Ummm the pain chocolate is to die for. Melt in your mouth delicious. A great latte presented in a juice glass(interesting). Cute place with a lot of italian pastries and treats.
Rich G.
Place rating: 3 London, United Kingdom
Ok, it probably deserves 4 stars, but I’m giving it 3. This place is actually good, I won’t say it’s not, the only reason it’s getting 3 stars is that the service was, to put it politely, terrible. Everyone else looked like their service was great, but ours was terrible, so I have to rate them down. The food was good, I had eggs and tomatoes(low carb) and it was basically perfect, the eggs and salmon and the Princi breakfast also looked really good(though they were out of sausages by lunch on a Sunday, so my friend got extra bacon, which would really annoy me…) The atmosphere was good on our side(the more casual side), very relaxed and pleasant, though on our table our«neighbors» cycled about 4 times before we left… You could definitely have a kind of «Sex and the city» or «Friends» style breakfast here. So, why was the service terrible? We turned up, asked for some orange juice whilst waiting for our friend, that took ages to come. Then she arrived and we ordered food and drinks, that didn’t come for about 30 – 45 minutes. Then we chased it, turns out they lost our order completely, it was another 30 minutes before we got fed. They generally didn’t know where we were or what we wanted or anything, we felt kind of abandoned. Genuinely, if you’re in the area, I would probably recommend going here(we originally planned breakfast club but there were insane queues, and the food isn’t that good). I just can’t bring myself to 4 star somewhere that I didn’t have a great experience.
Rita L.
Place rating: 3 Flushing, NY
Super crowded place, you can just walk in to find seats on your own instead of waiting on a line. I shared 2 cakes with my friends, a slice of tiramisu and a passion fruit cheesecake. The tiramisu was really fluffy and full of cream, the passion fruit one was tart and maybe too sour for my friends, I enjoyed it though, just don’t expect it to be like a regular cheesecake.
Alex F.
Place rating: 4 Berkeley, CA
Five star canoli from this trendy place! We came for dessert but I wish I had sampled the pizza and pasta. Lots of non-English Europeans populated this place, and I mean lots! I consider that a good sign. The canoli was great as was the espresso(esp shot was kinda small but they usually are :-) It has been a long time since I have had canoli this good! Prailine chocolate cake was okay and the chocolate brownie was only okay too. Neither of the two chocolate items was intense enough for my taste. Many of the patrons were there to socialize in groups of friends, so be prepared to hunt for a space and then be cozy and friendly with your neighbors(and stand up as table space was limited –they do have table space but if you want to sit, come during off-peak hours). A spritzer made from Proseco, Aperol, and club soda was all the rage(see photo); seemed a bit overpriced for 7.5£ –I would rather spend my ££ on espresso and canoli… In summary, if you are looking for a dessert Mardi Gras, this is your place!
Deric C.
Place rating: 3 London, United Kingdom
Love the place but don’t love the prices. It is a small portion with the price you paid. It set in the middle of wardour street, a lot of happening at Soho end. The cakes always look yummy and i always tempted to try out different cakes. Good interior design. a sense of open space with good lighting and background music. Always find crowded in this place. Good things is they always give some free italian pizza to bite.
Lee T.
Place rating: 5 Cranston, RI
PRINCI I LOVEYOU!!! Princi was the best dining and service experience I had in London. I wholeheartedly recommend going there. I went multiple times on my visit to London. On your first step inside, you are joyously welcomed by the staff. The food is absolutely delicious, and the servers are all extremely nice. One server complimented me on my outfit — both hilarious and endearing. My only problem is that the place is really crowded, and due to that — the lines are long. I didn’t mind, except for the fact that you sometimes can’t find a spot to sit at! I also had an issue with one of my trips there — there was a homeless man walking around on the cafeteria side and asking for money. None of the patrons said anything when I, a young girl, was being bombarded for money for near five minutes. As a young female, this was a traumatizing experience. Eventually, I was left alone and told a waiter who immediately resolved the situation. Still weird to think that you can be in a packed room and no one will help you…
Alessia M.
