Portobello Road

Notting Hill

Portobello Road is a very famous and trendy area of London full of lovely old pubs, chic and trendy cafes and restaurants and the famous Portobello Road Market.

Easy to reach via Notting Hill Gate tube station (Central, Circle & District Lines) or from Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City Line). Buses to get here are the number 7, 12, 23, 27, 28, 31, 70, 94, 328.

This is one the most popular of London Markets and one of the top London Attractions.

The market sells anything from fine antiques to fruit and veg, trendy clothes and flowers and cakes and the area is often used as a film location.

Popular Film Location

The film Notting Hill (1999) starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts was filmed here.

Hugh Grant's flat with the famous blue door was not far away at 280 Westbourne Park Road. A studio set was used for the actually flat and the home behind the 'blue door' was home to the screenwriter Richard Curtis which was a converted chapel.

After filming the property sold for well over a million and the famous blue door was auctioned off for charity at Christie's sale in London and soon after the words R.I.P. blue door appeared next to the new black door.

Travel Bookshop

The bookshop where Hugh Grant worked was based on the travel bookshop at No 13 Blenheim Crescent, W11.

The travel shop in the film owned by William Thacker (Hugh Grant) was actually Nicholls Antique Arcade which is now a furniture store at 142 Portobello Road.

books for cooks notting hill

Opposite (at No 4 Blenheim Crescent), is the famous Books for Cooks bookshop. At the back of the shop is a small cafè and upstairs lessons in cooking are held throughout the year.

Popular Spanish restaurants and delicatessens such as Garcia Spanish Shop are great if you want to stock up on Mediterranean food. The shop also has a small restaurant/cafe next door where you can enjoy freshly cooked Spanish food.

Further along are the many trendy shops of Portobello Arcade which connect to Ladbroke Grove. The popular Portobello Green Fitness Club is great for working out and just a few yards away is a large Spanish school and another popular Spanish restaurant.

Nearby Goldbourne Road is popular for Caribbean, Algerian, Moroccan and Portuguese shops and there are some great Portuguese cafes where you can enjoy delicous coffee and cakes.

Not far from here is Dock Kitchen which was given a 5-star review by AA Gill in the Sunday Times.