Lets Discover · Notting Hill
Best Restaurants, Bars and Things to Do in Notting Hill, London
Notting Hill is a residential neighbourhood in west London, centred on Portobello Road and the streets surrounding it, bordered by Bayswater to the north, Holland Park to the south, Shepherd's Bush to the west and Paddington to the east. The neighbourhood is best known for the Portobello Road Market and the annual Notting Hill Carnival, but it also contains one of the strongest concentrations of independent restaurants, wine bars and cafes in west London, spread across Portobello Road, Westbourne Grove and the quieter residential streets between them. Creators on Lets Discover have recommended dozens of venues across Notting Hill covering restaurants, bars, coffee shops and cultural landmarks.
What's on in Notting Hill
Upcoming events at venues in the area
Thu 9 Apr to Thu 31 Dec
The Arab Hall: Past and Present
Leighton House
* __The Arab Hall: Past and Present__ | Leighton House | ongoing * Leighton's jewel-tiled Arab Hall reimagined with new work responding to its Victorian fantasy of the East. One of London's strangest rooms, freshly considered.
Tickets available
Fri 1 May to Sun 4 Oct
NIGO: From Japan with Love
the Design Museum
* __NIGO: From Japan with Love__ | Design Museum | Until 4 Oct * The Kenzo creative director and BAPE founder opens his archives to the Design Museum — rare garments, records, art toys and a personal collection shaped across thirty years. The things he kept tell you more than the things he made.
Tickets available
Creator picks in Notting Hill
Verified recommendations from Lets Discover creators
About Notting Hill
Notting Hill has a food and drink scene that fits its character: independent, quality-conscious and slightly resistant to the kind of hype that characterises other parts of London. Westbourne Grove in particular has developed one of the strongest clusters of restaurants and wine bars in west London, with a mix of neighbourhood regulars and destination openings that draw people from across the city.
The streets around Ledbury Road, Clarendon Road and the blocks running north and south of Westbourne Grove contain some of the neighbourhood's best eating. The area around Portobello Road becomes a different kind of destination on Saturday mornings when the market is running at full stretch, and the food and drink options reflect that energy with a concentration of cafes and casual venues that do excellent weekend trade.
Lets Discover creators who cover Notting Hill tend to know the area well and return to it regularly. Their picks reflect a neighbourhood that rewards familiarity and where the best places are often found by walking rather than planning.
Westbourne Grove is the natural starting point for Notting Hill's restaurant scene, with a concentration of well-regarded venues running from the Notting Hill Gate end westward toward Portobello Road. Ledbury Road, which runs parallel, has its own quieter character and several of the neighbourhood's better independent restaurants. Portobello Road shifts in character depending on the day, with the market bringing a different energy on Fridays and Saturdays and the cafes and casual venues that line it operating differently midweek. The blocks around Ladbroke Grove and the streets to the north contain more residential neighbourhood restaurants that are less well-known outside the area and often better for it.
History and culture in Notting Hill
Notting Hill's modern character was shaped by two distinct waves of history. The neighbourhood was developed in the mid-19th century as middle-class housing, but by the mid-20th century it had become one of London's most significant centres of Caribbean settlement, as Windrush-generation migrants established a community that transformed the area's culture. The Notting Hill Carnival, which began in 1966 and has grown into Europe's largest street festival, is the most visible expression of that legacy and continues to bring over a million people to the neighbourhood each August. The area's gentrification from the 1980s onwards brought a different demographic and a rising property market, but the cultural legacy of the Caribbean community remains woven into the neighbourhood's identity. Portobello Road Market, which has operated in various forms since the 19th century, grew into one of the world's most famous antique and street markets during the 20th century.
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