#406 Goddards

It was with great glee that I came upon the realisation today that even though I'd moved to East Dulwich, I could still walk to Greenwich for a pie.

Visiting Goddards for a modestly priced meal, covered in thick brown gravy had been one of the few simple pleasures I'd enjoyed while living on the island. The fact that there was so little else to miss about it seemed to heighten the significance of visiting Greenwich. So I decided to walk there and back. It was still perfectly possible. It would just take three hours.

It was when I originally lived in Dulwich that I'd first journeyed east to Greenwich by train and discovered the old pie shop, complete with liquor, eels and staff who called their customers nothing but 'luv' or 'darlin' in their thick London accents. Any restaurant that wasn't a chain, a Chinese, a chicken shop or a chippie was worth a visit.

Then there was its history. Goddard's had been serving pies since 1890, ten years before the founder of McDonald's was even born. Back then there'd been about a hundred pie shops dotted around the city. A few others of them still survive today. Relics of an all but forgotten period before fast food grew into a global menace.

The menu hadn't changed unforgivably during the last hundred years but several modern options, along with the odd beer had found their way onto the old wooden shelves behind the counter. As well as the pies themselves, the restaurant served a small selection of desserts, which I'd yet to try. 

I ordered a steak and ale pie with mash and beans, which I found to be quite filling. I'd been meaning to try the bread and butter pudding. It was going to have to wait for another day. But not too long though. I'd be back there soon enough.