Notting Hill: An insider's guide to this London neighbourhood
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Notting Hill was cool – a small west London neighbourhood where those who hadn't the resources to live in Chelsea or Kensington came to lay their hats. It was cheap, it was raw and it was edgy. This was the home of the famous Carnival, now the largest in Europe, a chilli-infused hotpot of multiculturalism. It was shabby and chic. It was a place to party, to hang out at late-night speakeasy bars, to buy music and fruit, Afghan coats and dodgy antiques from the Portobello Road and the odd illicit substance from the All Saints Road, when it was lined with bobbies, not posh bathroom shops. These days, the neighbourhood is known as London's fashionable Notting Hill. But despite all the boutiques and high-brand shops, the new resident bankers (and the tourists searching for Hugh Grant's blue door) you can still find the spirit of the real Notting Hill. You just have to know where to look.
The best restaurants in Notting Hill
Casa Cruz
When impossibly well-connected Chilean-born restauranteur Juan Santa Cruz opened his first London outpost on a residential Notting Hill street, it proved an instant hit. Casa Cruz knocked Chiltern Firehouse off its pedestal to become the latest darling of the restaurant scene – and within weeks of opening, celebrities including David Beckham, Prince Harry and Arizona Muse had all bypassed the three-month waiting list to snag a table behind its imposing doors. In June 2024, it made headlines again as Taylor Swift dined there with a squad of famous friends from Kate Moss to the Haim sisters. Blingy jewel-box interiors are a jumble of copper, brass, gold and crushed velvet, with a trippy mirrored staircase leading up to a lovely first-floor terrace shielded from prying eyes by a wall of tropical greenery. The simple small-plates menu packs a punch while still managing to feel virtuous; start with wafer-thin slices of ibérico ham before plates of octopus carpaccio with a citrus-chilli kick, freshly rolled ravioli swimming in a brown-butter and truffle sauce, and enormous pan-seared scallops served in their shell. Meat is cooked on a Josper grill – top-quality steaks are imported from Argentina and served with dainty pans of spiced corn and black sesame avocado. Come for drinks, dinner or the whole night; the margaritas are so well-mixed it’s hard not to have a good time.
Address: 123A Clarendon Rd, London W11 4JG
Website: casacruz.londonSix Portland Road
Here’s a proper neighbourhood restaurant we all wish we had at the end of our road: classic British cooking, an impressive wine list, crisp white tablecloths and sensible prices. Six Portland Road is the brainchild of affable restaurateur Oli Barker, one half of the duo behind small plates and wine bar Terroirs, just off the Strand, and its smaller spin-offs Soif and Brawn (he’s since sold off his shares in each to launch a breezy beach hotel in Devon, Hope Cove House). On a leafy suburban road just along from Holland Park Tube station, it has just 36 seats – regulars and neighbours often pop in on their way home to try to snag a cancellation, but most nights tables are turned at least twice. The menu changes at each service, but the classic, unfussy cooking remains a constant. Expect lamb neck served on a bed of ratatouille and chickpeas; burrata with purple sprouting broccoli and salty anchovies; gnocchi with sausage and fennel ragu and turbot with Jersey Royals and spring greens– before sticky toffee pudding and chocolate mousse. The impressive wine list is predominantly French and Italian – the tiny bar isn’t big enough to settle in at but it’s a good spot to sit and chat to the team about their recommendations while waiting for your table. There’s a very affordable lunch menu too – at £21 for three courses, this is a great place to know about after a morning’s shopping on nearby Portobello Road.