Place rating: 3 London, United Kingdom
A okay place to have a pizza. The vibe is okay. Maybe a bit pricy but overall a good service. You might have to wait but they will call you when it is time for your table and have it booked for 5 minutes. A good time for a cocktail here or somewhere nearby.
Genevieve A.
Place rating: 2 Alameda, CA
I think this place would be good for quick take away lunches, as they have a wide variety of dishes at the counter. But their table service is pretty awful. I live next door and wasn’t interested in going far for dinner, so we headed to Princi. It was a Monday night of a bank holiday weekend, so they were packed and everyone looked frazzled. We waited for a few minutes in the line to get our names down and asked how long it would be. The woman said they were very busy,(I can see that, which is why we asked) and said, maybe 25 – 30 minutes. Well, its a busy night in Soho and half an hour isn’t terrible so we bobbed and weaved around the people ordering at the counter and got a half bottle of wine and waited. As for the atmosphere, at first it seems nice and open and very modern, but all the tables are high and so close to each other that squeezing into a seat is a pain even without a tray of food. Anyway, we managed to snag some seat at the wall and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. They send you a text when your table is ready, so it was now 50 minutes since we put our names down, so we went back up and asked to make sure we didn’t miss a text or something. The same lady then told us it would be another 15 minutes! OYE! I don’t mind waiting an hour for a table, if I am told it will be an hour. She just kept saying how busy they were. Yes, I see your are busy and so you should have over estimated my wait time. We now felt like we had committed to this place, so we stayed and got seated about 15 minutes later. So our 30 minute wait was now over an hour. When we finally got seated they told us that the pizzas were backed up so they would take longer than usual too, so we settled for a couple pasta dishes. Oh, and it took us forever to get a waitress, because she was so busy chatting up the customer next to us. Then as a topper on the cake, my boyfriends pasta was undercooked and mine was literally burned — like black and stuck to the bottom of the dish it was served to me on. I was so hungry at this point I just ate what wasn’t stuck to the dish. When then manager came by and asked us how things were we did say something and she offered to bring me something else, but I just couldn’t be bothered at this point. I think the manager(or who I assume was the manger) stepped up and took the food off our bill, and because of her good will I’ll probably be back — on a quieter night. There has to be something redeeming about this place if they have 4 stars on Unilocal
Nadou G.
Place rating: 4 Liège, Belgique
Un très chouette endroit pour le petit déj, le café y est en plus EXCELLENT… Un petit bémol pour l’addition
Daniel F.
Place rating: 2 London, United Kingdom
I want to like it. hell I want to love it. I mean, I love Wardour Street, home to some of my favourite eats for many a decade. But when you pay near £4 for a slice of pizza I’m not sure I can. I think I should go there for certain pastries but I’m a sucker for trying out a slice, but I prefer Maletti nearby or Icco over in Fitzrovia which you can get a whole pizza for same price. I didn’t think much of the taste either. Wasn’t knock your socks off awesome. Also didn’t like that the seats are so so close. Not really feeling this place which is a shame because I was certain I would.
Yotsuba C.
Place rating: 4 London, United Kingdom
The best tiramisu ever. So light and fluffy ! The canolli has a perfect crunchy outer but the cream inside is a bit too sweet for my taste!
Karen N.
Place rating: 5 London, United Kingdom
Great atmosphere, food and concept. You pick up as many dishes as you would like from savoury to sweet. The tea comes as loose leaf in a pot with unlimited refills. Lovely place to catch up with friends over lunch!
Carolina V.
Place rating: 4 London, United Kingdom
Really great Roman stile thin crust pizza in this spot, as well as awesome rustici — the savoury bites with cheese and ham or cheese and spinach. Watch out for rush hour — its bakery gets crowded! Don’t forget to grab those cannoli.
Eric M.
