Bar Italia

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Bar Italia

22 Frith Street Soho London W1D 4RF
020 7437 4520 Website

Long before there was Starbucks, back in the days when coffee still meant Italy, there was Bar Italia. Opened in 1949, this Soho landmark can justly claim to have sparked off London’s café scene – think Cliff Richard in Espresso Bongo, daddy-o – and it still makes the best cappuccino in town. Don’t bother with the handful of pavement tables outside; instead, squeeze into the teensy, gloriously retro interior to enjoy a strong espresso, plus maybe a ciabatta sandwich or Italian pastry, and, above all, the atmosphere – at its most intense when there’s Italian football on the TV. Despite the high prices, this remains at root a genuine community café, catering to the sizeable local contingent of Italians and at times snooty towards those who don’t speak the lingo or aren’t regulars. At night – it pretty much stays open 24hr – Bar Italia and its vintage neon sign become a beacon for Soho’s clubbers, chancers and dirty stop-outs – as celebrated in Pulp’s Bar Italia, a melancholy slice of late-night cool that rounds off their classic Different Class album.

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What Customers say about Cool Places

Everything I needed for a stay

I'm already looking forward to going again and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the area. It definitely deserves a five star rating!

Nathan, Verified Customer

6 out of 5!!!!

This place was amazing… I could not recommend this place enough, I’ll be singing their praise for many years to come and we are going to book again soon.

Barbara, Verified Customer

Easy to navigate

Great site that offers a really broad range of places to stay across the UK. Easy to navigate and book holidays.

Patrick, Verified Customer

Such a great variety of properties

Found this website when looking to book a staycation for later in the year. Such a great variety of properties and the website is really easy to use. Already shared with my family and friends.

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