Krays' coffee bar wins listed status

The Krays' favourite cafe has been has been listed by English Heritage.

Pellicci's, in Bethnal Green, is one of London's last surviving Fifties Italian coffee bars, and the unusual move is seen as an attempt to preserve them in the face of the increasing domination of chains like Starbucks.

English Heritage, awarding the café §rade II status, described it as stylish, intact and architecturally strong with a rich deco-style panelled interior. "The 1950s cafe is becoming increasingly rare and the recent proliferation of chain coffee shops is threatening their economic viability," it said.

Owner Nevio Pellicci, born upstairs in 1926, said: "I am very proud."

He remembers the Krays, who used to live nearby, as "gentlemen", adding: "They were children when I started serving them. They were very respectful, charming. If my mother was behind the counter and someone swore, they would ask them to show some respect."

Mr Pellicci's family arrived from Tuscany at the turn of the last century and now he runs the cafe with son Nevio Jr.

Adrian Maddox, whose website campaigns for the preservation of café³ like Pellicci's, said: "This is an amazing moral victory. Pellicci's is one of my top café³ of all time."