Pasqua Rosée opened the first coffeehouse in London in 1652. The coffeehouse was located in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill.
Rosée was born in Ragusa in Sicily. A merchant named Daniel Edwards, a member of the Levant Company and a trader in Turkish goods, encountered Rosée at Smyrna in Anatolia,[1] employed him as a manservant[2] and brought him back to Britain.
Once there, Rosée and one Mr. Bowman, Edwards' coachman, set up the establishment. Its sign was Rosée's own head.
The Jamaica Wine House now occupies the same space.[3]