E. Pellicci – The Friendliest Breakfast You’ll Eat in London

By Mark Wiens 32 Comments
E. Pellicci
English breakfast at E. Pellicci, London, England

Opened in 1904, E. Pellicci is a neighborhood cafe (or greasy spoon), located on the east side of London.

The restaurant has Italian roots, as you could probably already tell from the name, and they serve a menu that includes a combination of Italian favorites with English dishes as well.

One of the most popular things they serve in the morning, or even throughout the entire day, is their version of the full English breakfast.

And that’s what I went to eat…

Walking around London
Walking around London

During the Chowzter food awards in London, Joe DiStefano from Chopsticks and Marrow, had mentioned E. Pellicci restaurant to me, saying he thought it would be a great place to check out.

So a few days later, Ying and I took a walk down Bethnal Green Road in search of E. Pellicci.

E. Pellicci
Outside of the restaurant, don’t miss the sign

Just as a side note, if you’re walking on the opposite side of the street from the restaurant, you might walk right past it. The E. Pellicci sign, positioned on the top of the restaurant, is often blocked from view by the green and white striped awning, when you see it from across the road. So just keep a look out, especially if you’re walking on the opposite side of the street.

Just outside E. Pellicci, opening mid-morning on the side of the street, there are a number of fruit and vegetable vendors.

On the outside patio of the restaurant, there are a couple of tables, where you can sit if you find an empty table, but we decided to go indoors.

Enter E. Pellicci, and you’ll immediately be wrapped in one of the most warm and friendly environments you might ever see in London.

The staff will greet you with a huge smile, sit you down, offer you the menu, and immediately make you feel right at home. The family style service really stands out, even before you ever eat.

E. Pellicci in London
Coffee to begin

For starters I ordered just a black coffee, which was brewed right next to me, and then delivered quickly.

The coffee was excellent, stout and dark.

Browsing through the menu, I would have loved to taste everything, including their range of Italian dishes, but I did go to E. Pellicci specifically for their full English breakfast, and that’s what I decided to settle for.

Pellicci’s Full English
Pellicci’s Full English

“Pellicci’s Full English”, which can be ordered all day long, includes quality sausage, egg, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and a choice of either fried bread or toast.

That was the base of their English breakfast, and from there, you could swap out or add to the base, requesting extra items like beans, black pudding, veggie sausage, or an entire list of other items.

Thinking back, I wish I would have ordered some extras on my plate, like black pudding and beans, but I was still very satisfied with just choosing the base selection of the English breakfast.

I decided to go for the fried bread, something I can’t say I had ever eaten before.

The full English breakfast arrived in just a few moments, fresh out of the kitchen at the back end of the restaurant.

English breakfast
Full English breakfast in London, England

The array on my plate included a couple slices of bacon, a piece of deep fried toast with a fried egg on top, tomatoes, fried mushrooms, and finally a quality sausage right in the middle.

English sausage
Everything was delicious

I went in for the sausage first, a really tasty English style sausage, which I enjoyed.

It was soft on the inside, and slightly crisp on the outside skin.

Bacon
The bacon was meaty

The bacon was fried British style, so it wasn’t completely crispy through and through like bacon sometimes is prepared, but instead had some meatiness to it, which is the way I like it.

When bacon is too fried, until it’s completely crispy, there’s not enough substance to it – well that’s what I think – so I loved the bacon at E. Pellicci.

fried bread
I had the “fried bread”

The fried bread was like a deep fried piece of toast, so it had a serious oily crunch to it, and the runny egg yolk acted like a nice rich gravy.

The mushrooms and tomatoes were both cooked well, and lightly seasoned, perhaps with a just a pinch of salt and pepper.

E. Pellicci
Halfway through this awesome breakfast

While we were eating, one of the friendly staff at E. Pellicci, I think he was part of the family, chatted with us for a bit and mentioned how much he enjoyed eating Thai food.

He said he had never been to Thailand, but would love to visit.

All the staff were extremely friendly, and genuinely happy that we were eating there.

The friendliness and welcoming feeling of eating at E. Pellicci is what really stood out to me.

E. Pellicci
Inside E. Pellicci

Similar to Singalila in Darjeeling, India, one of the my favorite motherly friendly restaurants, E. Pellicci had the same type of home style feeling that makes you want to return again and again.

Had I been in London for a longer period of time, and had I been staying in the east London area, I would have loved to return to E. Pellicci for a meal every day.

The full English breakfast was simple and tasty, but it was the outstanding friendliness and service that stood out even more.

I took a few extra videos and photos around the restaurant, paid the bill at the front, and as we were walking out the door, one of the ladies called us and said:

You guys are trying to leave without a piece of my bread pudding, my grandmothers secret recipe.

She handed us a little package of foil, to which we thanked her immensely.

Little acts of kindness and hospitality like this make traveling and eating such a memorable experience.

The bread pudding was nicely spiced, had a wonderful custardy texture, and was just the right sweetness.

E. Pellicci goes down as one of the most memorable meals I ate in London. The breakfast was great, and the friendliness was remarkable.

When you’re in London, no matter what area of town you’re staying in, you should make it a point to eat at E. Pellicci.

