Notting Hill Diary

Value: Excellent
Atmosphere: Great
Service: friendy

Small and friendly pub with a very “local” feel, especially given its location in the heart of Portobello Road.

Can be hard to get a seat here, but that’s hardly the point. In any case many of the seats seem to be occupied by gentlemen of a certain age who look like they haven’t so much as shifted buttock position in years. All part of the charm!

No special beers on offer and no food beyond bar snacks, but friendly staff and an authentic pub experience.

171 Portobello Road (near Westbourne Grove)
London
W11 2DY
020 7229 8016

Value: OK
Atmosphere: Very pleasant
Service: friendly and informed

Not far from the Portobello Star but a million miles away in other respects. This is a pub/restaurant that oozes atmosphere a seems to cater for regulars, but definitely caters for newcomers.

Walk through the bar to get to the restaurant and it’s as if you’ve walked into another world.

President Clinton once supped half a pint here and, if the sign on the toilet by the restaurant is to be believe, relieved himself there. Whether he used it for number 1s or number 2s is not noted on the sign, but it,s nice to think that you could share a seat with one of the most prominent posteriers of the day.

I haven’t tried the restaurant yet, but I look forward to reviewing it. I can confirm that the bar does a good line in spirits and its staff (and even one particularly enthusiastic patron) seem very knowledgeable about them, almost as if from first hand experience.

95 Portobello Road
London W11 2OB
0872 148 2028

The hotel - I asked Selina, whose blog is at: http://www.flyingsaucer.typepad.com to comment on the hotel above the Portobello Gold and this is was she had to say:

“heya!
so the portobello gold is a very laid back and chilled place, very cool and relaxing to stay at with a bohemian feel. it’s all very casual about arrival times and curfews and bills, etc. the rooms vary, we stayed in the flat which was lovely and bright, and only cost us an extra 30 to upgrade that day from a very small box room which opened out to the back of the kitchens and was extremely warm through out, but it was bareable, that we’d originally booked. it was great to just be able to go downstairs and chill out reading the paper or eating the very good food. there was a mixture of a very young student crowd and old regulars there so could suit many. i’d wouldn’t say go there if you’re into really spick and span rooms and a very formal, attentive hotel where you are one of the thousands that stay there, but i would if you want a friendly experience and a laid back, chilled out time. Hope that helps!
“.

Yes indeed it does Selina, thanks very much!

Value for money: good, especially for the location
Atmosphere: great
Service: friendly

No prizes for guessing how they chose the name. It doesn’t get much more bang slap in the middle of the market than this!

There’s something about the layout that seems to encourage friendliness and even at peak periods when they occasionally employ door staff’ there’s nothing in the slightest bit intimidating about it.

Just like the Ground Floor along the road, it hardly has to try hard for clientele, yet it lacks the air of arrogance of other bars in its situation.

Light and airy on a market day in the summer, or cosy and lit by candles in bottles that, judging by the mountains of wax caught like some suddenly frozen volcanic flow, it’s a place equally suited to meeting friends before going out or for an evening in its own right. Or just as somewhere to take the weight off your feet while shopping in the market.

Oh and the music’s great! The real Notting Hill vibe is alive and well.

240a Portobello Road
W11 1LL
tel: 02072296472

Value for money: fair
Atmosphere: Good - a bit touristy
Service: um - variable

After all these years I still get the Ground Floor mixed up with the Market Bar, which is just plain dumb because I pass both of them several times a week and pop into one or the other from time to time. They just both happen to be on corners on the same side of Portobello Road I suppose.

Anyway, the Ground Floor one of those places that looks welcoming from the outside and once in, an eclectic mix of comfortable chairs a sofas invite you to sit down. They’ve done a good job here of making it look old (it was hideously modern at one point).

It’s supposed to be a bar, but in reality it’s still very much a pub. The aforementioned sofas have much to do with the atmosphere, as does the generally dingy lighting. The staff seem to have the odd problem with attentiveness, but staff turnover seems to be quite high (just my impression it has to be said) so by the time you try it things might have changed.

Al in all a nice place, but one that gives the impression that it doesn’t have to try too hard, given it’s location. It doesn’t but I wish it would.

