Italian families fitted out London's best caffs in the years after the war, and Historic England has listed one of them: E. Pellicci in Bethnal Green, whose 1946 interior a customer carved on credit. Maria Pellicci has cooked there every day since 1966.
The caff and the full English.
how it is eaten · Bethnal Green, Westminster, Borough and Bloomsbury
What it is
The plate is fixed and the NYT prints it in full: "a fried egg, a Cumberland
sausage, back bacon, grilled tomatoes, Heinz beans, fried mushrooms and toast
or fried bread", on a plate the size of a hubcap.
4
At E Pellicci a hash brown arrives with it, and Lucas Oakeley reports
the argument about it as live.
2
Around the plate is the room, and Leonie Cooper's definition of the room is
family-run joints which offer a welcome warmer than the toast
.
7
The tea is not a teabag: it comes out of a steel kettle so big the leaves go
in by the cupful.
4
Why it matters here
What the listing protects at E Pellicci is the 1946 fit-out: "a steel capped Formica counter with a framed panel of
'sunburst' marquetry", inside marquetry panelling by Achille Capocci.
1
New materials, plastics and Formica
, gave the postwar caff its look, and in the last years
of the fifties the number of cafes in Britain doubled from a thousand to two
thousand, five hundred of them in Greater London.
1 The
inspectors' own words for what they were saving: "the intact and stylish
Italian cafe that flourished in London in the post-war years".
1
How it is done
Capocci was a customer, not a contractor, and the panelling went up on credit. Nevio Pellicci Jr tells it as a transaction between neighbours: "He'd do a panel, and she'd pay him. Then she'd save up for the next one, he'd make it and she'd pay him again." 3 The primrose-yellow front is Vitrolite, a glass "that hasn't been in production since the late 20th century", so a cracked pane is not a repair anybody can just book. 3 At Regency Cafe the queue is the thing, and Jonathan Nunn's account of it names every step: "the long queue, no matter how much space there is, being addressed as young man or lady no matter your age, your order being bellowed by the voice of the Oracle". 6 Harden's reporters put it less kindly: "the food is OK, but the queuing… are really what makes every visit special!" 10
Who does it
Priamo Pellicci started work in the Bethnal Green cafe in 1900. His wife Elide raised seven children upstairs and ran it after he died in 1931, and she is the E over the door; their son Nevio Senior, born in the rooms above, ran it until 2008. 2 Maria Pellicci heads the business now. 2 Terry's Cafe came out of the meat trade. Terry was a butcher at Smithfield before he opened in 1982, and the room is the only caff in London with its own brand of tea. 7
On the list
best version at
E PellicciOne family has run it since 1900, the 1946 interior is listed, and the fry-up comes with a hash brown whether you asked or not.
“Their full English is loaded with bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, egg, a fried slice, black pudding, and – somewhat controversially – a hash brown.”
Time Out London, Lucas Oakeley, 15 May 2025 [2]
best version at
Terry's CafeA Smithfield butcher founded it in 1982, and it is the only caff in London with its own brand of tea.
“The only caff in London with its own brand of tea, Terry's was founded in 1982 by, er, Terry, who originally plied his trade as a butcher in Smithfield Market.”
Time Out London, Leonie Cooper, 25 January 2024 [7]
best version at
Café DecoAnna Tobias took over a greasy spoon of the same name and kept the name.
“The team behind 40 Maltby Street have teamed up with chef Anna Tobias (P Franco, Rochelle Canteen) at this site, which takes over a greasy spoon of the same name.”
Harden's, editor's entry on Café Deco [9]
best version at
Koya SohoThe fry-up arrives here as a bowl of udon, with smoked bonito in the dashi standing in for the bacon.
“The dashi broth, made with smoked bonito that echoes the flavor of the bacon, and the Sanuki-style noodles — a hearty, chewy variety that originates on the Japanese island of Shikoku — are made fresh daily in Koya's central kitchen in London Fields and bicycled to the shop's three locations each morning.”
The New York Times T Magazine, Kate Maxwell, 16 September 2025 [4]
Where to get it
Go to E Pellicci for the room.
Terry's Cafe in Borough is where to go if what you want is volume, and
Sinéad Cranna's order is the Blowout, "because the addition of crispy,
well-seasoned chunky chips makes it worth it".
8 Two kitchens cook off the form without being in it. Anna Tobias took over a greasy spoon in
Bloomsbury and kept its name for Café Deco.
9 And
Koya Soho serves the fry-up as udon: the dashi is made with smoked bonito
that echoes the flavor of the bacon
, over Sanuki noodles made daily in
London Fields and cycled over each morning.
4
The story
Jonathan Nunn thinks the form is going: "The caff is in decline and good
chippies are as common as good Mexican food."
