Princi (Italian) – London, England (8.5/10)
Nov 8th, 2008 by admin
Ever since I heard about Princi opening up on Wardour Street, just down the road from my office, I’ve been meaning to take a look. Gourmet baker Rocco Princi’s Milan boutique bakery chain has just opened its first branch in London, in conjunction with the ubiquitous Alan Yau. It did take me over a week to get there, but in the meantime I sent a couple of colleagues on a fact-finding mission. They dutifully reported back – rather chaotic service and they currently only take cash, but great food. So last night I dragged the husband and two friends (all regular World Foodie Guide traveleaters) down to Princi to see what the fuss was about.
At 6pm it wasn’t very busy, so we positioned ourselves for the evening on stools along the back wall, but by 6.30/7pm, it was mobbed and latecomers had to stand (people do come and go regularly though). The crowd consisted of Italians, Chinese (the Alan Yau connection was clearly a pull!) and a smattering of curious locals. Because of the huge floor to ceiling windows, passersbys regularly stopped to stare. And the doorman (somewhat unnecessary as he wasn’t stopping anyone from entering) probably added to the curiosity factor.
Apart from the seating along the back wall (where you face an infinity water display – we did wonder if the water from the constantly flowing taps was drinkable), you can also sit at a large communal table, and failing that, stand at several small tables constructed from short columns of rough-hewn rock. It’s a large open space, with one very long counter running down one side, displaying tempting goodies – breads (including their signature olive bread), pastries, cakes, pizza slices, salads – then at the very end, there is the hot counter and the bar. Behind the bakery section, you’ll see the open oven and stacks of freshly baked bread.
For first-timers, it can be confusing, as there is no queuing system (Italian-style?!), and no ‘starting point’ to approach the counter. You just head up to whatever section you fancy, grab someone’s attention and order. Then your server takes you down to the cash till (there is one for food, which creates havoc, and a more out of sight one, at the bar), where you can only pay by cash for now (this did create havoc for those not in the know, including a group of Italians who had to abandon all their food).
You then take your tray of food back to your seat (best to bag seats first, then go and order the food). Drinks can be ordered when you choose your food, or you can go over to the bar and pay for everything at the same time. And don’t miss out on the samples laid out all along the glass counter (and if you’re lucky, a chef will pass around hot samples!)
Right, so to the food. As there were four of us, we were able to try a variety of things – pizza slices (courgette; ham and cresenza cheese; four cheeses, cheese and tomato – £2.00 to takeaway, £2.50 to eat in); different salads including a heavenly buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad (you can select a few to go in a large dish);
hot food including courgette fritters and cauliflower in a bechamel sauce (prices start at £3.50) and two types of cheesecake – passionfruit and lemon (£3.50 each). Everything was superb – the word we kept using. Don’t forget to ask for your pizza slices to be heated up, in case you’re not asked. This doesn’t take long and it’s definitely tastier than eating them cold.
The food is designed to be shared, so you can try a bit of everything with friends. I was too stuffed to accommodate the meatballs with olives, as I only spotted the hot counter after reaching the cash till! But as I’m going to make Princi my regular lunchtime haunt, I can afford to pace myself a bit. The service is friendly and its chaotic Italianness only added to the atmosphere. Princi is going to be a fantastic place to hang out with friends – it’s hip but not snobbish, and most importantly, it’s affordable and the food is excellent. Hope to see you there soon!
Click here for the full set of Princi food photos.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Princi
135 Wardour Street
London W1F 0UT
Tel: 020 7478 8888 (can you see all the lucky 8s?! Alan Yau must have had a hand in this)
email@princi.co.uk
www.princi.co.uk
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
Wow. this place looks very nice – and like any new alan yau opening its absolutely packed out. Are those running taps by the walls? It looks really cool, I gotta pay a visit soon
Great review (as usual) and Alan Yau is taking over London one eatery at a time!
Saw on another blog that the desserts are fantastic! Thanks for the review…I’ll definitely be visiting one weekend!
Good Saturday evening and welcome home, Helen !