Place rating: 4 Indianapolis, IN
The upscale cafeteria concept doesn’t seem to have taken hold in any major way in the States(at least not in my neck of the woods), and maybe it hasn’t really done so in the UK either. But Prinzi sure seems to fill a void. Largely Eye-talian in persuasion, surprisingly healthy and easy on the wallet, it effectively gussies up an all-too-often lowbrow concept. And it shows that it’s not hard to do, AND to make it fashionable – quite a contrast from the usual cafeteria in the States, which all too often attracts the demographic who dines at 16:30 and is in bed promptly at 20:00. I was especially taken by the sides – and what cafeteria can ever succeed without terrific sides? – particularly the steamed green beans. The one criticism is that the place apparently recently expanded in size… but didn’t grow the toilet facilities in proportion to the size. Didn’t grow them at all, really. They’re nice and clean enough. But a stylish place like this shouldn’t need to have queues 10 people long. Looks like this’ll be a pretty difficult fix too! Oh well, it’s a cafeteria: you shouldn’t need to linger long enough to… uh…what’s the English slang-of-the-day for«to pee»?
Joyce V.
Place rating: 1 Hampstead Village, London, United Kingdom
It’s more grapple than Grappa in here! Surrounded by the running water feature in Princi, it rather created a calm or in my case counteracted the cacophonous din in this food-hall, sorry fighting arena where diners, usually decent folk– I’m sure, have to tussle for a chance to get a place to sit at a table all-whilst clutching a tray. So use the flowing feature to wash your hands, or your mouth out, as getting a table needs fighting talk. It’s no good if there’s a school of you, you’ll never get to eat together. You’ll be split into pairs and I warn you, one of you’ll have to stand guard of your place whilst the other queues for food and on their return, repeat this process yourself. Princi creates the frustrating feeling of what it must be like in a fishtank. Like a fish in a tank in Seaworld. Except this glass tank we were behind; the long stretch of window where greasy passing Soho noses press up against the cold panes, see a brightly floodlit hectic scrabbling Milanese-like scene, but diners clutch trays, scrumming for tables like sharp nosed sharks at feeding time. Although bright lights bounce off of the glossy coral red Romanesca topped tray bakes, shiny strawberry cheesecakes and gently glinting merengue topped lemon pavlovas it quite highlights what else could be up for grabs in this open area. One cannot deny Pelici is a Soho showpiece; a showstopper of a shopfront, but diners prowling for tables aren’t the only ones lurking in the depths of soho. There are thieves stalking their prey, peeping in from the windows of Princi too, waiting for opportunities to squeeze in between the crush. On a Friday evening it was impossible. The pool side life guard on the door simply couldn’t attend to security and also had to run around the floor as a makeshift waiter. Once again, there could be pick-pocketers pouncing whilst you go back up, buffet style to pick your pudding. Also with the doors open to all and sundry, I was cold and so was my dinner. So with chills, multiplying, I’m serious. That entrance, is as much of a security threat as are the cakes are for your health, so watch your bags if you’re not watching your waist line.
DJ S.
Place rating: 3 Cambridge, MA
My first morning in London, found me a bit jet lagged and surprisingly hungry. I noticed next to my little doggy bed a breakfast menu for the hotel, which stated that their breakfast came from Princi Bakery in Soho. Instead of having breakfast in bed, I decided to get myself cleaned up and go to their restaurant. And here is where the review gets tricky. The restaurant is beautifully designed open and inviting. The center of the room holds the wood-fire grill for what is supposed to be their famous pizza’s from Milan. Yes, this is a Milanese restaurant. A not so friendly waiter who seemed to be having a bad morning greeted us. After dropping off the menu, he quickly left. We waited, and waited a bit more before he returned to take our order. Once again we waited, and waited, and waited some more. The waiter had simply vanished he was nowhere to be seen. Finally a woman came to our table(after a good 20 minutes) to ask if we were okay, we explained what had happened, she apologized and immediately corrected the situation. Our juice, cappuccinos, and pastries were brought to our table. The pastries were out of the world. Coming from the United States where you’re never sure what you’ll get when a croissant is ordered, this was truly amazing. Now I know what true French pastries are like. During our meal, we had three other employees of the restaurant checking in with us, including the manager(I believe) and it wasn’t until the plates were cleared that our mysterious waiter with the attitude showed up. And once again after passing by our table a half-dozen times I literally had to stop him and ask for our bill. After talking to friends about this experience, I’m told that it’s not uncommon to have such dramas unfold at some of the finest Milan restaurants, so if this is true than this place is spot on for bringing the essence of Milan to Soho. If you don’t mind a bit of drama and emotional meltdown from your wait staff, then this place is worth the trip. Shatasdogbowl
Louisa K.