Address: 6 Portland Road, Holland Park, London W11 4LA
Website: sixportlandroad.com
Helen CathcartThe Walmer Castle
Independent publican Jack Greenall has form in creating refined British boozers for the 21st century. He grew up as a scion of the Greenall Whitley brewing family, cut his teeth as a proprietor of The Pheasant in Berkshire – now sold – and created the current version of Chelsea’s The Surprise. Reincarnating this 1845 vintage Ledbury Road establishment in a raffishly iconic London spot, he has unleashed considerable skills. There’s a respect shown for British suppliers, a worldly and partly organic wine list, and an understanding that a British pub needs to be, at its heart, unpretentious. In the kitchen, chef Ondrej Hula mans the British seasonal menu, which centres proper ingredients from quality suppliers, including Longhorn beef and Tamworth pork from The Ginger Pig and game-hung, dry-plucked poultry from Leicestershire’s Belvoir Estate, as well as daily catches from Cornwall’s Flying Fish. Whilst the menu is replete with venison carpaccio and chalkstream trout, there are pescatarian options including halibut with samphire. The Sunday menu, a suite of elegant but straightforward roasts, centres pork belly, lamb shoulder torchon and 38-day sirloin, plus a rich vegetarian option of celeriac and truffle pie with mushroom jus. Almost as much as the food, hyper-local artisans and artists take centre stage, with furniture from Rupert Bevan on All Saints Road and antiques purloined from the dealers of Portobello Road. The walls are adorned with a frieze by Tess Newall, and generations of British artists line the walls, from Patrick Caulfield and Cornelia Parker to Yinka Shonibare. The Walmer Castle’s proprietor history of recent years has been a little stop-start, with celebrity owners such as Guy Ritchie, David Beckham and Mahiki impresario Piers Adam not going the distance. But The Walmer Castle is part of the cultural fabric of Notting Hill, so it’s nice to see a takeover done properly. This owner feels like a keeper. Lydia Bell
Address: The Walmer Castle, 58 Ledbury Road, London W11 2AJ
Website: walmercastle-nottinghill.co.ukKuro Eatery
It usually takes an easy-going (but exceptionally delicious) neighbourhood restaurant years to win the hearts and stomachs of its locals. But Julian Victoria and Jacob Van Nieuwkoop’s Hillgate hangout Kuro Eatery achieved the impossible in a matter of months. It helped that Notting Hillites were already under the spell of neighbouring Kuro Coffee and the duo’s irresistible bakery (where the vanilla blackcurrant and raspberry sakuros are beyond description). But this pocket-sized sliver of Scandi restraint, whose buttoned-down appeal and exquisite Italo-Japanese food pairs as beautifully as the bao-bun-accompanied lumina lamb yakitori and truffle with the Argentine pinot noir, is a real knockout.
Firstly, there’s a refreshing lack of pretentious energy that seems to permeate even the most outwardly unpretentious, upcycled table joints opening up across the city – Julian and Jacob are its humble, wholly enthusiastic antithesis. Then there’s the menu, a compact one-size-fits-all Mediterranean medley of goats' cheese flatbread slathered in fermented hot honey, trout where cucumber and dill balance out the salt and Trofie pasta bulked up with aged manchego and bottarga. Every morsel of food on these deftly drip-fed sharing plates has undergone some alchemic transformation – the language of our fuss-free, through wildly fussed over modern menus ‘smoked,’ ‘fermented,’ and the like. A comfortingly compact wine list feels surprisingly classic for this gently off-beat neighbourhood haunt – an Australian Shiraz would qualify as left field. And with the Italo-Japanese foodie show closing on a bitter-sweet note – the joy crammed into our strawberry beignets with basil erred on celestial – it makes an easy case for returning to the bakery branch of the Kuro triumvirate the following morning. Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: 5 Hillgate Street, London W8 7SP
Website: kuro-london.com
The Ledbury
This restaurant might just be one of London’s very best. away down one of Notting Hill’s residential side streets, this pared-back spot doesn’t shout about its two-Michelin star status – which they earned back in record time after a two-year hiatus during Covid. Inside, the fresh new design places soothing tones of creams and browns and a textured lime wash paint to create a soft, intimate environment, with tables arranged around a floral centrepiece suspended from the ceiling. Staff were second-to-none – General Manager Jack Settle has infused the team with his own quiet enthusiasm and sincere attention to detail, without any semblance of pomp or pretension.