The corgette fritters seduced me all the way from overseas !
guess the Alan Yau really pulls business now! hhaa~~~
do you know what time they open?? i fancy some early lunch tmr kekekek~~~ before i head down for some badminton ^^
kang – just the name Alan Yau & people just flock to his eateries (well, I certainly did). There was even an Alan Yau-lookalike in there, which worried me at first (because he never allows photography in his places, although I always break the rules!). Yes, running taps. It looked like the water would overflow, but it’s ‘inifinity’ style. I wondered if it was drinking water!
Su-Lin – not sure yet when’s the best time to go – if you want buzzy, go during peak hours, if you want peace and quiet, off-peak. I think buzzy is more fun, depending on where you can get a seat!
Loving Annie – the fritters looked amazing, my friend had them. They’re on my list of things to eat there – next week – along with the meatballs, cauliflower and roast fennel. I liked the pizza, but want to try the hot food section!
Suzie – sorry, not sure. Only that they open til midnight, unlike the Milan branches which stay open 24 hours! Let me know if you find out…
Helen Yuet Ling
Looks great! Not sure about the style of service (or rather self-service) but I’ll reserve judgement until I try it out. Great review!
I might have to pop in sometime next week (after lunch rush, I think…!). The pizzas look delicious. And then I’ll probably nab some desserts to go…
Those taps look great, I do wonder if it’s drinking water… though if it were surely the water wouldn’t be recycled through the system for fear of someone contaminating it? Probably more of an aesthetic thing then…
Ive been meaning to pop into here ever since i got the email about 2 weeks ago =_= But still havent checked it out…..yet! It looks amazing, and i relli like the busy sorta atmosphere, dot no why lol. But i think i’l go at lunch time or sumthing (nt during rush hour since i wana sit down and eat lol). The piza loookkss amazing though! Frend went and she said it was great too~ Im looking forward to it! =)
and lol, ive wanyed to go because of Alan Yau lol……and prob that was right for most of the chinese there too.. giggles
You guys obviously got there later than I did – it was certainly tranquil at 5PM on a Friday afternoon. We managed to get seats and watched the world go by. The TV crew did make it into a “happening” place. It would be interesting to see whether Princi establishes itself as a hip joint in Soho.
Lizzie – the service is OK once you get used to it. People who don’t know the system just stand there looking helpless. Once you’ve been to the counter once, you’ll know what to do!
Charmaine – good idea to avoid the rush! I think we concluded that it wouldn’t be hygienic drinking water (and there were no stacked up glasses nearby or a sign to say ‘Help yourselves to the tap water’!
Vivi – if you want to sit in peace, do avoid peak times. When we went at 6pm, it was a good time to get seats where we wanted, then settle down to watch the commotion from a distance.
culture hedonist – we arrived at 6pm, when there were already some people, but not enough that we couldn’t sit where we wanted. It was packed not long after though. But by then, we’d worked out the ‘system’ and were fine. Rather chaotic at the counter though! Let’s see what happens…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hey Helen…
I went there today, they do open 7 days a week, 7am to midnight.. so by the time i arrived before 1pm, its literately empty. After 1:15 or so, the whole place starts to flood… with on-lookers, and even Chinese parents from the nearby Chinese school with their kids.
I totally agreed with the service, it look so mad!!! @@ wish they done some ticket thingy, perhaps it be easier?
I only had a light lunch; four season pizza and pretzel with cappuccino, then later munch their passionfruit cheesecake…. hohoho~~ nice cheesecake!
Shall become a regular…… , only wish my office is nearer! SHall try more of their patisserie next time….
I like it off peak, very good place…..
Hey Helen, I think you’re the first review (that I’ve come across) for Princi. Your pictures just made it more enticing… but will let you know how I find it when I visit on thurs, probably with Vivi ^ up there haha
Suzie – thanks for letting me know about the opening times! I’ll add it to the Contact details section. Apparently this style of service is the same as in the Milan branches. You just have to be confident & grab someone’s attention. Glad you liked the passionfruit cheesecake. Can’t wait to go back this week for the hot food! I could get very fat working so close to this place…
Dana – looking forward to hearing your views on Princi & especially what you eat! So you’re friends with Vivi! Enjoy, guys…
Helen Yuet Ling
Oh, the courgette fritters sound good! Looking forward to trying it
Will be passing by this evening to buy some fresh bread – yum yum! Heard that they also do pizza, but will it be as good as the pizza I grew up with from Franco Pensa ? (the original pizza chef from Pizza Franco at Brixton Market). Ciao a tutti. Bruno.
