E Pellicci

The Art Deco marquetry that lines this single room was cut by Achille Capocci in 1946, and it is why the caff carries a Grade II listing as "an increasingly rare example of the stylish Italian cafe that flourished in London in the inter-war years" (Historic England, list entry 1391332).

Why go

Priamo Pellicci came from Tuscany and bought this shop in 1900. The E is his wife Elide, who ran it after he died in 1931 and whose portrait still hangs inside (Time Out, 2024). Their son Nevio was born upstairs and worked the room until he died in 2008. Maria Pellicci has been cooking here since 1966, and her children Nev and Anna run the front, which makes this a third-generation kitchen with an unbroken line. The menu is the part most write-ups get wrong. It is half English caff and half Italian home cooking, because that is what an Italian immigrant caff was, so the pesto and the lasagne are made in house and sit on the same board as the fry-up. In 2025 it turned 125 and Time Out ran an oral history to mark it (Time Out, 2025).

Order this / avoid

• Order: the penne Pellicci with the house pesto if you want the thing visitors skip, or the full English at GBP 13.80 if you came for breakfast. Either way get the chips, which Time Out records as hand cut and twice cooked. Finish with the roly-poly.
• Avoid: arriving after 3pm. The kitchen closes at 3.30pm on weekdays and 3pm on Saturday, and Sunday is dark.

What locals & experts say

• Anna Sereno, co-owner, in Time Out (2025): on why the menu does not chase trends, "We're not trying to change too much with this fashion or that fashion," listing off "smashburgers, thisburgers, thatburgers." She also frames the place as inheritance rather than business: "We grew up in Pellicci's, so it's a big part of who we are." ref
• Suresh Singh, author and Bethnal Green local, in the same oral history: "Mr Pellicci never asked for money, he knew we were poor," and "Mr Pellicci showed me so much love and now his family do the same." ref
• Anna Pellicci in Foodism (2022): Molly Codyre's feature got the sharpest line about the room, "Cities are becoming so socially and emotionally detached from people. But when you come in here, you're forced to talk to people." ref
• TasteAtlas (2025): ranked 83rd in the 100 Most Legendary Restaurants list, reported by Time Out on 24 December 2024. ref
• Local rec: Jeff's list carries it with multiple recommendations, filed for breakfast (his note below).

Good to know

• Timing: 8am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm Saturday, closed Sunday. Mid-morning at the weekend is the queue.
• Booking: none. Walk in, expect to share a table, and expect the family to talk to you. That is the format, not an accident.
• The room: one room, counter front left, kitchen behind, every surface lined with Capocci's panelling. It is listed, so nothing in here is a reproduction.
• The podcast: the family launched Down The Caff in 2024, recorded with regulars including Ray Winstone and Gemma Collins, hosted by Anna and Nev.
• On screen: Harry Styles filmed the "Late Night Talking" video here in 2022.
• Hygiene: FSA rating 5, Tower Hamlets, inspected 21 October 2025, all three categories Very Good (ref).

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: "Classic brekkie multiple recs" REAL.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

must-visit — One family, one room, since 1900, with a Grade II listing on the marquetry rather than on the building alone, and a cook who has been on the stove since 1966. The Italian half of the menu is the reason this outranks every other London caff: Maria Pellicci's pesto, lasagne and roly-poly sit next to a fry-up on the same board, which is what an Italian immigrant caff actually was before the form got flattened into a greasy spoon. TasteAtlas put it 83rd among the world's most legendary restaurants for 2025. It is cheap, it closes at half three, and there is no second version of it anywhere.