The Open Guide to London: the free London guide

The definitive coffee bar; the Bar Italia has been serving coffee to the denizens and revellers of Soho since 1949. It's tiny, it sells good coffee, it's open all night - that's pretty much what you need to know. Oh, and they do paninis, pastries, etc, which are also pretty good. A very useful place to know about at the end of a night out in town.

It has been commemorated in poetry and song. John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television on the site, in 1926. Now, they show Italian football matches on TV.