Brett Graham’s menu, however, is the reason we’re here. It takes more than skill alone to create dish after dish that let individual ingredients shine while simultaneously creating a blend of flavours that are totally complex. The chalk stream trout is spectacular. Cubes of cured fish served with Isle of Wight tomato consomme and a quenelle of green shiso ice cream. If you get a chance, pop downstairs to see the mushroom cabinet – the chefs grow their own shiitake which they harvest right before barbecuing and plating up on a bed of silken tofu and truffle shavings. The wine was paired thoughtfully with each dish, ranging from a soft, minerally Malagousia with the trout to a stronger, structured Chardonnay with a veal before moving onto a well-rounded Pinot Noir for the lamb. Leave feeling exceedingly well-fed and seriously looked after – The Ledbury is undoubtedly worth the hype, plus a little bit more. Olivia Morelli
Address: 127 Ledbury Road, London W11 2AQ
Website: theledbury.com
Dorian
More bistro-style than a primped-up eatery often found in the neighbourhood, Dorian on Talbot Road is as anti-Notting Hill as it gets. An open kitchen and industrial-esque fixtures are intimately accompanied by white-clothed and candle-lit tables. Helmed by ex-Ikoyi chef Max Coen, alongside a team with London favourites River Café and Core by Clare Smyth in the roster, Dorian is one of those “if you know, you know” spots. It’s so mysterious that even its menu can’t be found on its website, but the fact that the open-grilled T-Bone steak alone draws the crowds to West is a telltale sign of its worth. The seafood selection is noteworthy, too. The Cornish mackerel on bite-sized rostis kicks off the meal, while the sweet lobster tail and Dover sole are worthy of the clean plate club. Zahra Surya Darma
Address: Dorian, 107 Talbot Rd, London W11 2AT, United Kingdom
Website: dorianrestaurant.com
Zēphyr
Zēphyr embodies the casual, laid-back style of a summer's day at a Mykonos beach club, perfectly reflecting its namesake, the Greek god of the West wind, known for its gentle breeze. The interiors, a blend of neutrals with subtle pops of colours through eclectic trinkets and cutlery, serve as a tranquil oasis amidst the vibrant energy of Portobello Road just beyond its doors. Plates are generously portioned and meant to be shared. Start with a selection of spreads; tamara (a tangy cod roe emulsion) and classic tzatziki were big hitters. The Greek salad with barrel-aged feta, caper leaf, and rusks was a refreshing side to the cheesy metsovone custard, and truffle topped over crispy potato terrine. The grilled octopus comes with fava purée and kalamata olive mayo, while the spiced charred lamb cutlets were the fall-off-the-bone kind. Zahra Surya Darma
Address: Zēphyr, 100 Portobello Rd, London W11 2QD, United Kingdom
Website: zephyr.london
MATTHEW HAGUEAkub
Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan has done more than anyone to raise the status (and stake the rights) of Palestine’s gastronomic identity. He created Fawda Restaurant & Café in Bethlehem’s Old City, the sine qua non of modern Palestinian cuisine – of which he is the father. Now, behind the sage-green facade of a Notting Hill townhouse, he has unveiled petite Akub with his friend Rasha Khouri. Named after a flowering Palestinian thistle, it is a four-level earthy, imaginative space in a quiet symphony of natural greens, lemony yellows and poured creams. Walls are touched with significant objects: hopeful olive branches; a series of keys that allude to the Palestinian right of return. The menu celebrates aspects of his terroir – the seafood-heavy accents of the coasts and Gaza; the maftool and freekeh of the traditional, olive-grove-filled centre; and the dried yoghurts and salting and drying traditions of the desert nomads. Our feast is prefaced by zaatar bread, crackers with bitter nigella seeds, coriander- and sumac-lashed focaccia, and dips, including fiery fermented red chillies. An intensely violety Jordanian Saint George Petite Syrah accompanies us through plates of salty-spongy Nabulsi cheese; Sheikh El Mahshi baby aubergines with pickled herbs and walnuts; Rye Bay skate fish kofta and a slow-cooked lamb spiced with mahlab and mastic. Then they bring us the best pudding I’ve had in years: baba, a brioche soaked in cardamom and fenugreek syrup drenched in pistachio cream. Kattan says cuisine is inherited, “passed down in the transmission of the hand movement my grandmother made as she cooked”. Akub is a gourmet legacy writ large in the heart of Notting Hill. Lydia Bell
Address: Akub, 27 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7TQ
Website: akub-restaurant.com
David CotsworthSunday in Brooklyn
This is New York by way of Notting Hill. Sunday in Brooklyn was transplanted from the city’s thriving brunch scene – in, you guessed it, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighbourhood – to equally breakfast-obsessed Notting Hill in 2021. Brunch and supper are served on terrazzo tables in an exposed-brick dining room. If you visit in the evening, order uber-cheesy spinach and artichoke dip, all-American romaine wedge salad with ranch or a crispy sweet and sour chicken sandwich-slash-burger, topped off with apple crumble made with punchy whisky. But really, you want to book for brunch (served until 5pm) when you can order plates of the famous, trademarked Sunday Pancakes – thicker and fluffier than any hot cake you’ve ordered before served with hazelnut maple praline and brown butter. A proper NYC breakfast experience without having to leave zone one. Sarah James
Address: 98 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RU
Website: sundayinbk.co.uk
Lateef OkunnuOrasay
You'll find Jackson Boxer's venture on the quieter side of Notting Hill. Orasay is inspired by the tiny Outer Hebridean island where Boxer spent his childhood holidays, and there’s a sense of Hebridean tranquillity to the space, with highlights of the short by effective menu including haddock buns, lobster agnolotti, salt-baked beetroot and warming grilled potato bread dipped in cod's roe. Mercifully free of gimmicks and fads, this is a proper, grown-up neighbourhood restaurant.
