in 1953, a momentous event occurred in soho. london’s first coffee shop – one equipped with a gaggia coffee machine – opened at 29 frith street. the moka was an instant success, selling over a thousand cups of coffee a day.
this was a place where teenagers too young for pubs could come and gather, and it is said by some that the introduction of this coffee bar prompted the youth culture explosion that soon changed social life in britain forever.
italian actress gina lollobrigida opened the moka bar and it became known as “the moka”
on october 30, 1972, the moka bar closed. now 50 years later the moka has been revived.
inside the moka bar
