25 signatures reached
To: Urgent action needed to save one of London’s best loved traditional Pie’n’Mash shops, ‘Cockneys’ on Portobello Road from closing after its landlord is demanding a rent hike from £31,500 to £64,000 a year.
Save 'Cockneys' Pie'n'Mash shop OK!
This is a stark example of the hyper gentrification squeezing out traditional food businesses and destroying the character of local communities across the Capital.
Sign our petition to demand the landlord reconsiders its unreasonable demand and provide a sensible and sustainable rent review for a long-standing business that represents a vital and threatened part of London’s culture and working people’s heritage.
Call for support from local government and all public bodies to support this protest along with addressing the wider implications of hyper-gentrification in London today.
Find out more about protecting the future of Pie’n’Mash at the Modern Cockney Festival website www.moderncockneyfestival.org.uk
Act now to stop the traditions that make London special disappear
Why is this important?
Pie’n’Mash Is London’s original fast food, a defining emblem of Cockney and London identity and heritage
These traditional shops face challenges of falling High Street footfalls, rising costs, intense competition from international global fast-food chains, and finger‑friendly takeaway options.
Yet these shops offer:
• Quality, artisan, hand-crafted food, often freshly made on the premises.
• Cultural heritage dating back over 140 years with an iconic association with Cockney culture
• A fiercely loyal and passionate fan base, including more than 50,000 online supporters
• Producers who care about their product, traditions, and communities, many with a family heritage spanning up to four generations.
Comedian Rob Beckett shares his passion for the food in the recently published ‘Pie’n’Mash futures’ report writing, “Enjoying Pie’n’Mash is now a way for me to remember who I am, and where I’m from, it goes back to not just my roots, but my family's before me. It has a history and a heritage that's almost unique in London now. Let’s ensure future generations can enjoy the same privilege.”
Food historian, Professor Rebecca Earle of the University of Warwick commented in the report, “Dishes from curry to fish and chips, have their roots in the cuisines and cultures of peoples from elsewhere. Pie’n’mash likewise, emerged from this fusion of cultures, from Ireland, Italy, Britain, and beyond. These foods are history on a plate.”
( Copies of the ‘Pie’n’Mash futures’ report can be obtained from the National Pie’n’Mash Week website https://www.nationalpiemashweek.org.uk/march2026 from www.moderncockneyfestival.org.uk )
'Cockney’s' in Portobello Road is run by Ruth Phillips and her son Billy. Ruth started the business over 42 years ago by refitting a former laundrette.
Born and raised on the Portobello Road, she had her first Pie’n’Mash aged about three in Smart’s Pie’n’Mash shop (aka Renee’s) in the Goldborne Road - sadly, now closed down. With a mother-in-law who made the pies in a local Cooke’s, she learnt the traditional recipes and skills to set up her own shop.
The shop exudes the traditions of Pie’n’Mash shops with its tiled interiors, no nonsense menu, and great value food.
The shop exudes the traditions of Pie’n’Mash shops with its tiled interiors, no nonsense menu, and great value food.
