Discovering London: A Tale of Two Neighborhoods
London is a never-ending feast to which I return again and again. One long weekend we explored two of London’s best loved neighborhoods, Notting Hill and Chelsea, with a simple itinerary of markets, pubs and restaurants to sample.
Notting Hill— Beyond Carnival and Antiques Shopping
Notting Hill is a very trendy area, home to the famous Portobello Road Market and the annual Carnival, with fine dining and artsy shops that invite strolling. The neighborhood has become one of the most expensive in the city, perhaps with extra notoriety ever since the eponymous 1999 film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts put it even more in visitors’ sights. Carnival, the big Caribbean party with costumed revelers and calypso music, is held here during Bank Holiday weekend in late August.
In keeping with the more residential feel to the surroundings, we stayed at a charming bed & breakfast, the Notting Hill B&B. Just a short walk from the Notting Hill Gate tube station, the B&B is in a small cottage behind the large white main house and through a charming small garden at 13 Pembroke Villas. Owner Simon is a porcelain dealer, and his collections are displayed in cabinets throughout, particularly in the comfortable common area. There is an adjacent kitchen where you can make tea or coffee.
The location is excellent, close to shopping and restaurants, five minutes from the tube and about 10 minutes from Portobello Market. Our room, named Simon, was down a steep set of stairs (no elevator) on the bottom level underneath the manager’s quarters. The small room was comfortable and contemporary, with a large window looking out to the common area, with privacy curtains to draw shut. Natural light comes down through a skylight that is installed in the garden area. Highly recommended for a stay in this lovely part of the city with its home away from home feel.
Breakfast is not served at the B&B, but a voucher is included for Cote brasserie, a 3-minute walk down Westbourne Park Road. There we enjoyed a tasty and filling complete English breakfast.
It being a delightfully sunny and mild day, we joined a local friend for a stroll to his favorite neighborhood pub, The Cow, at 89 Westbourne Park Road in Bayswater, which has been in business since 1995. He was greeted as the local he is. I liked the social aspect of the feel of settling in at your pub where you know the proprietors and can meet friends and settle in comfortably for drinks and food. And the food here is hardly your typical pub fare. We grabbed a table in the small dining area beyond the bar at the back of the pub and enjoyed some prosecco along with a delicious black ink linguine, one of the day’s special items on the pub’s blackboard.
Dinner tonight was at Bucket restaurant, which opened in late May 2018. It specializes in seafood and has a beach club feel, with its specialty “buckets” of whitefish, calamari or sautéed shrimp. We couldn’t decide, so ordered the small sized fritto misto bucket with delicately fried whitebait and calamari, along with a plate of seafood linguine and sides of couscous with brown shrimp and grilled courgettes.
Portobello Road Market
A visit to Notting Hill wouldn’t be complete without a stroll through the Portobello Road Market. Even if you don’t typically like large sprawling markets, Portobello is unique and is the largest antiques market in the world, dating from the 1940s. But it’s much more than just antiques, with food, clothing, music and much more on display. Visit the stalls and pop into the stores that catch your eye and admire the diversity of fare. Best to get there early on Saturday morning, which is the main market day, to catch the best selection. Its official hours are 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Fine Dining at The Ledbury
Dinner tonight was a more upscale experience at The Ledbury, a two-star Michelin award-winner. Australian chef Brett Graham opened the Ledbury at age 25, and says its cuisine is focused on British produce, with lots of vegetables and English game. We were lucky to get a cancellation in order to book our reservation. My wife Letizia, who is a chef in her own right, characterized the presentation as delightful, very creative, noted its focus on the use of many vegetables, and felt the chef set high expectations for flavors and delivers.
The tasting menu was superlative, to which I added the wine pairing, expertly curated by the German sommelier. The chosen wines were an interesting mix, from areas you might expect (France and Germany) to those you might not (Greece, Georgia and South Africa). We had a leisurely and most enjoyable dining experience over the next three hours. The opening was a dish with an unique mix of Datterini Tomatoes with crab, sorbet and seaweed. Vegetables quickly come to the fore with fresh hazelnuts with green beans, a nectarine and grated duck liver parfait. Fish takes center stage then with a warm smoked eel baked in clay with celeriac, caviar and horseradish. Then a grilled cuttlefish with peas and lemon and a delicious vegetable combination of steamed sweetcorn with lemon thyme, girolles (mushrooms) and Earl Grey tea. Then it was time to move to the game dish, aged pigeon with endive cooked in grilled oil, red leaves and vegetables.
The pre-dessert dish was strikingly innovative—whipped buttermilk, olive oil and raspberry with donuts, a mix of savory and sweet. This was followed by the final course, a brown sugar tart with stem ginger ice cream. A delectable experience in elegant surroundings.
Woke Up, it was a Chelsea Morning
With a bow to Joanie Mitchell, the balance of our weekend was spent in the heart of Chelsea, in the luxurious surroundings and architectural splendor of Sloane Square. We stayed in the beautiful, affluent area of Cadogan Gardens. Our hotel, 11 Cadogan Gardens, Chelsea, is a member of the Iconic Luxury Hotels group. The architecture of the neighborhood is striking, with its red brick, white striped design.
It is a perfect getaway for those who love non-chain, boutique hotels with impeccable service and comfortable, clubby surroundings. It’s tucked away into a quiet residential area next to a school, but just a stone’s throw from the shopping of King’s Road, the Sloane Square tube station and just five minutes to Harrod’s in Knightsbridge. The hotel was built in the late 19th century by Lord Chelsea, and originally was spread across four Victorian townhouses, which explains the maze of corridors, hallways and staircases. The concierge offered up his services at any time in finding our way around.
A small elevator with wooden doors carried us to our floor. We found our room to be beautiful. A complimentary bottle of red wine is thoughtfully included, and the bed was very comfortable, the bathroom spacious. Our room faced the private park across the street, which is accessible to hotel guests. Downstairs there is a collection of inviting public rooms plus the Chelsea Bar. Settle into the library and peruse the volumes. In the conservatory a collection of English papers is arrayed for your consideration. The hotel is eccentric but in a very endearing, welcoming way, a very hospitable reserve away from the bustle of Sloane Square and King’s Road.
Fine Art at The Wallace Collection
We spent several hours at The Wallace Collection, an enormous private collection amassed by the 4th Marquess of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace and displayed in his former townhouse. In some rooms there were so many paintings hung that it made your head spin. This collection of treasures is one of Britain’s free museums, but though it may not be as well known as the National Gallery, it contains world famous paintings such as Frans Hals’ Laughing Cavalier and Fragonard’s The Swing plus an astonishing room full of Venetian scenes by Canaletto and Guardi. The collection is particularly strong in 18-century French art. 28 rooms in all, plan your time carefully, as this is not a quick visit stop.
A Quick Bite at Hans' Bar and Grill
Feeling a bit peckish after our museum visit, we returned to the hotel’s fine bar and restaurant, Hans’ Bar and Grill, where we had prosecco, Chablis and a snack of a Tuna tartare, cauliflower cheese and mustard croquettes with truffle mayonnaise, and crispy fries. Hans has a separate entrance onto charming Pavilion Road, with its assortment of artisanal shops featuring bread, wine and cheese, plus a variety of high-end clothing stores.
Find your own favorite spots in two of the city’s most engaging neighborhoods, Notting Hill and Chelsea. The ambience, sights and dining will draw you back to these areas of London for repeat explorations.
