Portobello is the Notting Hill of the postcards — the market, the antiques, the pastel terraces and the Friday-Saturday crowds. Beneath the tourist froth there's genuinely excellent food and drink if you know where to look. These are the Portobello places locals actually use.
Portobello is the Notting Hill of the postcards — the market, the antiques, the pastel terraces and the Friday-Saturday crowds. Beneath the tourist froth there's genuinely excellent food and drink if you know where to look. These are the Portobello places locals actually use.Read the noteHide the note
Portobello is the Notting Hill of the postcards — the market, the antiques, the pastel terraces and the Friday-Saturday crowds. Beneath the tourist froth there's genuinely excellent food and drink if you know where to look. These are the Portobello places locals actually use.
The local tip: Flat white here is one of the best in W11. Tiny space, worth the squeeze
One of the oldest independent coffee roasters in the area, with a dedicated roasting facility delivering fresh beans to the Portobello Road shop twice weekly. Over 25 blends of Fairtrade organic coffee. Always packed -- locals and seasoned market-goers queue for peerless espresso. No frills, no Instagram aesthetics, just seriously good coffee from people who have been doing this for decades. Buy their full range of beans here.
The local tip: Ask about the cheese counter — and let them pair a wine to it.
A fine-wine and cheese merchant on Elgin Crescent, just off Portobello — part of the long-established Jeroboams group and a neighbourhood fixture for decades. Knowledgeable, properly stocked, and as happy finding you a weeknight bottle as a cellar-worthy one. The opposite of a faceless off-licence.
The local tip: The pain au chocolat is some of the best in London. Go early
Award-winning French bakery on Portobello Road. Their baguettes have won multiple national awards. Classic French patisserie -- croissants, macarons, pain au chocolat -- plus a cosy back area for sitting with a coffee. A welcome pause from the Portobello crowds. The real deal for French baking.
The local tip: Order the whole spice rack. They grind everything to order
Bright yellow shopfront on the corner of Blenheim Crescent, impossible to miss. Founded in 1995. Hundreds of spices, blends, dried herbs, salts, and peppers from around the world. Staff know their product inside-out and will custom-blend for you. A sensory overload in the best possible way.
The local tip: The salted caramel bun is dangerously good
Buns From Home’s original Talbot Road bakery, founded as a lockdown project. Croissant-dough buns come in classic cinnamon and cardamom flavours alongside changing sweet and savoury specials. Check the current selection at the counter; this is the Notting Hill branch at 128 Talbot Road.
The local tip: Their Moroccan-inspired hand-painted ceramics are stunning gifts
A colour-packed ceramics and tableware shop on Blenheim Crescent stocking hand-painted pottery, tiles, and homeware from artisans around the Mediterranean and beyond. Every piece is colourful and unique. A go-to for gifts and for anyone building a kitchen with personality rather than matching sets from a chain store.
The local tip: Read the April–May 2024 ungraded report alongside current admissions information; it confirms continued standards rather than issuing a new overall grade.
Large community primary school on Lonsdale Road near Portobello Road, whose 30 April–1 May 2024 ungraded Ofsted inspection confirmed that it continued to be an outstanding school; its previous overall grade dates to February 2019. Diverse intake reflecting the broader Notting Hill community. Strong leadership and a wide range of enrichment activities.
The local tip: Three floors: Couverture (women, kids, home) on the ground and gallery, the Garbstore (men, Japanese workwear) below.
Two stores within one building -- Couverture for women's fashion and homewares, The Garbstore for men's. Champions emerging designers and cult labels, many exclusive to the store. A tastemaker destination that has been quietly influential in London fashion. Also stocks homeware, books, and gifts. Worth visiting even if you don't plan to buy.
The local tip: Check Daunt’s website for current shop hours and book events.
Daunt Books’ Notting Hill branch at 21 Kensington Park Road occupies the former Lutyens & Rubinstein bookshop. The shop became part of Daunt Books in 2023 and now trades under the Daunt name, with fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and gifts.
The local tip: The bacon naan roll is essential. Queue early on weekends
Dishoom's all-day Bombay-inspired bar-cafe in a grand Victorian building on Portobello Road. The breakfast naan rolls, black daal, and signature lamb chops are just as excellent as the main Dishoom restaurants, but the Permit Room format is more intimate and cocktail-forward. Live DJs, art-filled interiors. A tribute to the Irani cafes of old Bombay. Also has boutique lodging rooms upstairs.
