E. Pellicci - Bethnal Green, London

332 Bethnal Green Road

Bethnal Green

London

E2 0AG

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday

7am - 4pm

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A great article on this classic cafe and interior photos can be found here.

I'd read about E. Pellicci in various books and was keen to visit for myself.

The counter is on the left as you walk in, it's a hive of activity.

The grade II listed interior is stunning!

The Pellicci name can be found throughout the cafe on windows, walls and even the floor.

There are plenty of items available to create your perfect breakfast.

Plenty of sauces to squirt on too!

I started off with a great cup of coffee.

The huge glass of delicious freshly squeezed orange juice cost just £2.

The cutlery was looking well up for the job!

A good job we were hungry, the portions here are very generous!!

I went for the set breakfast with black pudding, bubble & squeak and beans.

Under that great fried egg was a slice of delicious fried bread, the sea of beans were struggling to stay on the plate.

More black pudding was discovered underneath the fantastic homemade bubble & squeak and the mass of golden mushrooms were delicious.

By the end I was really full up and what a huge pleasure everything was to eat!!

I'd seen Frank Turner on a number of occasions but since last seeing him I'd got much more into his music so was really looking forward to seeing him play at Wembley Arena. I'd bought the tickets back in October so after months of waiting, Friday 13th April finally arrived. I'd never been to a venue as huge as Wembley Arena before and despite initial concerns over crowd size and how well I would be able to see the stage I was relieved to discover this was not a problem! Despite being really full it was possible to get close to the stage and watch Frank's amazing show, it was an incredible night! Knowing our economy hotel in Wembley was offering a continental breakfast the next morning I planned to skip that and visit somewhere I had read about, E. Pellici in Bethnal Green. The next morning we handed our keys in at the hotel and headed to Bethnal Green feeling rather hungry, finally the cafe appeared so I got a quick shot of the great exterior and headed inside...

Upon entering - As I opened the door I was immediately greeted by the friendly waitress and the stunning art deco panelled interior. Although the cafe is quite small the tables were laid out well and if you fancied it there were more outside too. There was so much to see from the original kitchen serving hatch where the food kept appearing from to the original hot water urn. The "Pellicci" name that could be found on windows, panels and even the floor. Condiments sat nicely on each table and a menu is bought straight over to you. The atmosphere inside was just perfect, you immediately feel at home and there is so much going on it is a joy to watch whilst you wait for your food to arrive. Pure perfection!!! 10/10

Service - The friendly waitress greeted us straight away and told us to sit anywhere we wanted. She then came straight over to take drink orders and handed us menus. She recommended the orange juice a couple of times telling us how good it was so eventually we ordered some as we were quite dehydrated from the night before, it was quite possibly the most amazing freshly squeezed orange juice I had ever tasted before and in a huge glass too, I am so glad she recommended it!! The chap taking our food order was a really nice bloke, genuinely friendly and had the most incredible memory I had witnessed in along time. I reeled off both the orders adding some extra items and changing fried bread on one breakfast to toast and he memorised everything which initially left me feeling a tad concerned. There was no need to worry though as everything arrived exactly as we had ordered it. My girlfriend couldn't finish all of her breakfast but the waitress kindly put what was left in a polystyrene box for her to eat later. Pure perfection! 10/10

Contents - 1 Sausage, 2 bacon, 2 slices of black pudding, 1 fried egg, bubble & squeak, 2 grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread and beans. 9/10

Presentation - Generous servings and it all looked fantastic, I couldn't wait to tuck in! 9/10

The food - The plump butchers sausage was good quality, tasted great and cooked perfectly, as was the bacon. The black pudding was fairly standard but delicious and piping hot. The fried egg was as good as it gets with a nice runny yolk but no uncooked egg white, it went perfectly with the golden crisp fried bread. The homemade bubble & squeak was out of this world and there was so much of it too! A mass of golden chunky mushrooms, juicy flavoursome tomatoes and a sea of steaming beans finished off this truly incredible breakfast! 9/10

Value for money - The set breakfast costs £5.50 and consists of - egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried slice. We ordered 2 set breakfasts with extra beans and bubble & squeak on both and extra black pudding on one. We also had 2 teas, 2 fresh orange juices and a coffee, we were charged £20 for everything and it was £20 very well spent! 9/10

Veggie option - Yes. Egg, veggie sausage, Bubble & squeak, beans and tomatoes for £5 and extras if you want to add them too.

Overall - This place has stood the test of time for 112 years, the family run cafe is like nowhere else I have visited so far. It is really down to earth with genuinely friendly staff that ensure you are well looked after and the place just oozes character and looks stunning too. I know many great places like this have closed over the years but E. Pellicci still stands strong and visiting it reminded me just how weak the likes of Starbucks and other such chains are compared. I feel so glad to have had the pleasure of visiting, it ticks all the right boxes in relation to what matters on my search for the perfect fry up experience and is without a doubt the best so far. My only concern is that I need to review other London Cafe's over time but will I ever have the willpower to resist returning here instead... It is going to be difficult! Well done E. Pellicci, what an amazing place you are!! 9.5/10

* Update - October 2018 *

Over 6 years had passed since writing this review and the urge to return to E. Pellicci for breakfast again was too strong to resist! This time though I introduced myself and enjoyed chatting with the staff, as always the banter here was fantastic! Every customer who walks through the door is given the friendliest of welcomes which is what really makes this place so special.



 

Everything inside looked much the same as it was on my first visit which is exactly what you want to see in a place like E. Pellicci. Even though I'd seen the stunning art deco interior before it still took my breath away seeing it once again. The menu still offers a set full English breakfast which currently costs just £7.80, you can add additional items for £1 each. The full menu can be viewed here.



 

The Pellicci's Full English with black pudding, beans and homemade bubble added as extras. This is the same combination I had on my first visit and it was delicious. I highly recommend you try the homemade bubble, it's amazing!



 

I also recommend you try Mamma's bread pudding. We tried it hot straight from the oven and later in the day we enjoyed more on our train journey home. It tastes incredible, definitely the best bread pudding out there!!