Bar Italia

The Polledri family opened it in 1949 on Frith Street in the heart of Soho, and still runs it. Upstairs in the same building, John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in 1926, as a plaque on the front records.

It keeps its Formica counter, red stools, big clock, poster of boxer Rocky Marciano and the screen showing Italian football. It opens early and stays open until nearly dawn, a must-stop for people leaving the theatre or Soho's bars; Pulp wrote a song about it.