, eat-in) or two pies and mash (£7.35). Chuck in some jellied eels and you’re looking at £9. It’s even cheaper to take it away. Need a hot drink? Cups of coffee are a winning 70p, tea 50p, a mug just 80p. All prices that are quite unbelievable for NW1.
We ordered the signature: the mash was creamy, the pie golden brown and lightly flaky, the meat rich and tasty. A light green liquor pooled the plate, adding just a hint of parsley to the flavour.
Meanwhile, lively chatter echoed around us, the café so popular on a chilly afternoon that even the outside tables had been snapped up too.
Oh, and next time? We’ll be back for those eels.
Article and prices updated October 2021.
