Notting Hill, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

This appealing café/restaurant in Notting Hill is “just a gentle place to be”, with a modern eastern Mediterranean menu inspired by founder Victoria Paltina’s visits to Tel Aviv.

Well into its third decade as a Notting Hill stalwart, this “buzzy neighbourhood Italian” provides “a friendly welcome” and “reliably consistent” if pretty “standard” cooking from a wide menu that incorporates a broad selection of pasta dishes as well as more substantial meaty and fishy options. It has two stablemates on the same street, Essenza and Osteria Basilico.

“Go mad for further adventures in veg” at Yotam Ottolenghi’s famous deli-cafés, whose Middle Eastern inspired menus are best known for their “creative” salads and meat-free dishes (bread and pastries are also “fabulous”) but there are also some meat and fish options. They are far from cheap, but “the spicing is interesting”, “the flavours are immense” and “the small-plates format allows you to try a number of options”. “A great spot for brunch” or “to drop in for cake and tea”. The Islington branch is most commented-on, and in December 2023 its newest sibling (also in north London) opened on Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, while a branch in Richmond, in the leafy southwest, is scheduled for late 2024.

“Combining the best of French and Italian gastronomy” – Emily Roux and her husband Diego Ferrari continue to put in an assured performance at their “lovely neighbourhood restaurant” in Notting Hill. The cuisine is of “excellent quality”, yet not particularly striving for its own sake: aptly described in one report as “enjoyable fine dining, comfort dishes”. You can either opt for à la carte – three courses for £92 per person – or go for a five-course ‘Build Your Own Tasting Menu’ option at £120 per person. “Simply divine: expensive but worth it!”