E. Pellicci in Bethnal Green keeps a family café story going after 125 years

There are cafés, and then there is E. Pellicci. The British-Italian café on Bethnal Green Road was established in 1900 by Tuscan immigrants, which means 2025 marked its 125th year of serving breakfasts, lunches and puddings to the East End.

The name over the door tells part of the story. Priamo Pellicci worked in the café from 1900, and the "E." stands for his wife Elide, who raised the couple's seven children and ran the business after Priamo died in 1931. Her initial still sits on the front fascia today.

Their son Nevio Pellicci senior was born in 1921 in the upstairs front room, and he ran the café until his death in 2008. The business is now led by his widow Maria Pellicci, alongside their son Nevio and daughter Anna, making this a third generation family operation.

Maria's contribution has been recognised well beyond Bethnal Green. In 2025 she was made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, an honour given for promoting friendly relations between Italy and other countries.

The building itself is a treasure. The café and its Art Deco interior were Grade II listed in 2005, and it is widely regarded as a fine example of interwar London café life and an important community space for the area.

Climb the stairs and there is more to discover. Two small rooms on the upper floor, once the family's home, now form an informal Pellicci museum curated by Toni (Salvatore Zaccaria), Maria's nephew, who came to London from Lucca in Tuscany in 1970. The walls hold press cuttings, photographs and memorabilia, including a wartime licence issued to Elide by the Ministry of Food in 1939 and a paper bag made for the 1953 coronation. Spitalfields Life describes the collection as a record of immigration, wars, coronations and family life built on hard work.

The café has also found new audiences in recent years. Part of Harry Styles's video for "Late Night Talking" was filmed there in 2022, and the podcast Down the Caff has been recorded inside the restaurant since 2024.

E. Pellicci is on Bethnal Green Road, a short walk from Bethnal Green station. It is a small, busy room, so check the café's social media channels for current opening times before you go.