E. Pellicci – London, England

Address332 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 0AG, United Kingdom
Open hours: 7 am – 4 pm on Monday – Saturday (closed on Sunday)
Price: You’ll spend about 5 – 8 GBP per person for a great meal

How to get there: I walked form Shoreditch, but alternatively, you could take the Underground to Bethnel Green station, and the restaurant is just a short walk from there.

32 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • High Rated Gabru

    3 years ago

    Nice blog. Thanks for sharing such a great info with us.

  • John Davis

    3 years ago

    Yummy! Absolutely moth watering. Will definitely give this a try at E Pellicci, next time I am in London.

  • Kat (Wandering Bird)

    5 years ago

    We travel around the world and the biggest thing I miss is an English Breakfast- although my arteries are probably glad of the break!! 🙂 Can’t wait to get back to a greasy spoon! This sounds amazing!!

  • Rost @ Migration Expert United Kingdom

    6 years ago

    I definitely try to eat my breakfast there when I go visit London, thank you for sharing.

  • Cihan Altunok

    6 years ago

    One of the best kebabs I had in UK. 73 Waterloo road. I suggest to eat in this place if you live in or close to London.

  • Patrik

    8 years ago

    Great article! Love an english breakfast! One of my favorites is Granger & Co. Their dishes are fresh and delicious! Here’s a review- http://www.guidepal.com/guides/guide/place/London/1399397297540

  • Daniel

    9 years ago

    Wow I live near that place and never have been there. I’ll make sure to try it soon. Thanks for sharing that 🙂

  • Paolo Ferrante

    10 years ago

    It looks really delicious. Next time you go to Europe please try to visit Palermo, Sicily if you can. You will find the best street food of Europe and wonderful pastries.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hi Paolo, thank you for reading. I would love to visit Italy in the future, hoping to take a trip through Europe.

  • Tum

    10 years ago

    Mark,
    Hungry when i watch your VDO, I’m Thai and live in Bangkok as well, I love to eat Thai E-sarn food, Som-tum, Kai-yang, because it realy hot and spicy 🙂

    This blog is eat at London, so how does it taste? does it like Thai food taste?
    Um! How about American food? what does American likes to eat? fast food like a KFC,MC,?

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hi Tum, good to hear from you, glad you love hot and spicy food – Thai food is the best. English and American food can be good, but it’s heavy on meat, and not so spicy. The good thing is that you can find many different international foods, so you can still find spicy foods to eat. Hope you’re doing well.

  • The Scuttlefish

    10 years ago

    Just the kind of travel website I’d been hoping to stumble upon! And what a timely find too, a week before my month-long trip to the UK.
    You know where i’ll be staying in Edinburgh, right? The Haggis Hostel of course!
    Will be back here for more.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Awesome to hear that. Enjoy the food, and your stay at Haggis Hotel, haah!

  • lily

    10 years ago

    Great post. Did you come back to London again or was it within the same day on the trip as when you were in borough market as my mum is a big fan of your videos on food from all countries and missed seeing you to get a photo.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Lily, this was the same short trip. Sorry, will let you know if I come again, and thank you and your mum very much for your support.

  • Joe

    10 years ago

    Still in London?

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Joe, no sorry, was just there for a short visit, now back in Bangkok. Are you from London?

  • Doreen Pendgracs

    10 years ago

    Looks like a great place to eat, Mark. I love the way the food in London has really improved over the last 10 years. When we’d first visited in 1996, I found the food very bland. But I think the influx of immigrants has brought in an influx of flavours. And that’s great! I certainly found that with chocolate as well. The Brits are now creating some of the finest artisanal chocolate on the planet using a wide range of exotic flavourings. Well worth the trip!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Doreen, great to hear from you, thank you for sharing. Yah, I think the mix of cultures has added so much to the food in London.

  • Jon Blomquist

    10 years ago

    What, no pickled eggs? 🙂 English food always gets a bad rep. But I always say, a full English breakfast is one of my favorite meals. And you can eat it anytime of the day!

  • Heather

    10 years ago

    I never fry my bacon until its crispy … I like to brown it so that it retains its juiciness. As far as this place goes, it looks like they’ve nailed it, so I’ll have to pop in next time I’m in the UK!

  • SaravanaKumar

    10 years ago

    Well, If I happen to be in London, I will surely be in E. Pellicci for the great English Breakfast..

  • Nick Paton

    10 years ago

    Breakfast is by far my favourite meal to go out for. I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t had my caffeine hit yet but that coffee looks amazing!

  • Stephanie – The Travel Chica

    10 years ago

    I love breakfast! This looks delicious.

  • Ashley

    10 years ago

    Deep fried toast sounds a little strange- but tasty- I’m sure!

    • Mark

      10 years ago

      It’s not ‘deep fried toast’ but (shallow) fried bread, which makes the bread crisp (but sometimes a bit oily). I go for toast anytime.

    • Mark

      10 years ago

      Sorry to confuse…I am not Mark Wiens…but just a reader of this blog!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Thanks for the input Mark, it was a bit oily, but it sure was nice and crispy!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Ashley, I probably would have gone for just regular toast next time.

    • girc

      10 years ago

      sound is not a taste 😉