Grays Cafe Pie and Mash

Date of visit: 20th Dec 2025
Score: 7/10

I was aware of the existence of this cafe but I did not visit it until recently. I grew up around Grays, moved away in 1993 and moved back in 2013. The cafe opened in 1999. My interest in P&M made me interested in visiting the cafe to see what was going on.

It’s a classic cafe with everything you would expect: all-day breakfasts, roast dinners, burgers and sandwiches. P&M is something they do and have advertised, but it is a sideline for them.

I popped in on the Saturday before Christmas. It was the day after my last working day of the year. And I needed a treat. As always, I ordered the “double double”, two pies and double mash, along with a cup of tea. The pies were presented nicely and the mash potato comes in scoops. At some point we will have to talk about the religious debate of scoop vs scrape but today is not the day.

Also, I was presented with a spoon and a fork. The correct way to eat pie and mash is with a spoon and a fork. Some shops will not even offer knives. So full marks for presentation.

Usual protocol here: turn the pies over and add chilli vinegar to one. The pies and mash were delicious and were very welcome. The pies were big and full of meat. The liquor was very green and felt a little artificial, perhaps dense is the word. The chilli vinegar, though, was not very nice. They make their own and I suspect it doesn’t get used quickly enough.

I asked the assistant about the pies and he told me the cafe sources them from Tony’s in Waltham Abbey, a reputable P&M shop. One that we will have to visit someday.

It cost £10.90 for the P&M and £1.60 for the tea, totalling £12.50. Not outrageous, but not authentic - they are cooking someone else’s pies and warming up the liquor. There’s nothing wrong with this of course and it was very delicious regardless.

So, to score: 1 point off for authenticity, 1 point off for the condiments (chilli vinegar) and 1 point off for taste for the same reason. The rest of the metrics Cost, Presentation and Size were top marks, leading to a final score of 7/10.

I will be coming back to test out their breakfasts for sure.

Grays Cafe Pie and Mash
19 Orsett Rd, Grays RM17 5DS
Tel: 01375398455
Web: cafegrays.co.uk