Address: 31 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2EU
Website: orasay.london
Core by Clare Smyth
Clare Smyth, the first and only British female chef to win three Michelin stars, opened her first solo restaurant back in 2017. This is fine dining redone; there are no tablecloths, menus are presented on a piece of folded card, and U2 drifts out of the speakers. Order the five- or seven-course tasting menu; while the core ingredients may seem simple and familiar, the reality is anything but. Highlights include a humble potato dish, inspired by Clare’s childhood on the Northern Irish coast and elevated with herring and trout roe and topped with a rich seaweed beurre blanc; carrot, braised lamb and sheep’s milk yoghurt; and a superb pear and verbena pudding with poire William sorbet. The very best seats are around the chef’s table, right under the nose of the glass-fronted kitchen, but if you haven’t managed to snag a table several months ahead, you can eat in the bar too, where a few seats are kept back for walk-ins.
Address: 92 Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2PN
Website: corebyclaresmyth.com
Suzi Tros
Since it opened in 2012, Notting Hillites have made regular pilgrimages to Mazi, the inventive small plates restaurant that revolutionised London’s Greek food scene. Riding on its success, husband and wife team Adrien Carre and Christina Mouratoglou have just opened a second venture, Suzi Tros, serving up modern twists on the best-known classics from Mouratoglou’s hometown of Thessaloniki. Seasonally changing dishes include whole roasted aubergine bubbling with cheese and sweet honey; juicy prawns in a garlicky tomato and feta sauce and wafer-thin sea bass with a yuzu dressing, served in a stripped-back, taverna-like setting. Downstairs, a tiny cocktail bar serves drinks packed with punchy Greek spirits like ouzo and mastika.
Address: 18 Hillgate Street, Notting Hill, London W8 7SR
Website: suzitros.com
Caractère
There’s a formidable team at the helm of Caractère; Michel Roux Jr’s daughter Emily runs front of house, while her husband Diego Ferrari – the ex-head chef of Le Gavroche – leads the kitchen. The Franco-Italian menu riffs on the couple's roots, dividing dishes into six short sections: curious (meaty starters), subtle (vegetable-led small plates), delicate (fish), robust (meat), strong (cheese) and greedy (pudding), while for the indecisive, there’s a clever a pick and mix-style tasting menu. The cooking here is adventurous but fuss-free; a deceptively simple dish of cacio e pepe is the star starter, while other hits include flaky Cornish cod, a blushing-pink saddle of lamb and ravioli stuffed with pulled pork and peas, finished with a light lemony broth. With such top-notch cooking, it’s obvious that hospitality runs in the DNA of this restaurant’s power-couple owners.
Address: 209 Westbourne Park Road, Notting Hill, London W11 1EA
Website: caractererestaurant.com
Ingrid RasmussenGold
Notting Hill’s newest neighbourhood haunt has already become a bit of a celeb magnet – Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were spotted on a double date here just after it opened, and Jourdan Dunn and Olympia Campbell have also popped by. Owned by nightclub mogul Nick House, it’s headed up by former River Café chef Theo Hill, whose unfussy, deeply seasonal menus focus on cooking over a flame or in the wood-fired oven. Everything’s designed for sharing; top picks include wood-roasted purple potatoes with a smoky sauerkraut slaw, burrata with charred peaches and sea bream with capers and oregano. Behind the moodily-lit bar, the fern-laden dining room must be one of London’s prettiest – and on hot days the glass roof retracts to open the restaurant up to the elements.