Bruno – I liked the pizza, but I’d like to know whether you liked it!
Helen Yuet Ling
We went to Princis after thetheatre last sat at 10.30ish and it was very chaotic- food was tepid by the time we found a place to eat it- they don’t accept credit cards- which is a nuisance for our guests and the crazy system for choosing and getting food n drinks altogether was bonkers- very Italian. Will revisit this week to see whether things have improved.
Juliette – I’ve been a few times since I wrote this. I was so tempted to complain about my lukewarm meatballs last time. I’ll do it next time. It is chaotic, very Italian though (having just come back from yet another trip)…
Helen Yuet Ling
Is it ‘Princi’ pictured on your blog’s banner?
Douglas – yes it is! Well spotted. I took so many photos on my first visit there, and I like to change the banner photo once in a while…
Helen Yuet Ling
i’ve been there 3 times, but never managed to get table, it gets sooo busy! but werent intend to anyways, so just bought take away with friends and family those 3 times i went
i love this place! and im happy to have found this blog entry! i shall show it to my friends and recommend them to go! =D i think it’s a lovely place, but do get rather busy, and can’t really stay for long. i wonder how many times i have to go to finish trying out what they have on offer! haha
Miyuki – wow, you’ve been having some bad luck finding a table at Princi! I think it depends what time of the day you go though. Have you tried going off-peak and avoiding lunch and dinner times?
Helen Yuet Ling
i shall try that next time
im hoping to take my friend there next week, hopefully can find a table and take some good pictures as well as enjoy my time there 
i cannot wait! – but like u said, gota try off-peak time avoiding lunch and dinner times! x
Unfortunately the prices at Princi have been going up and the portion size has been coming down but I still do think it’s lovely and tasty!
Ken – shame to hear that! Haven’t been back in a while, but I still get feedback from people. I’m still concerned that the food isn’t served as hot as it should be. I’ll pop over there one day – off-peak of course!
Helen Yuet Ling
It sounds as if the prices have gone up – I went on a Monday lunchtime at 1pm and it was very busy indeed but we managed to get seats. Passionfruit cheesecake was £4. I liked the salads, but found the pizzas a bit stodgy, better could be found at Malettis round the corner.
Lizzie – £4 is a bit steep for the cheesecake, but having said that, it really is delicious! Still nervous about returning in case the food is served warm again, but I will say something if it does happen…
Hi, I loved this place when it first opened. But the service really gets on my nerves. Staff standing around not paying attention to customers, never smiling, chaotic. Every time I think I want to give them another chance because the pastries and food are tasty… Today went in for just a cappuccino, it tasted awful and grainy. When I told the barista that made it, well, he basically told me that it was impossible for the coffee to be grainy and bad because he makes so many of them and knows how to make them… I insisted for it to be replaced, he did so, but was not happy and went on and on about how it was impossible for the coffee to be grainy, etc, etc. He even accused me of putting brown sugar into the coffee, and that’s why it was grainy…well I hadn’t even put sugar in yet!!!!!! I’ve lived in Italy, I guess this kind of off-hand service might be normal there, you do have to be assertive to get noticed, but this experience left a bad (and grainy, lol!) taste in my mouth! Won’t be rushing back… Other friends have noticed the same indifferent service. Shame.
Christin – I went back a few times after I wrote this review, and I’m still a bit nervous about having to eat warm rather than hot food again! It’s a shame to hear the service hasn’t improved, as that is a huge part of the dining out experience. Sorry to hear about your most recent experience (isn’t the customer always right?!). I was only discussing going back to Princi with some colleagues when I saw your comment. Maybe one last chance!
Helen Yuet Ling
I went there with my friends I found it it’s not only a high quality bakery but also they have big selection of food designed to be shared, so you can try a bit of everything with your friends. It’s a Rally cool place and a wonderful relaxing atmosphere where you face the water display. the food is excellent which is not strange for Alan Yau as all of his creation before was Unique successful projects from the north-east Asia and now for the first time he Approach the Western Europe culture from the heart. Princi is going to be a fantastic place to hang out with friends.
But don’t forget to ask the staff to heat up your food.