Notting Hill, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“World-class cooking from the best female chef in the country” inspires nothing but reams of rapturous reports on Clare Smyth’s “seemingly effortless and very special” Notting Hill HQ – again the No. 1 gastronomic choice in our annual diners’ poll and “well deserving its three Michelin stars” (the same of which could not be said for most of London’s other holders of these laurels). The “virtuoso” cuisine is “simply exquisite” yet “without seeming pretentious”: it says something that one of this Northern Irish farmer’s daughter’s key signature dishes is made out of potato! “Everything from the welcome, the theatre of the kitchen, the execution of the cooking, the comprehensive wine list, the crisp, airy and bright dining room and the enthusiastic and delightful service” provides a “profoundly good experience with incredible attention to detail”. “Clare is in the kitchen each time” and regularly greets guests personally, and “although the bill is high, it is not outlandish for the culinary performance that is delivered”. “Always at the top of its game” – ratings here have held very steady in a year that has seen wobbles at many of its rivals.

This “cool vibes” Portobello Road hang-out with a “let-your-hair-down ambience” was carved out of an old Notting Hill boozer by nightclub entrepreneur Nick House (Mahiki and Whisky Mist). The tapas-y food, by former River Café chef Theo Hill, divides opinion: it’s either “exemplary” and “delicious”, or “sloppy”, “heavy-handed and over-priced”. Top Tip – “if you don’t like noise, ask for a table upstairs”.

2021 Review: Egg-citing Notting Hill arrival of a California-based chain majoring in… you guessed it… which beamed down from La-La Land into Portobello in late-summer 2019, too late for survey feedback. Signature dish is ‘The Slut’: a coddled egg on potato puree in a jar, plus sliced baguette.

“Jackson Boxer’s sublime Notting Hill outpost remains an out-and-out favourite, from the laid- back vibe to the small but perfectly formed menu” – that’s the unanimous view on his “beautifully lit and cosy” four-year-old: a “consistent and fantastic neighbourhood restaurant” serving superb, “inventive” small plates all at a “very reasonable price”. Top Menu Tip – “special kudos has to go to the caviar served simply with potato chips and sour cream just as it should be”.

Lady Bamford’s quartet of London ‘rus in urbe’ cafés should have caught the zeitgeist, with their focus on home-produced organic ingredients from her estate. But the offering is variable, with food that’s too often slated as “poor”; or incidents of “staff hanging around not knowing what to do”. The Pimlico branch scores the best of the bunch, but it’s worthy of note that visitors to the Daylesford farm mothership in the Cotswolds report an altogether different and “delightful” experience.

This Holland Park hotspot from the Seventies is making a comeback next year under a new owner – Tara MacBain, a former regular who lives nearby and trained at Le Cordon Bleu. Expect French brasserie-style cooking from an all-day menu featuring seafood towers – and, in a nod to its louche past – a Martini trolley to save on trips to the bar.

With its “perfect pub atmosphere”, “pretty front garden” and “excellent, interesting food that never disappoints”, this unusually gracious Ladbroke Grove local is “a real contender” as one the capital’s better hostelries. On the debit side, service was often said to be “up and down” this year (“smiling and helpful, but run off their feet”).

“Back with a bang!” – Brett Graham’s “superlative” Notting Hill HQ ‘pressed pause’ during Covid, but re-opened in 2022 to near-universal acclaim. “Technically exquisite, with delicate preparation and flavour combinations” – “his cuisine was straight back in with two Michelin stars – zero surprise there!”. (But there are also widespread misgivings about prices that risk becoming “just too expensive”). “Many of the old staff remain and balance efficiency and familiarity with aplomb” and “Brett is very visible to chat with”. “To top it off, with the new interior it has such a relaxed vibe now”. Top Menu Tip – “unbelievably brilliant mushrooms”.

“A winner if only for people-watching” – “the great and the good-looking of Notting Hill gather in the beige but tasteful surroundings” of this year-old pub, whose popularity is such that it’s regularly “heaving”. “It’s not that cheap”, but all reviews applaud Owen Kenworthy’s “top-end pub good”, from an “interesting menu” of “reinvented pub classics”. Top Menu Tips – mince on toast is a staple here; “bar snacks of crab and cheese on toast are a delicious counterpoint to the drinks”.

2021 Review: On Ladbroke Grove, this big landmark pub was taken over by Harcourt Inns, with chef Ruairidh Summers at the stoves, and re-launched in mid-2019, too late for survey feedback.

With Chris D’Sylva’s background (Notting Hill Fish Shop and Supermarket of Dreams) “the ingredient quality was always going to be superb” at this “constantly buzzing” new ‘bistro for locals’, which has instantly become something of a “modern classic” for the Notting Hillbilly in-crowd. Chef Max Coen “manages to make decadent dishes seem simple” (“steak is to die for”; or “feast on the most melting buttery liver pâté”) and “counter seats are excellent for kitchen watching” – “you get the cooking show and a fantastic atmosphere with lots of interesting fellow diners”.

“A super little spot in the ’hood” – Hillgate Village now boasts another reason to travel to this cute enclave, off Notting Hill Gate: an offshoot of the coffee shop across the road. With its sparse, pale-wood interior, it has “Nordic” looks, although the menu claims to be ‘broadly Mediterranean inspired’. Whatever you call it, there’s “great innovation” from Andrianos Poulis’s “interesting, exciting and tasty” “fusion” cuisine. A downside? – “it’s so noisy!”