Address: 95-97 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2QB
Website: goldnottinghill.com
Mazi
Greek food in London often translates as suspect tzatziki, chunky feta cubes weighing down a sore betrayal of the nation’s signature salad and taverna-style moussaka, sometimes good, sometimes not. Moussaka may not have made it onto the menu at Mazi, Notting Hill’s favourite Greek haunt, but lamb certainly has – as a shredded shoulder fricassee with lemony avgolemono sauce. The Greek salad comes with crisp barley rusks and delicate crumbs of creamy feta. The menu is an imaginative spin on authentic Greek food, elevating national classics for a spoilt modern palate. The seafood manti dumplings come with a puddle of saffron kakavia (a Greek fish stew) and are topped with bottarga powder, while the doughnut-like loukoumades pudding is doused in lavender honey and sprinkled with crushed walnuts. These delicious dishes are served in a casual setting that errs on the rustic. Owners Christina Mouratoglou (Greek) and Adrien Carre (French) lamented the city’s lack of proper Greek food and opened in 2012 in a building on Hillgate Street – the black-railings-and-pastel-painted-townhouse sort that makes American tourists swoon. The wine list is a patriotic ode to Greece’s finest and lesser-known but discerningly selected vineyards, all reasonably priced – we had the Roditis-Malagousia, which easily tuned into every dish. And if bread – much like a restaurant loo – is the barometer of restaurant quality, the light, doughy slices drenched in basil olive oil with a dab of rock salt are fulfilling their role effortlessly. Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: 12-14 Hillgate Street, Notting Hill, London W8 7SR
Website: mazi.co.uk
Nbhd
Once a pub on a quiet stretch of Ladbroke Grove, now a pastel-pink cocktail bar, this Portobello small-plates spot is a clever place to book for a Saturday night. It might be the garden out front that appeals most, or that there’s plenty of room upstairs for those craving a late night – but, really, we think we were sold by the bright-yellow bar, behind which a DJ spins house remixes of Dolly Parton. The South American-inspired food, overseen by former Bodega Negra chef Sebastian Becerra, plays with taco toppings from pull-apart pork belly and crisp guillo prawns to spicy, sashimi-grade tuna tartare. Truffle chips might seem a random addition to the menu, but they’re so fluffy – and cooked in beef dripping, as all superior chips are – that we’d recommend ordering them anyway. This is a space to keep the drinks flowing, ordering tacos as and when you get peckish. The tropical cocktail list includes strawberry and jalapeño Margaritas that have a subtle kick of heat, refreshing watermelon Daiquiris and the RumGroni: rum, Campari, Belsazar Red vermouth and walnut and chocolate bitters. Sarah James
Address: 225 Ladbroke Grove, London W10 6HQ
Website: neighbourhood-london.com
Jonathan Clark ArchitectsUli
Pan-Asian champion Uli – first established over two decades ago on All Saints Road – closed a few years ago. But to the delight of locals it was later resurrected in a new location on Ladbroke Road, just minutes from Notting Hill Gate Tube station. In its new incarnation there’s a lighter touch to the cooking – soft-shell crab, aromatic duck, sea bass steamed with ginger and garlic – and a huge, Mediterranean-style pavement terrace that’s always filled with writers, artists, food critics and actors. If he’s around, be sure to rubberneck with founder Michael Lim – he’s often seen, serving free nightcaps to his regulars.
Address: 5 Ladbroke Road, Notting Hill, London W11 3PA
Website: ulilondon.com
Farmacy
Millennials flock to this clean-eating oasis owned by Camilla Fayed, daughter of Mohamed Al-Fayed, who spotted a gap in the market for vegan, nutrition-aware restaurants like the ones all over LA and New York. The easy on the eye interior takes on a jungly theme and is full of naked wood, bamboo, hanging plants and moss-green booths, with a gleaming golden bar in the centre. The carefully labelled menu is full of dairy-, gluten- and nut-free options, from buckwheat pancakes with coconut yoghurt to fragrant green curries, crunchy kimchi bowls and pizzettas with macadamia cheese. It also specialises in one of the more obscure afternoon teas in London serving CBD-infused plant-based teas – including an intriguing hemp loose-leaf brew.
Address: 74 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W2 5SH
Website: farmacylondon.com
Best cafes and brunches in Notting Hill
Eggslut
Eggslut has grown from humble street-truck beginnings into a cult mini-chain – with outposts in California, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Kuwait and, finally, London. The much-awaited UK branch opened on Portobello Road in the summer – and the queues are pretty epic by the time the Sunday market rolls around. This is fast food, rather than somewhere to linger – but with a Cordon Bleu-trained chef behind the menu, you’re guaranteed some of the best scrambled eggs in town. Brioche buns from Bread Ahead bakery are stuffed full with various combinations of egg, gooey cheese, caramelised onions, bacon and even wagyu beef, all parceled up in a brown paper bag for a perfect quick brunch fix.
Address: 185 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2ED
Website: eggslut.com
Marcus BrownSecret Sandwich Shop
Name a more dribble-inducing sandwich cross-section around here. We'll wait. Lunch from the Secret Sandwich Shop is no meal-deal run, more an indulgent outing all your friends (or colleagues) deserve to be brought in on – there's no gatekeeping allowed. Opt for the signature ‘Secret Sandwich’ stuffed with five seasonal vegetables, avocado, tomato and kewpie mayo, or go for a classic ham and cheese, just as pretty as the more exotic options. It's all about the sandwiches here, but there's space on the menu for a few nostalgic snacks, from hula hoops to dream animals. Looking for less of a lunchtime stop-off and more of a feast? Enquire about their catering service.