Place rating: 3 London, United Kingdom
This modern Italian has a nice laid-back atmosphere thanks to the self-service and the long tables but the interior design and the quality of the food give it a classy, elegant feel at the same time. There’s also an à la carte seating area but we went for dessert only, so we didn’t have to queue and found some free seats quickly. We shared two slices, one Tiramisu and one Passion Fruit Cheesecake. The Tiramisu didn’t impress me at all because I could only see and taste cream and cocoa but no coffee and amaretto. The other slice was better, although it tasted nothing like your regular cheesecake but rather like Solero Exotic. As that’s one of my favourite ice creams, I wasn’t complaining. I also ordered a single espresso which was the best I had in a while! Unfortunately I don’t know what kind of coffee they use. I’ll probably go back to try their savoury offers next time.
Christian S.
Place rating: 4 Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark
As a sworn lover of Italian food I’d have to say the bread these guys bake is squisito. A delightful chewy and moist crumb and then it was filled with olives that instead of have been soaked in vinegar etc. had been in olive oil. It made all the difference. The interior provided at busy yet down to earth atmosphere in the molto italien styled room. The cakes looked fantastic! === Disclaimer; this was a stop on a SoHo food safari-thing, so the review may seem rather slim but we only had a few items.
Maurizio A.
Place rating: 2 London, United Kingdom
I hate this place. In a few words: this is an expensive mediocre pizza, I mean seriously expensive. But they kind of take reservations, and if you want to have a pizza in a 2 hours timein soho this is one of the few places where you can have something decent. But ridiculously overpaid. This is a difficult-to-be-missed place, right in the center of Soho, with very big windows, and a queue outside. The personnel at the entrance is usually very kind, and as I said before the best part is that they kind of take reservations, in the sense that you ask for a table, they take your reservation and they send you an sms when the table is ready. Something that both Manca and Pilgrims(much better pizza places) don’t, and whenever you are a big group this is something you need! But then… I mean pizza is kind of ok, a bit on the too fluffy for my taste but it’s still an ok pizza, they have menabrea, a common beer in northern italy which seems a bit difficult to find around here, but the price is something that makes me super angry: a pizza+a beer + some shared olives comes around 30 pounds pp… I mean seriously, more than 40 Euros for a pizza! It’s just ridiculous, nobody ever tried to set a price that is so high! damn you Princi, you do not deserve to stay in my pizza list!
Marie-Pauline B.
Place rating: 4 Lyon
J’avais vu passer cette adresse sur le Instagram de «Pogo Artistique» qui les décrivait comme les meilleurs pizzas de Londres. J’y suis allée sans vraiment me renseigner et je me suis ruée sur le «self» qui propose des pizzas à la part, des focaccias, des lasagnes, aubergines à la parmigiana, salade … De peur d’être déçue par les pizzas à la part qui sont tellement bonne dans mes adresses(Quartino, Mamma Romma …) j’ai pris des lasagnes qui étaient très bonne mais le problème c’est qu’on vous sert votre plat(qu’on né réchauffe pas) et qu’ensuite on vous laisse faire la queue pour payer donc le temps de trouver une place c’est froid … Mais c’était quand même bon(et tres bruyant malheureusement). Par contre je n’avais pas vu qu’à côté il y avait un coin«resto» plus calme où on est servi à table des pizzas entières qui sorte du four par exemple, c’est plus pour le soir je pense :-) J’ai quand même mis 4⁄5 car les desserts sont vraiment super bon j’avais pris une«crostada al fragliola»(une pâte entre le crumble et la pâte sablée qui se mélange à une sorte de crème pâtissière mais la pâte est tellement friable qu’on né voit pas la délimitation entre la pâte et la crème. Et le tout est surmonté de fraises compotées !C’était vraiment juste délicieux !! Je conseille donc plus les desserts à emporter que le self salé trop bruyant :-)
Jennifer S.