186 Portobello Road
London W11 1LA
02072438701

Value: Good (normal London pub prices)
Atmosphere: Great
Service: Good

This pub just on the southern edge of Notting Hill is full of character, with its slightly sloping floor and uneven walls and ceiling. Dating back to 1835, it’s far from the oldest pub in town, but it is one of the oldest surviving in the area, built during the perod when Notting Hill was just becoming a village.

Plenty of dark wood panels separate the various seating areas and contribute to the generally olde worlde and cosy atmosphere and it’s easy to picture the working class folk who lived in the neighbouring houses at the time on many a beerswiling bawdy night out.

Pulling my mind back out of the gutter, a defining feature of the décor is the two VERY low doors connecting three of the sections, one barely over 4′6″ high. I used to take great delight in introducing some of my taller Scandinavian friends to this pub.

On a good evening, one of the best ways to spend a couple of hours is in the beer garden, which somehow manages to extend the feel of the interior.

The beer is standard “good” pub fair. London Pride and ESB plus the odd guest beer for the bitter (yup, occasionly it’s Timothy Taylor!), while the usual Stella and Grolsch style lagers are on offer.

The food (available both inside and out) is good, honest pub food “with a flair”. For non British readers who may not be aware, the food in pubs here has improved no end over the last couple of decades.

This is a pub full of character and I wouldn’t have spent so much time writing about it if I didn’t believe it!

114 Campden Hill Road,
Kensington,
London,
W8 7AR
0872 148 0452

Value for money: very good
Atmosphere: excellent
Service: friendly (though not everyone agrees)

One of my favourite in the area, this pub right at the start of Portobello Road almost undersells itself from the outside.

But the key is a small sign saying “come and see our secret garden” (or something like that - I’m paraphrasing). And it really is a true gem! Make your way through the bar, itself nice and cosy with its wooden tables and floor, wind your way through the narrow passage and you find yourself in (during the evening at least) the most charming candlelit garden you’re likely to find in W11.

The beer is we’ll kept and the food is just a cut above the average pub fair. Oh and as far as I’m concerned, the staff are great too.

Highly recommended.

Sun in Splendour
7 Portobello Road
Notting Hill
W11 3DA
tel: 02073139331

The North Pole
13-15 North Pole Road
W10

http://thenorth-pole.co.uk/

Best feature: comfortable space for just relaxing or for dining
Room for improvement: so far, so good

I was pleasantly surprised the first time I walked into North Pole—there are comfy couches and chairs with a view of the big-screen TV so you can order a glass of wine and take in whatever sporting event is showing, or you can venture to one of the wooden tables and enjoy a quiet meal.

Billed as a “gastropub,” the menu seems to specialize in burgers, but there is more for those who’d rather indulge in fish or pasta, and a blackboard menu above the kitchen has daily specials including a soup of the day.

We started with some cocktails and olives to pick on; it was a nice portion that went well with the wine and mixed drinks on hand.

For dinner I chose a skate wing special for the day, with an herb and parmesan crust. The fish was quite good, though I will admit to being a little disappointed by the “crust”: I was thinking more crispy/crusty, but it was more a smear of herb and parmesan. Still good, just not what I’d expected. Served with some delicious small potatoes and a veg, it made for a good, well rounded and satisfying meal.

The burgers come on ciabatta and with chips, and will be served to your liking; my companion did enjoy his. A small dollop of cole slaw also accompanies the meal, and the burger has lettuce and tomato as well as a small side of salad.

There are also a few salads to choose from, and one of my tablemates tried the chicken Caesar salad. We both enjoyed the fresh anchovies, and the salad was lightly dressed, which is a nice change of pace from greens that are often too drenched. The chicken was good; it’s hard to get that wrong.

The wine list is nice (there is also a nice selection of Belgian ales and lagers) and the service was attentive enough to recognize when another glass of water or wine was in need. I will certainly have to try North Pole again, perhaps when they have one of their music nights, which the venue has regularly. Stay tuned!

This review very kindly supplied by Donna Kusman, who writes an excellent blog about her life in London at http://donnakusman.blogstream.com/

[I've already reviewed the North Pole myself, but more as a pub than a restaurant - ed]