Bar Italia celebrates more than 75 years of coffee on Frith Street in Soho

Soho has changed many times since 1949, but Bar Italia on Frith Street has stayed reassuringly itself. The coffee bar celebrated its 75th birthday with a milestone of its own: a second site, the first time in its history that the business has opened anywhere other than its original home.

The story began just after the Second World War. Lou and Caterina Polledri, from Piacenza, borrowed £50 from an ice delivery man they knew and used it to take the lease on a small coffee shop in Frith Street. Soho had a busy Italian community at the time, and the couple served proper coffee, becoming one of the first places in London with an original Italian Gaggia machine.

The café soon became a community hub. Families left messages there, people heard news from home at the counter, and catering jobs were passed around among regulars. A poster of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano still hangs behind the bar, a nod to his friendship with Lou and Caterina's son Nino.

Today the bar is run by the founders' grandchildren and remains independent. Many parts of the original 1949 interior remain, and it is famous for serving customers almost around the clock. Over the decades its regulars and visitors have included David Bowie, Paul Weller, Mick Jagger, Jarvis Cocker, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles, and it has collected awards including The Best Coffee Bar in London.

In January 2025, to mark the anniversary, the family partnered with Outernet, the immersive arts and entertainment space near Tottenham Court Road, to open a small Bar Italia stand there. Outernet's chief executive, Philip O'Ferrall, said: "This is new Soho coming together with classic Soho". The family said the original bar was "thrilled" to be opening at Outernet.

For many Londoners, though, the heart of it all remains the original counter at 22 Frith Street, where the Polledri family has kept the spirit of 1949 alive for more than three quarters of a century.

Bar Italia is at 22 Frith Street in Soho, a few minutes from Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square stations. For news and opening hours, visit baritaliasoho.co.uk.