Notting Hill, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

In the heart of Notting Hill, this East-Mediterranean café opened a couple of years ago and offers a range of Tel Aviv-inspired bites and sharing plates, as well as a brunch menu. Feedback so far is limited, but a couple of locals say it’s “always a great experience”.

This “enjoyable and reasonably priced” Italian in Notting Hill is “always full and busy” – perhaps because it delivers exactly “the sort of food one thinks one would have on holiday in Italy”. The same team is also behind two other Italian venues in the same street, Osteria Basilico and Essenza – so clearly they know what locals like.

“Mouthwatering salads” which look as dazzlingly good as they taste set the tone at Yotam Ottolenghi’s deli-restaurants, where “the food is always outstanding” and “you always discover new ingredients and different takes on traditional dishes”. It’s now 20 years since the Israeli-born writer and TV chef opened his original Notting Hill venue, sparking a new interest in Levantine cuisine; in summer 2021 he opened a fifth branch, near the Wallace Collection in Marylebone.

“The food is the centrepiece” at Emily Roux (daughter of Michel) and her husband Diego Ferrari’s (former head chef of Le Gavroche) “gem tucked away in Notting Hill”, which has established a strong foodie following. “The French/Italian theme to the cooking works well”, delivering “strong flavours with a light touch” from “an interesting menu whose dishes are a little out of the ordinary”. Service is “fabulous and personal” too, which helps make for “a very special meal out” in this comfortable, “cosy” space. “Surely it’s getting a star some time soon?”