E Pellicci — Restaurant in London

A friend of mine suggested we visit this cafe as it had a reputation for being a wonderful place to eat. Sure enough, we popped down for a brunch/lunch to check it out.

Many positives - the food scored well on taste and quality and portion sizes were very generous. I had the vegetarian breakfast option as the meat option has certain products I don't eat, but the veggie sausage was good (some vegetarian "sausages" should never be called such!) and I didn't feel like I was missing out.

We were seated outside, next to the road, such that there were pedestrians walking past between us and the cafe itself, and it was a little "chaotic" with customers also queuing in the same spot outside too. Had to wait a few minutes to be provided with a menu rather than having one ready on the table, which was a slight annoyance given that we'd already queued for some time already.

Nonetheless, despite the challenges of the hustle and bustle, the staff managed it well and were very friendly with us.

Ultimately, did I feel that I enjoyed something special so as to justify a 30+ min wait in the queue outside? Probably not. You will certainly enjoy the food and you leave your table full up at the end of it, no doubt about that, so in that respect they can't be faulted. The cafe does come with a history and a reputation and no doubt that's a factor here, and it may be that there was a time that (in this particular locality, at least) you would not get this level of quality in the cafes.

Nowadays however old-school "bottom of the barrel" greasy spoons are few and far between, throughout the working-class and suburban areas of London. The vast majority of Mediterranean style cafes all now offer big portions, good variety (incorporating all "English" breakfasts and lunch options) with good quality ingredients and professional standard cooking.

The bar has been raised in the last 10-15 years and for that reason on a personal level it's hard to see exactly what makes E Pellici stand out to the extent it maybe once did. This is not a negative, it's merely recognising how the "lower end" cafe/restaurant industry has changed.

Another minor annoyance was inability to pay by card - not sure if that was specified to us at the outset or not, but either way it's a bit of an unusual thing these days and if I hadn't been prepared, there could have been an embarrassing problem.

Would I go again? Sure, but I wouldn't make a special journey, I wouldn't queue and I would try and go during a quieter period. Taking everything into account, I can't give it the full five stars but overall it's still a very nice cafe that will give you a...

I'm actually looking forward to coming here. It's incredible to own an Italian-British restaurant with family history. The food was delicious, the coffee was delicious, and the service was great and welcoming. They only accept cash. Place recycling plates and food to be served at the dining outlet at the same time. The environment is a bit messy, but within acceptable limits. But just after enjoying the perfect meal, something sad happened. After eating this meal, my partner and I began to feel unwell, experiencing symptoms of nausea, regurgitation, and food poisoning headaches. It was the only meal of the day because we couldn’t eat food anymore . We often had vomiting, headaches and fevers until the early hours of the morning. I never get sick from colds but food poisoning happened. Fortunately, the condition was relieved after emergency treatment the next day. This is a restaurant I was looking forward to, but something I didn't like to see happen. For me, who always writes reviews objectively and truthfully, I would give the overall result half a star. I wish this was just a restaurant incident, but the food poisoning didn't just happen to me, but to two or more people, so I still need to write it down to remind everyone. London is my home and I have never had food poisoning symptoms like this but unfortunately it happened. There may also be concerns about food safety due to the high temperatures in London. This matter is serious. Fortunately, our symptoms have eased. It would be terrible if people's lives were threatened. I hope you see this message and please be aware if you have any questions about the cleanliness of the restaurant. I hope restaurants will pay attention to food safety and hygiene issues to avoid food poisoning incidents like ours from...

We came to check out their English breakfast after seeing them featured on a YouTube video on best English breakfasts in London. The staff were so very warm and welcoming and the plates large and piled with food. They had several renditions of English breakfast; we shared one of the larger meaty ones. For 15 GBP, it was certainly great value. And -- perhaps it was my fault for sitting back, waiting to have my socks knocked off without reading the menu closely -- but I was a little dispirited when "the whole lot (meat)" arrived and there was only one sausage and egg when many/most? English breakfasts seem to give doubles..? and the fried toast (I love a good deep fried carb) somehow did not taste like magic but simply of frying oil. (I know nobody promised me magic, but if I'm going to shorten my life, I want it to be somewhat worth it.) The (deep fried) mushrooms were GREAT, but they were also the only part of our plate that was piping hot.. everything else was more lukewarm, which detracted a little from the heartiness of the meal. My bf really looked forward to/enjoyed the blood pudding though, especially after our first cafe didn't have it and our hotel breakfast buffet's was much too dried out. I both loved and didn't love that they make the English tea for you (vs pot of steeped tea and a carafe of milk) -- because 1) if the latter, and it turns out bad, who can say how much of it was my fault, the quality of the tea, or English tea not being my cup of tea? but sadly 2) they automatically added milk (lactose intolerant peeps mourn :')) But, overall, a very pleasant and bustling small family business.

Cash only!! But there is an ATM...