I've just (this Monday) moved into Brick Lane to work as our office has moved from Clerkenwell. I had a recommendation that this place was good and it didn't disappoint.
If you ever had the pleasure of going to the New Piccadilly Cafe and liked it, you'll love this place. While I was in there an American tourist walked out saying:
"I have only 4 must visit places in London while I'm here. This was 1 of them"
Not much to add to the other reviews here only that the service was really friendly. Lots of banter and chatter about 'Mum's home made chicken pie and her jam pudding' and a decent cuppa.
4 of us went and ordered Lasagne, Chicken Pie, Steak Pie and chips. With a side of cheesy broccoli. As the food landed, silence ensued. We hunkered down for a good feed and everyone loved it.
See you next week. We've found somewhere to replace our previous haunt.
After a few years on the wish list, we finally made it to E Pellicci. This small East End cafe is not your average greasy spoon - it dates back to 1900 and has been owned and staffed by the same family since it opened - Dad is on the coffee machine, Mum is in the kitchen, and the kids and cousins help with everything else. It has a stunning art-deco interior with wood-panelled walls which date back to 1946, and is now Grade II listed.
When we arrived at around 9am for breakfast, the cafe was filled with regulars having giant plates of food and constant tea top-ups. As they ate they bantered with the staff and discussed which horses to back that day. We were given a very friendly welcome and chatted with the waiter about our plans for the day.
Breakfast arrived quickly - a large plate filled with bacon, eggs, beans and chips (is it wrong to love chips for breakfast!?). The tea was automatically served nice and strong, with milk, just the way I like it, though the coffee was very ordinary.
What a great place - a snippet of history that will hopefully survive for another century or more, and cheap too. Only £5 per head for a meal that kept me full all day - bargain!
I was very happy to see Still Open add their review of Pellicci, as it transported me down memory lane. Nearly 6 years ago I moved to City View House in Bethnal Green into my first studio. The same day that I moved in I went out with Enrique to find out a local place where we could have a drink and a coffee. About 5 minutes away from City View House we found Pellicci with its interesting looking exterior. As we came in we instantly knew we had entered in a bit of history of East London. The walls are aligned with this rich Deco-style marquetry panelled interior and a few black & white pictures of celebrities. Looking at the customers you could tell they were all locals and had been coming here for years.
We ordered our food which was very cheap and had this delicious home made feel to it. The staff was very friendly and happy to share with us their knowledge of Bethnal Green and the East End in general. That's when they told me this story of the funeral proceeding, by a horse drawn carriage, of a gangster that had happened here sometime ago and how many local people had lined the street to pay their respects.
I love places like Pellicci as they truly represent the kind of places that are an "archive" of our collective memory of a neighbourhood, an area, a street. Why would any one go to a local coffee chain when they can hear such great stories from a family run caf!
Opened in 1900 by the Pelliccis, who hail from Tuscany. Nevio Pellicci, known as (Nev to his friends and regulars) is the current proprietor and was born above the shop 79 years ago. He met his wife Maria when she came over from the same Tuscan village from which Nevio originated to help out in the kitchen. Their children too have been keen to learn the business and one can find Nevio junior memorising orders along with sister Anna and their cousins.
This coffee shop is so fantastic that it has been recommended for a Grade II listing by English Heritage, the inspectors have described it as a, stylish shop front of custard Vitrolite panels, steel frame and lettering as well as a rich Deco-style marquetry panelled interior, altogether representing an architecturally strong and increasingly rare example of intact and stylish Italian caf that flourished in London in the inter-war years'.
We can thank Nevio's mother, Eilde Pellicci who supervised the art-deco style marquetry interior, which was created in 1946 by one of the best carpenters known at the time, Archille Capocci. He made a marquetry plaque marked EP' as a sample to be approved, this is now in place of honour behind the counter and can still be seen today.
A fire in 1999 nearly destroyed the caf, but fortunately a regular customer spotted the fire starting in the back kitchen and was able to call the fire brigade before the fire spread to the caf.
Pellicci's also has its own place in popular culture. It was once a meeting place for the notorious Kray gang who lived just round the corner in Voss Street. Nevio remembers the gang as true gentlemen, respectful and charming'. More recent celebrities can be found in an autograph book stuffed with signed pictures from the likes of Robbie Williams, The Gallagher brothers, Pasty Palmer and Ant and Dec. Each year in August the family shut up shop for a month and return to their roots in the Tuscan village. But after a month Nevio gets restless and is more than happy to catch up with his regulars and start operating the coffee machine once more. It is said by Nevio junior that, he runs around faster than the rest of us and that is at the age of 80!
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