Place rating: 4 London, United Kingdom
We chose the buffet option. Paid 13 pounds for a nice size portion of food last night– the roasted pumpkin and aubergines were very, very good! Also included in that a nice slice of spinach and mozzarella pizza– I just wish it was served hot rather than lukewarm, as it was cold by the time I got to the table. Also the price included a glass of wine. The place is jam-packed, so expect a queue to pay at the buffet line. My biggest complaint and minus a star is for some reason, they pump up the music which is so stupid when it is so LOUD to begin with. I might pop by again if I’m in the area.
Oskar W.
Place rating: 4 København, Denmark
I’m a huge fan of this massive — and always busy — Italian deli. They serves up some extremely delicious items that are always freshly made with only the best ingredients. The staff is friendly, fast and always willing to guide you in the right direction concerning food. The prices are — however — high. That’s a fact and you can find a proper sit-down meal in the area for same. It doesn’t make the food at Princi any bad though, just expensive.
Dalton C.
Place rating: 5 Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Depois de desistir da interminável fila do Breakfest Club, procurando outro lugar para comer, encontrei o Princi. Um dos melhores lugares em que comi nessa viagem. As pizzas são fenomenais, os doces perfeitos como a torta de pera e chocolate. Os atendentes são meio atrapalhados e soam ríspidos, mas vale muito a pena.
Marcel S.
Place rating: 5 Winterthur, Schweiz
Wonderful Bar, very stylish and Good ambience. Very gentle italian staff. We’ve been there for breakfast and had excellent Cappuccinos(alla italiana) and exquisite pastries. Fresh pressed Orange Juices. Great Classic Music in the Background. Maybe a Bit too expensive.
Leslie L.
Place rating: 5 Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine
Voici ma cantine italienne à Londres. Il n’y a pas un séjour où j’ai manqué d’y manger. Il s’agit d’un espèce de self, où l’on choisit ce que l’on veut manger derrière une petite vitrine(parts de pizzas, lasagnes, plats cuisinés, antipastis, salades, pains… desserts aussi), puis on va s’asseoir! Sauf que… il y a tellement de monde, il faut ruser! Je vous conseille donc d’être au moins 2: l’un garde les places assises pendant que l’autre commande, puis on échange les rôles!(bien évidemment, né laissez pas votre ami choisir à votre place parce que les vitrines sont tellement alléchantes que vous vous devez d’aller voir et de choisir par vous-même!!!) TOUT est bon, vraiment TOUT! Le personnel est hyper sympa et sociable. C’est bien décoré, sobre et chic. Et le must… le WIFI gratuit!!!(qui n’est jamais à l’affût d’un peu de wifi quand il est en séjour à l’étranger? hein? au moins pour faire Unilocaler ;)) mais né traînez pas trop à checker vos mails et facebook, parce que le contenu de votre assiette vous attend! Bref, je suis fan fan fan de cette cantine italienne et je rêve qu’ils en ouvrent un à Paris!
Alor
Place rating: 4 London, Vereinigtes Königreich
Super-nettes Ambiente, obwohl es eigentlich ein Fast-food Laden ist — d.h. man sucht an der langen Theke aus, was man möchte und kriegt es auch gleich in die Hand gedrückt — herrscht keine siffige Neonlicht-Atmosphäre, sondern man kann sich nett hinsetzen(wenn man denn noch einen Platz kriegt, der Laden ist ziemlich voll) und da solange man möchte auch bleiben. Die Essensauswahl reicht von verschiedenen süßem Gebäck, Tramisu und dergleichen über Pizza am Bleck, die in wirklich großzügige Stücke geschnitten und für 2 Pfund 50 verkauft wird, bis hin zu Salaten, Lasagne und Nudelgerichten. Eine Bar, die eine erfrischend italienische Auswahl hat, gibt es zudem auch. Fast hätte ich volle Punktzahl vergeben, die verschiedenen probierten Pizzen waren alle 5 Punkte wert, aber bei Lasagne und Nudelgerichten(die zudem auch viel teurer sind), hat es mit den 5 Sternen nicht ganz hingehauen. Insgesamt aber eine wirklich empfehlenswerte Adresse.