Pizza Pilgrims Soho was my first stop after work for an Italian-themed evening: a Margherita on Dean Street, followed by an espresso and a custard tart at Bar Italia. I had eaten at Pizza Pilgrims several times, but this was the first visit I had brought the camera along to record.

From the Roberts London archive. The original film was published on 3 April 2016. This article recalls that visit; the food, interiors and observations belong to 2016, rather than a current restaurant review.

Pizza Pilgrims Soho: from a little van to Dean Street

On the walk over, I told the story behind the restaurant. The founders had left their regular jobs and travelled through Italy in a little three-wheeled Piaggio Ape, learning about pizza along the way. Back in London, they put an oven in the van and began serving at markets and events. Dean Street became their first permanent pizzeria.

That beginning gave this particular branch its appeal. By the time of my visit there were other places to try Pizza Pilgrims, but I wanted to film the original restaurant. Its corner position also made it a useful stop for a meal on my own: somewhere to eat before heading home, with plenty happening beyond the window.

A window seat and a simple Margherita

Much of the ground floor was given over to the open kitchen and its large pizza oven. There was more seating downstairs, while a handful of seats ran along the windows. I took one of those. With the Nellie Dean pub opposite and people passing outside, the view was a good part of the entertainment.

I ordered a Margherita and a San Pellegrino Limonata. There were other toppings and a guest special to consider, but I kept this visit simple. As I described it in the film, the pizza had a sourdough base with tomato, cow’s milk mozzarella, Parmesan, basil and olive oil. I asked for chilli oil as well.

The pizza arrived with a raised, blistered edge and a soft-looking centre. I poured on some oil and worked my way through it with a knife and fork. The chilli had a kick, and my verdict was straightforward: delicious pizza. There was no elaborate tasting exercise here, just the dinner I had come out for after work.

I stayed with the lemonade, although I mentioned the Soho-cello I had enjoyed on other visits. The bigger branches struck me then as better places for lingering over a bottle of wine. For this evening, however, the little window counter at Pizza Pilgrims Soho suited me perfectly. After finishing the last slice, I headed back outside for coffee.

Through Soho to Bar Italia

A passing Vespa kept the Italian theme going as I left. Then it was back through Soho’s streets towards Frith Street. These short walks between stops are part of why I enjoy filming here. A meal does not have to fill the entire evening when there is another café, a familiar corner or something unexpected just along the road.

Bar Italia was the second destination. Before going in, I pointed the camera towards the blue plaque above the café. It marks John Logie Baird’s television demonstration at 22 Frith Street in 1926. I joked that watching the people here could be better than watching television—a fairly good explanation of what drew me inside.

Espresso, a custard tart and the Bar Italia atmosphere

The café had opened in 1949, and on this visit its appeal was inseparable from the room itself. The red coffee machine, display counter, photographs and familiar fittings gave it the sense of a place that had acquired its character through use. It was easy to look in from the pavement and see something a little worn; I thought that was part of its charm.

I ordered an espresso and a custard tart. The camera follows the cup, the pastry and the cake display, but my enthusiasm was really for the whole experience. I said at the time that the roast and blend were not my personal favourite. I still liked the coffee, and I loved being there. Those are two different judgements, and both belonged in the visit.

Bar Italia was somewhere I wanted to recommend for the combination: coffee, cake, people and a room with its own accumulated history. The fixtures were not a newly assembled version of “vintage”. They were part of the place I had come to enjoy. I could sit with something small to eat and drink and still feel thoroughly involved in Soho.

An ordinary evening worth keeping

The film does not quite end when the food does. There is more street life, a Hare Krishna procession and a queue outside Supreme that leaves me wondering what all the teenage boys are waiting to buy. Those little detours make this an account of an evening in Soho as much as a visit to two businesses.

Looking back, the route is wonderfully uncomplicated: pizza on Dean Street, then coffee and a custard tart on Frith Street. It records familiar places as I found them in 2016, with the ordinary business of London carrying on around the edges.

For another visit from the same period, see my BAO Soho and John Snow pub film. I returned to Bar Italia for a Curzon Soho cinema evening in 2018 and a breakfast walk with Maison Bertaux in 2022.

Archive notes: first-person account and photographs drawn from the original Roberts London film. Historical context: Pizza Pilgrims’ Dean Street story, Bar Italia’s café history and English Heritage’s Baird plaque record.