The local tip: The roast chicken is the move — comfort cooking from a chef who could show off but has decided not to.
Jackson Boxer closed his seafood-focused Orasay on NYE 2024 and reopened as Dove a week later -- same team, completely new identity. The menu is deliberately playful and unpretentious: perfect roast chicken, prawn cocktail done right, comforting pies. Specifically designed to be affordable by Notting Hill standards. Quickly became a local favourite.
The local tip: Walk in or reserve ahead; the chef’s nigiri selection is listed on the current menu.
A casual sushi bar on Talbot Road serving nigiri, sashimi and hot Japanese dishes. The menu includes a ten-piece chef’s nigiri selection, vegetable tempura, miso-braised beef shin and grilled tuna skewers, with a separate wine list. Walk-ins and reservations are both welcome.
The local tip: Grab a front-row sofa. The best cinema experience in London, hands down
One of London's oldest cinemas, now owned by Soho House. Beautifully restored with luxurious leather armchairs, footstools, cashmere blankets, and waiter service delivering cocktails to your chair. Front-row seats replaced with six velvet-lined double beds. Originally opened in 1910, making it one of the earliest purpose-built cinemas in Britain. An arthouse cinema experience like no other.
The local tip: The cinnamon bun is dangerously good. Swedish bakery, proper stuff
Swedish artisan bakery using stone ovens and traditional Scandinavian techniques. The cinnamon buns are iconic, the cardamom buns equally legendary. Natural ingredients, no shortcuts. A handful of tables for sitting in. Originally from Stockholm with multiple London locations, but the Portobello Road branch has the best atmosphere.
The local tip: The Lagree classes are the reason to pick it over a generic HIIT studio — they've been coaching just off Portobello since 2014.
Established in 2014 just off Portobello Road. Award-winning personal training and group classes. The Notting Hill studio offers personal training and group training, with Lagree, TRX, HIIT and BoxFit-style workouts listed across its current class and booking pages.
The local tip: Get the cardamom bun warm — and the fennel sausage roll if it's anywhere near lunchtime.
Over 30 types of fresh bread daily including their signature sourdough, plus pastries, cakes, and a full brunch menu. Sits right on Portobello Road. A reliable, consistently excellent neighbourhood bakery that has become a local staple. Not the most exciting pick, but the one you keep coming back to because it never lets you down.
The local tip: Book a spray-paint masterclass — surprisingly good fun.
A contemporary street-art gallery on Portobello Road that fits the area's counter-cultural DNA — Banksy-adjacent prints, original urban art, rotating shows and even graffiti masterclasses if you fancy a can in hand. A reminder that Portobello has always been about more than antiques.
The local tip: Trust the tasting menu — the fire does things to vegetables you won't expect.
A plant-based restaurant that earns its acclaim -- live-fire and fermentation-led cooking from Daniel Watkins (of ACME Fire Cult) that is smoky, surprising and a long way from worthy vegan cliche. Holy Carrot now has two sites, Portobello Road and Spitalfields. Proof that vegetables can be the main event.
The local tip: Packaging and advertising through the decades. Oddly fascinating
Over 12,000 original items charting 200 years of consumer culture. The headline attraction is the "Time Tunnel" -- a chronological corridor from the Victorian era through to the digital age. Originally opened in 2005, relocated to the former London Lighthouse Building in 2015. Three minutes walk from Ladbroke Grove tube. Cafe and award-winning garden. A genuinely fascinating place, especially for design and advertising nerds.
The local tip: It shares 14 Codrington Mews with The Notting Hill Medical Centre — check which practice you're registered with before turning up.
NHS GP practice in a quiet mews just off Westbourne Grove, CQC rated Good. Appointments can be requested by phone, online or in person, with routine and same-day urgent slots alongside the usual prescriptions, referrals and health checks. Out-of-hours calls are handled by NHS 111. Unshowy, close to Portobello, and it does the job a local surgery should.
The local tip: Antiques on Saturday morning is the headline — Friday's food market end is where locals actually shop.