Address: 103 Talbot Road, London W11 2AT
Website: secretsandwichshop.com
PressEggbreak
No prizes for guessing which ingredient takes centre stage at this perennially popular café in the heart of Hillgate Village. From the same stable as hipster hotel chain the Hoxton, it draws the biggest crowds at weekend brunch, when tourists and locals drop in for cold-pressed juices, mugs of tea and shakshuka, eggs benedict or even a downright dirty fried-chicken burger. The vibe’s very Soho Farmhouse – creamy tongue and groove walls, kitsch china plates and chipped metal chairs.
Address: 30 Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill, London W8 7TA
Website: eggbreak.com
Farm Girl
This Aussie-inspired café on Portobello Road fills up quickly on weekends with gym bunnies fresh from yoga and spinning, as brunch hits of turmeric-rinsed oats and BLT’s with vegan coconut ‘bacon’ are doled out. The coffee is excellent and there are plenty of blue, gold and rose matcha lattes too, plus a choice of kombucha – a fermented tea that’s all the rage in LA and oh-so-good for the gut.
Address: 59a Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 3DB
Website: thefarmgirl.co.ukCoffee Plant
This no-frills coffee emporium on Portobello Road, which started life as a pavement bean stall, has been here for more than 20 years. It’s an importer and roaster above all – smart Notting Hillites come by to stock up on supplies of organic and fairtrade beans – but the low-key coffee shop serves the best macchiato in the West and fresh croissants and pastries are baked on site each morning.
Address: 180 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2EB
Website: coffee.uk.com
Issy CrokerOttolenghi
Star chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s deli and restaurant emporium may now stretch across London – but it was here in Notting Hill that it all began. His original outpost has been open for almost 17 years, and the tiny site’s calming all-white interiors are decorated with a long counter groaning under a visual feast of colourful salads, pastries, cakes and huge oversized meringues. The menu changes regularly but remains resolutely Middle Eastern, featuring veggie-led dishes including roasted aubergine with feta, pomegranate and mint and za’atar fritters with rose-harissa yoghurt. There’s a tiny seating area at the back, but everything’s available for home delivery or to take away.
Address: 63 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AD
Website: ottolenghi.co.uk
Kristin PerersGranger and Co.
Self-taught Aussie chef Bill Granger’s original UK outpost of his eponymous restaurant chain is still the best. Be prepared to queue if you’re visiting at peak weekend brunch time – people flock here for his menu of healthy salads, rice bowls and a handful of more decadent dishes too, including scrambled eggs made with gallons of cream and his famous ricotta pancakes with melting honeycomb butter. There’s a cool Sydney beach café vibe, and the full Aussie breakfast is particularly popular, served with jasmine tea-smoked salmon, poached eggs and lots of greens.
Address: 175 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W11 2SB
Website: grangerandco.com
Daylesford
Daylesford’s original outpost is in the Cotswolds, of course – but this urban version has the same fiercely strong farm to fork ethos focusing on organic, seasonal and delicious food. Upstairs, an open kitchen serves all-day menus of squash and courgette tarts, bee pollen and kale salads and a vegan bolognese, while the deli and bakery downstairs sell heaps of treats to take home including freshly baked loaves and artisan cheeses from the creamery at the Cotswolds farm. It’s usually filled with yummy mummies, catching up over a matcha latte at one of the stripped-wood communal tables.
Address: 208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W11 2RH
Website: daylesford.com
Matthew BuckWhere to stay in Notting Hill
The Laslett
In an area strangely short of decent hotels, the deeply stylish and affordable Laslett is a real gem. Set across five Victorian townhouses, this is a modern boutique hotel that remains true to the spirit of the ‘old’ Notting Hill, created by long-time locals using cult artists, architects, designers and chefs from the area. It’s been shaped by British brands and interiors are delightfully restrained, with head-cooling rooms done up in neutral greys and whites and a lovely bar and library where locals hang out. While there are many exquisite restaurants in these ends, sometimes a wander downstairs is needed after a day of exploring – tuck in at The Henderson Bar & Kitchen, which even has a delightful overnight menu for midnight snackers.
The Portobello Hotel
The Portobello Hotel has something of a cult international following – it’s here that Kate Moss and Johnny Depp allegedly filled a bath with champagne, Alice Cooper kept a pet boa constrictor and Robbie Williams tried to buy the circular bed in the hotel’s now infamous Room 16. It’s been open since the early 1970s, and visitors are drawn to the innate quirkiness of its golden bathtubs, eccentric antiques, chintzy wallpaper and four posters so vast they need steps to reach them. There’s no restaurant but room service runs 24 hours a day, and there’s an honesty bar in the sitting rooms for guests to fix themselves a drink at any hour.
