The Best Bars in Notting Hill | Cosy Pubs to Subterranean Agaverias
Picking out the best bars in Notting Hill is really a matter of taste.
So we tasted a lot at each one, just to be sure.
And below we’ve attempted to collate a list of our personal favourites, from flower-fronted pubs to subterranean tiki dens, in the hopes of pleasing you; our dear, faithful readers. Based on a complex set of factors including ambience, music, lighting, value for money and — of course — whether they fix a good drink, here’s what we consider to be Notting Hill’s best bars:
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Viajante87
It’s easy to get carried away at London’s tequila bars. The drinks are exciting, look great, taste delicious, and… oh yeah, they’re always pretty darn strong. Viajante87 is no different. It’s a suave subterranean bar in Notting Hill with an admirable agave collection – but you’d be missing a trick if you just ordered something neat. Their travel-inspired menu plucks ingredients from across Latin America and whips them into original concoctions like the smoky lilac negroni (which owes its unusual appearance to a little purple potato extract) and the Elote Old Fashioned, which updates the classic with elite corn and smoked hay.
Details: Basement, 87 Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 3JZ | Make a booking at Viajante87
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Naked & Famous
Quietly tucked below Portobello Road’s buzzy Mediterranean eatery Zephyr is one of the best bars in Notting Hill. Naked and Famous is a suave, softly lit retro cavern that puts us in mind of the Emerald City. If it were orange. And filled with muscat sours and cocoa nib daiquiris.
Details: 100 Portobello Road, London W11 2QD
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Notting Hill Arts Club
Notting Hill Arts Club has a habit of launching things. Mainly careers (Lily Allen and La Roux can attest to that), but also in the form of your night from mediocre to marvellous. Blank walls are lit up by arty projections, providing the backdrop for live bands, DJs and other music nights with everything from reggae, to house, to punk, to indie, to everything in between. Down cocktails and bottled beers from the circular basement bar, and mingle with trendy creative types.
Details: 21 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3JQ
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The Pelican
When it’s bucketing down outside, there’s only one place to take shelter: a recently revamped, plaster-walled, utterly beautiful neighbourhood pub. In Notting Hill this would be The Pelican. There’s a stellar drinks list, with ales served in dimple mugs, some fantastic wines and well-crafted classic cocktails, and if you get peckish they serve some food. It’s not ordinary ‘food’ though, it’s monkfish pie with lobster head gravy or maybe spider crab on toast. With a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name. Yep… The Pelican is one of the best restaurants in Notting Hill, too.
Details: 45 All Saints Road, London, W11 1HE
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Ria’s
Natural wines. Deep-dish pizza. Haggis pops on the side. Some places just sound like perfection before you even step in the door, and Ria’s is one of them. It’s a truly lovely little space that feels more like someone’s home than a bar – but make no mistake, the staff know their stuff and if you’re not afraid of a little funk they’ll happily introduce you to some of the more unusual bottles in their collection.
Details: 29 All Saints Road, W11 1HE
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Trailer Happiness
The pursuit of happiness can be a long and winding road. Luckily for you, we know a shortcut. And it leads to Trailer Happiness, a hidden little tiki den on Portobello Road. The intimate basement lounge bar is wall-to-floor kitsch with throwback decor and a 60’s playlist that will have your foot tapping, even if you don’t want it to. Expect tiki twists on classic cocktails like their Trailer Colada; mixing rum, coconut tequila, and pineapple roasted in molasses.
Details: 177 Portobello Road, W11 2DY
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Whiskey & Seaweed
If dropping £225 on a three Michelin starred tasting menu isn’t on your to-do list any time soon, a trip to Whiskey & Seaweed might be the next best thing. It’s a beautifully sleek cocktail bar attached to Core by Clare Smyth, where you can feel Michelin-adjacent while sipping signature drinks like the “IPA”, which riffs on the beer style with vodka, rum, pineapple, hops syrup and citrus foam. And it probably goes without saying that they have a very extensive global whisky collection here, too…
Details: 92 Kensington Park Road, W11 2PN
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The Churchill Arms
‘If you’re going through hell, keep going…’
…or head to The Churchill Arms for a pint of real ale and let your problems wash away in one of London’s most famous watering holes, a favourite of Churchill’s grandparents back in the day. What’s more, it was the very first pub in London with a Thai restaurant, and is now garlanded with so many hanging shrubs and flowers that it may well be the prettiest of its kind, too.
Details: 119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN
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The Little Yellow Door
The Little Yellow Door is one of several bars hidden behind unmarked, colour-coded doors around London – there’s also Little Blue Door in Fulham, Little Orange Door in Clapham and Little Scarlet Door in Soho. They’re all run by a set of fictional flatmates, but don’t worry, the board games, DJ-fuelled house parties and flaming cocktails are all very real.
Details: 6-8 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, W11 1HH
Looking for something a bit more casual? Check out these cosy Notting Hill pubs