Tyla Fergusson-Platt and Rhyia Clark embark on a perilous adventure to visit every stop on the Northern Line. They will be deep diving on one unique location at each area, bringing you a comprehensive look at the best places to see on the Northern Line.

Kentish Town, the unloved sibling of Camden, desperately trying to match its sister’s je ne sais quoi coolness…

In Kentish Town we uncharacteristically broke protocol. Instead of wandering around aimlessly like Danny Dyer after he’s been told that reality is an illusion, we went for the lazy option. We needed something that showcased the true London, away from the tacky beefeaters and homogenous pub grub.

We decided on a typical London staple. Pie and Mash.

The cultural institution that is the Pie and Mash shop is fast becoming a relic of the past. This vital link to London’s roots is disappearing. Today just 41 remain. At Deep Travel we are passionate about keeping these rare English cultural links alive and well.

Pie and Mash with the famed ‘liquor’ sauce

Pie and Mash with ‘Liquor’ sauce

As I queued for my hearty plate of carbs, I was engrossed in the menu before my eyes. It was sparse compared to most places but the introduction of one ingredient made my stomach turn. Eels. Jellied Eels. It was the human cat food of the Dickensian era that had somehow survived two World Wars and 21 seasons of Big Brother. The choices were endless; Eels with Pie, Eels with mash or if you’re feeling particularly adventurous Eels with Pie and Mash.

I settled for no Eels, but did venture for the Pie and Mash. I also went for the traditional ‘liquor’ sauce which is a now simple Parsley sauce; however historically it was sourced from stewed Eels. It is a well-worn stereotype of English food that it is bland and tasteless compared to our continental cousins, until now I hadn’t fully understood it. The menu clearly hadn’t changed from 1955. The mash tasted like carbon and the parsley sauce had an anaemic quality that lingers in your mouth slightly too long.

The pie however was a hidden gem and well worth a visit to experience an authentic London dish. The decor inside hasn’t changed in many decades, but this is the appealing quality of Castle’s Pie and Mash. It is a time capsule into another world that no longer exists.

Castles Pie and Mash – a time-capsule into another world

Meeting Kentish Town Locals

‘Kentish has always been a place that has tried to do something but then just fails basically.’

Selena was full of love for the area of Kentish Town and Castle’s Pie and Mash. So much so that this was the first time she had stepped foot in the iconic shop in her 42 years of living there.

‘I saw it walking past everyday, like in passing. I’d always wave to Anne (her neighbour and owner of Castles) and say hi but I’d never go in. I’d just wave and carry on.’

Selena was a stranger that Rhyia had negotiated to share the only available table with. In some weird, strange coincidence we were there to witness her very first time in the local establishment. She was obviously very disappointed at the bland mashed potato and anaemic ‘liquor’ sauce that was served to her, scoring the dish a mediocre 5/10.

She was far more evocative of her time in Camden, recalling a raucous 90’s nights out with Britpop artists. Selena told of how Marathon chip shop played host to Oasis boozy afters, with band members casually sitting playing guitar.

We left Castles Pie and Mash feeling like we’d just travelled back to the 1950’s. Although the mash could do with some work we both felt that it was a unique, worthwhile experience to peek inside this forgotten world.