Where To Eat in Notting Hill

It’s fastest fingers first when it comes to snagging a dinner reservation at this hot ticket from social media star Thomas Straker (ex-Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Elystan Street). It’s worth the effort, for Straker’s debut restaurant really is all that. The Golborne Road site is small but the flavours are not — flatbreads, puffed up and topped with scallop and burnt chilli are a must; followed by relaxed, sharing dishes like pumpkin fritti, grilled langoustines, and beef sirloin on the bone. Wines and vibes, a nod to East London, and despite the starry association, there’s a genuine neighbourhood feel.

If Israeli chef Eyal Shani is an artist; then pita is his canvas. There’s little he won’t stuff inside a fluffy bread pocket, from mockney fish and chips to cheeseburgers, spag bol and boeuf bourguignonne. He has fans wherever he has outposts of his empire which stretches now from Notting Hill to Soho and on to Tel Aviv, Singapore and beyond. He’s created more cult dishes than we can count: the bag of green beans (as it sounds) and run over baked potato are truly unique. Unlike the Soho branch, the Notting Hill one takes no reservations.

Walk-ins only.

Chef Jackson Boxer’s chic Kensington Park Road restaurant takes seriously its role as an essential neighbourhood local. It keeps step with its regulars’ needs and wants – introducing, for example, a downturn-friendly fried fish sanger at lunch – while staying true to the guiding principle of gastronomic hedonism. Boxer’s a magician, pairing ingredients like no other. Consider oysters with sea buckthorn and lime leaf; fried dough with fish eggs and smoked cream; or Tamworth chop with brown shrimp and smoked bacon sauce.

The West London pub that has even East Londoners going west for their Sunday lunch. Owen Kenworthy (ex-Brawn) has a gutsy minimalist style that puts all the focus on the all-British ingredients. Make it a pint and a plate of monkfish scampi or spider crab toast; or go all in with raw beef with Gentleman’s Relish and a lobster and monkfish pie with lobster head gravy. Look out for their events too, such as Pelican Pilates and film screenings. Truly, a pub for the ages.

What do Williamsburg and Notting Hill have in common? Answer: an outpost of Sunday in Brooklyn, home of cute cocktails, epic brunches, and all-American comfort food at its most joyful and modern. Everybody talks about the pancakes, thick AF and slick with brown butter; but overlook the egg sandwich with crisps and gochujang mayo at your peril. Not just for bunch, SiB is a seven-day-a-week operation, with a well-rounded offering from chia pudding to smashburgers.

Notting Hill’s gets all the good stuff from across the pond. Not only do W11 locals have Sunday in Brooklyn, they also have their own branch of Jody William’s West Village ‘gastrothèque’ Buvette. Part restaurant, part bar, part café in the Parisian tradition, Buvette’s the place to start the day over café au lait and pain perdu or stop by for a glass of red with a tartine, a plate of charcuterie, or hearty duck parmentier when the mood strikes.

Every neighbourhood needs a cheery coffee shop like Westbourne Grove’s TAB x TAB. Grab your dog/baby/laptop and while the day away over avocado toast, sunshine yellow scrambled eggs, or one of their insane sandwiches, chased with Lalani & Co teas and Kiss The Hippo coffee. Covetable ceramics and concrete-clad interiors look as good in reality as they do on the grid.

Just the kind of restaurant you want you the corner of your street, this local gem on All Saints Road is tastefully appointed with wood panels, gauzy café curtains and cheery blooms. The modern European menu is small: just four starters, four mains, four puds. It’s all about the seasons here. For example, ox tongue, chervil root and black truffle mac ‘n’ cheese in winter; BBQ scallop and octopus with tiger’s milk in summer. Great for a date.