One of the world's most famous street markets, stretching 940 metres from Notting Hill Gate to Golborne Road. Saturday is the main event when hundreds of antique dealers, vintage fashion stalls, and global food vendors pack the street. The southern end has silverware and antiques, the middle is fresh food and retail, the northern stretch under the Westway is vintage clothing and bric-a-brac. Friday is the second-best day. Get there by 8:30am on Saturdays for the best antiques.
The local tip: Best vinyl selection in London. The listening booth is still there
In the heart of Notting Hill since 1976. One of the most legendary independent record shops in the world. Originally tied to the Rough Trade label that helped launch post-punk and indie. Still a pilgrimage site for music lovers. Vinyl, CDs, and staff who actually know and care about music. This is where you come to discover, not just to buy.
The local tip: Thai street food done properly. The pad kra pao is fiery and brilliant
The second outpost of one of London's most acclaimed Thai restaurants. Speedboat brings the flavours of Bangkok's Chinatown to Portobello Road: wok-fired stir fries, zingy salads, fragrant curries, and punchy noodles. The spicy chicken salad and drunken noodles are must-orders. From JKS Restaurants (behind Gymkhana, BAO). Set in the iconic former Electric cinema building. Open late on weekends.
The local tip: One of the last proper community pubs. The beer garden is a suntrap
Sitting proudly at the top of Portobello Road near Ladbroke Grove. A big, handsome Victorian pub with high ceilings, large windows, and an excellent beer garden. Dog-friendly throughout. Proper neighbourhood pub with good food and a fantastic range of drinks. Popular with the Carnival crowd given its Ladbroke Grove location. The outdoor space is one of the larger pub gardens in the area.
The local tip: The red velvet cupcake started a London-wide craze. Still holds up
Pioneered American-style baking in London since 2004. Famous for cupcakes, red velvet cake, and buttercream frosting that started a genuine cultural movement. The Portobello Road flagship is an institution. Great for cakes and sweet treats rather than bread. The kind of place that made Notting Hill synonymous with cupcakes in the mid-2000s.
The local tip: Opened 1979 as a pure travel bookshop and the travel section is still the strongest in W11 — the rest came after the Hugh Grant film made it a pilgrimage.
The bookshop that inspired the 1999 Hugh Grant film. Opened in 1979 as a travel bookshop, now carries a beautifully curated general collection with a focus on gift editions, satin-bound classics, gilt leather-bounds, and an excellent children's section under a charming glass roof. Tourist draw but genuinely a wonderful independent bookshop worth visiting in its own right.
The local tip: Thursday evening surgery runs to 8:30pm — the slot to aim for if you can't get away during the working day.
NHS GP surgery tucked away on Codrington Mews, just off Westbourne Grove. CQC rated Good. Open weekdays 8am to 6:30pm, with Thursday evening extended hours until 8:30pm. Check the surgery website for current registration and appointment information. Part of the North Kensington Primary Care Network.
The local tip: Beautiful community arts venue in a former church. Check what's on
Grade II-listed building from 1887 with a curved Romanesque facade of red brick and terracotta with two towers. Once used for rehearsals by the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. Now a multi-purpose community arts venue -- theatre, art gallery, music studio, bar with Caribbean cuisine, and garden courtyard. Permanent base of the Notting Hill Carnival (Carnival Village Trust). The cultural heart of the neighbourhood.
The local tip: Basement rum bar vibes. The daiquiri is superb
A legendary basement tiki bar that has been a Portobello Road institution since 2003. Kitsch decor modelled on Elvis's Jungle Room at Graceland, with an extensive rum list, colourful tropical cocktails, and DJs on weekends. The cocktail programme is award-winning and taken seriously -- this is not a gimmick bar. Featured on the World's 50 Best Discovery list. Walk down the stairs from Portobello Road into what feels like a different world.
I start with places I would actually recommend, then let agree/disagree votes move the order around. Paid placement is not part of the ranking. If reader signals or new details suggest somewhere has slipped, it is reviewed and can come off.
Frequently asked
What are the best places in Portobello?
Start with Coffee Plant, Jeroboams, Maison Puget. The order blends my own picks with anonymous agree/disagree votes from readers.
How many places are listed in Portobello?
29 places in Portobello are featured in this guide, across food, drink and local shops.
Where should I eat in Portobello?
For a meal in Portobello, start with Dishoom Permit Room Portobello and Dove. Full descriptions, prices and opening hours are on each place's page.