6 He
also thinks the famous one is the wrong one. The Regency "sells tourists an
image of British food as they want it to be", while the Astral across the road
serves it as it is
.
6
The room he is arguing about has since changed hands. It shut in 2024 when
the owners who had held it since 1986 put the business up for sale, and it came
back in July 2025 under Fevzi and Zafer Gungor.
5
Fevzi Gungor's plan for it is not a caff's plan: "In time, I'd love to see the
Regency name in key global cities, Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Dubai, but our
immediate focus is on Regency Street."
5
Against that, the queues have not moved and Jesse Burgess has a theory about
why: caffs "feel almost resistant to the terrifying ebbs and flows of the cost
of living".
2
Sources & mentions
- [1]Historic England, list entry 1391332, listed 13 January 2005
“II Cafe, with accommodation above. c.1900 building with 1946 remodelling as cafe for E. Pellicci.”
“A single cafe room with counter to front left and kitchen to rear all lined with an intricate Art Deco-style marquetry panelling crafted by Achille Capocci. The counter area is defined by a steel capped Formica counter with a framed panel of 'sunburst' marquetry.”
“In the last few years of the 1950s, the number of cafes in Britain doubled from 1000 to 2000, with 500 of these in Greater London alone; they were to serve the new class of teenagers and other cool customers.”
“Technological innovations of the period also enabled the use of visually attractive new materials, such as plastics and Formica that together contributed to a new design vocabulary, often expoited in bright colours, that was altogether an antedote to the drab war years.”
“an architecturally strong and increasingly rare example of the intact and stylish Italian cafe that flourished in London in the post-war years”
- [2]Time Out London, Lucas Oakeley, 15 May 2025, on the family
“Priamo Pellicci began working in the cafe in 1900, and it was there that his wife, Elide, brought up their seven children while running the business after her husband's death in 1931. Elide is the 'E' in the E Pellicci. Her son, Nevio Senior, who was born upstairs, ran the caff until he passed away in 2008.”
“Nev's wife, Maria, is the head of the family business today. At 84 years old, she's been cooking there every day since 1966”
“The décor was carved by regular customer and carpenter Achille Capocci in 1946, and it's difficult to imagine what E Pellicci looked like without it. Its primrose-yellow Vitrolite façade out front is as iconic as the interior, the eye-catching colour chosen to brighten up the gloom of the post-war years.”
“Caff aesthetic appreciation is driven by our lust for nostalgia, exacerbated by economic turmoil and political madness. Caffs have a comforting quality; with many having been around for decades, they feel almost resistant to the terrifying ebbs and flows of the cost of living.”
- [3]Foodism, Molly Codyre, 17 August 2022, the family on how the panelling was paid for
“He made that for my nonna. She asked him to do the whole caff, but she didn't have the money. So he did it panel by panel over time. He'd do a panel, and she'd pay him. Then she'd save up for the next one, he'd make it and she'd pay him again.”
“The top half, where the sign sits, is made from vitrolite glass, a material that hasn't been in production since the late 20th century.”
- [4]The New York Times T Magazine, Kate Maxwell, 16 September 2025, on the plate
“their restaurant is known for its full English breakfast: a hubcap-size plate that includes a fried egg, a Cumberland sausage, back bacon, grilled tomatoes, Heinz beans, fried mushrooms and toast or fried bread.”
“Vegetarians can ask for a serving of bubble and squeak (a pan-fried patty of mashed potatoes and vegetables) as well as homemade fries. Tea comes from a steel kettle so large that leaves are added by the cupful.”
- [5]Time Out London, Leonie Cooper, 23 July 2025, on the change of hands
“The historic greasy spoon, which first opened in 1946, closed in 2024 as its owners since 1986 put the business up for sale. The cafe is now back in action, under new owners Fevzi and Zafer Gungor.”
“In time, I'd love to see the Regency name in key global cities, Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Dubai, but our immediate focus is on Regency Street.”
- [6]Vittles, Jonathan Nunn, 29 April 2022, on the ritual at the Regency
“There's an element of ritual about Regency; the long queue, no matter how much space there is, being addressed as young man or lady no matter your age, your order being bellowed by the voice of the Oracle”
“If the Regency sells tourists an image of British food as they want it to be, then the Astral serves it as it is.”
“The caff is in decline and good chippies are as common as good Mexican food.”
- [7]Time Out London, Leonie Cooper, 25 January 2024, on what a caff is
“They are mostly family-run joints which offer a welcome warmer than the toast – at some, faded celebrity photos line the walls, and we love them for it.”
- [8]The Infatuation London, Sinéad Cranna, 15 July 2024, on what to order at Terry's
“Order The Blowout—the biggest of the fry-ups—because the addition of crispy, well-seasoned chunky chips makes it worth it.”
- [9]