The Lost Poet
This hotel introduces guests to a different side of Notting Hill. On the quiet end of Portobello Road – before the vegan cafés, film-set mews and paintbox-pastel terraces with makeshift lemonade stands – we love this unmarked townhouse for its serious privacy and a deep-rooted sense of belonging in the neighbourhood. More of an apart-hotel stay than a hotel, rooms have monochromatic wallpaper, artwork from the Nelly Duff Gallery and a rainfall shower or silver bathtub deep enough for a proper dip. Staff are reachable by WhatsApp, dropping off hampers of cheese and crackers from The Sloe Kitchen and breakfast tote bags stuffed with Ottolenghi bakes and salty butter at the door. Windows look onto the curving entrance of Portobello Road – the lower-level Suite has a whitewashed deck while showstopping two-storey penthouse The Muse is all about the top-floor suntrap terrace, with views to rival any rooftop bar in the area. This patch of W11 has long been a classic spot for weekend day-tripping – and now there’s a lo-fi address for sleepovers too. Sarah James
Address: The Lost Poet, 6 Portobello Road, London W11 3DG
Best bars and pubs in Notting Hill
The Ladbroke Arms
Tucked away on a quiet residential street behind Notting Hill’s main drag, the Ladbroke Arms feels more like a quaint village pub than a London boozer. You’re likely to find locals here rather than tourists, and on sunny days the flower-filled terrace swarms with regulars drinking a craft ale with their dogs in tow. Behind the bar, there’s a dining room serving gastropub-quality food and brilliant Sunday roasts – and the extensive wine list includes a handful of organic and natural bottles too.
Address: 54 Ladbroke Road, London W11 3NW
Website: ladbrokearms.comThe Hillgate
Sleepy Hillgate Village, with its rows of pretty pastel-coloured houses and narrow one-way streets, is hands-down one of Notting Hill’s loveliest enclaves. Once a fairly rowdy sports bar, The Hillgate is now a bright-eyed local pub set in an imposing Victorian townhouse on the corner – it can get quite noisy (in a good way) on a Friday and Saturday evening, but draws a particularly family-friendly crowd for Sunday lunch. The resolutely British menu feels more comfort food than fine-dining and it’s worth booking ahead for a table.
Address: 24 Hillgate Street, Notting Hill, London W8 7SR
Website: thehillgate.comThe Windsor Castle
The Windsor Castle is a pub with proper history – back when it first opened in the 1820s, farmers would stop by for a pint on their way to Hyde Park’s livestock market. There was a clear sightline of its royal namesake from one of the upstairs windows – but sadly a rather ugly block of flats now blocks the view. Today, the pub has dodged dramatic modernisation and kept its slightly scruffy village inn charm – the Victorian wooden screens originally used to separate the men’s and women’s bars still remain in place, as do the wood-panelled beams and open fireplaces. The huge beer garden out the back is a real boon, and there’s good solid pub fare on the menu too: fish and chips, steak and cheddar pie and bangers and mash.
Address: 114 Campden Hill Road, Notting Hill, London W8 7AR
Website: thewindsorcastlekensington.comThe Cow
Tom Conran’s (of Conran family fame) pub on Westbourne Park Road is legendary – and the beef and ale pies and pints of prawns are almost as celebrated as its regulars. One-time neighbour Stella McCartney has held many a party here; David Beckham and Tom Cruise have washed down oysters with Guinness – and there’s a cheerfully scruffy feel to the place, even if the upstairs restaurant’s recent makeover managed to smarten things up a tad. The bar area is always packed, and there’s a small pavement terrace that drinkers spill out onto on warmer evenings.
Address: 89 Westbourne Park Road, Notting Hill, London W2 5QH
Website: thecowlondon.co.uk
Trailer Happiness
What poses as a Hawaiian shop-window display at 177 Portobello Road is in fact the entrance to Trailer Happiness, a drinking den of creative cocktails with a tiki-twist, where rum is king and kitsch and off-beat interiors set the tone. Concoctions include Hell in the Pacific (rum, grenadine liqueur, fresh lime juice and pomegranate molasses) and Jezebel's Blush (rum shaken with crème de pêche, falernum-spiced syrup, lime and Veuve Clicquot). The mixologists entertain the crowd with theatrical moves, shakes and flames, as do the DJs on designated nights when they transform the bar into a bona fide party zone of house, reggae, funk, soul and hip-hop. Guests are advised to stick to two of the Zombie cocktails each – a dangerous blend of rum and absinthe – although the beef sliders, Jamaican-style patties and jerk chicken do a great job of soaking up any over-indulgence.
Address: 177 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2DY
Website: trailer.com
Notting Hill Arts Club
A long-standing favourite with locals, this scruffy basement music and arts venue is one of the early pioneers of niche club nights and music genres, hosting everything from Afrobeats and dubstep to moombahton and hip hop. There’s a small stage that plays host to an eclectic array of live acts and DJs, and the drinks are very reasonably priced for this part of town.
Address: 21 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JQ
Website: nottinghillartsclub.com
The Globe
Opened in the 1960s as a hole-in-the-wall speakeasy that Hendrix, the Stones and Bob Marley all frequented, The Globe must be one of West London’s oldest late-night hangouts. Today, it’s still a community favourite; the buzzing basement dive bar churns out old-school hip hop and reggae on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 10.30 pm. Don’t bother dressing up – it’s small, sweaty and gritty – but unashamedly good fun.
Address: 103 Talbot Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AT
Website: theglobeclub.com
Getty ImagesBest things to do in Notting Hill
Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill's annual Carnival, held over the August bank holiday, is the biggest street party in Europe – over a million revelers line the streets to enjoy the thrilling, colourful spectacle celebrating London's vibrant multicultural communities.
Electric Cinema
Retreat from the crowds and take in a matinée at the Electric Cinema, one of the country's oldest and most romantic movie houses. Sink into the depths of its luxurious leather armchairs and sofas with a glass of wine (there’s no need for popcorn, as substantial bar snacks are prepared in the adjoining Electric Diner).
Address: 191 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2ED
Website: electriccinema.co.uk
The Tabernacle
More offbeat is The Tabernacle, a former evangelist church that now serves as an arts centre. Come here for theatre and cabaret nights, for early-evening alfresco drinks and, during the Carnival weekend, for the best barbecue in town. It is also the west London home of the 5x15 lectures, where writers, broadcasters, actors and artists take to the stage to give a 15-minute lecture on their chosen subject. At Christmas there's an alternative annual pantomime season – those treading the boards in recent years have included Lily Allen, Jaime Winstone and Tom Hollander. During the week you can join ballet, Pilates, yoga and samba sessions, too: a great warm-up for Carnival dancing.
Address: 35 Powis Square, Notting Hill, London W11 2AY
Website: tabernaclew11.com
AlamyBest shopping in Notting Hill
Portobello Road
Portobello Market is one of the world’s most famous street markets, stretching along for more than two miles. Best known for its eclectic antique stalls, bric-a-brac, vintage fashion boutiques and artisan fishmongers and cheese shops, it’s open six days a week for treasure hunting. Friday and Saturday mornings are the buzziest time to visit – fill your shopping basket with chandeliers, cauliflowers and vintage Chanel before stopping off to refuel at one of the many globetrotting street-food stands dotted along the stretch of the market. The grande dame of pre-loved designer brands is Rellik– set in the shadow of the infamous Trellick Tower, this fashion emporium is a favourite of Kate Moss and the go-to place for retro style lovers.
AlamyGolborne Road
At the slightly less chichi end of Portobello, Golborne Road has a scruffier and more independent feel, with its colourful flea market and second-hand stalls; but it is also lined with dozens of treasure-trove shops. Among them is the cheekily named Les Couilles du Chien, which sells unusual antiques, decorative mirrors and lighting, and framed butterflies and beetles. Phoenix on Golborne stocks beautiful antique furniture including Victorian dressers and marble-topped sideboards, plus a handful of vintage accessories. For a fashion fix, Kokon To Zai is an extraordinary boutique: among the stuffed peacocks and design accessories you'll find British fashion labels hanging alongside own-label KTZ. Found and Vision stocks vintage Chanel, Dior and Issey Miyake – the boutique’s celeb fans include Florence Welch and Sienna Miller.
Getty ImagesWestbourne Grove
For high-end shopping, head to Westbourne Grove, which cuts across Portobello Road. If you’re into French-girl style, you’re in the right place – here you’ll find branches of Sandro, Maje, the Kooples and Sézanne (the store’s first permanent London home). Then there’s Heidi Klein’s whitewashed swimwear boutique, Matches (one of the online designer retailer’s three brick and mortar stores) and just round the corner Anya Hindmarch, with her eponymous brand’s quirky collection of handbags and accessories.