DEL.ICIO.USFROM ATLANTA TO ... LONDON
Four spots to nosh in London’s Notting Hill
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, April 05, 2009
By AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE / For the Journal-Constitution
AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE / Special
Spicy goat’s cheese is among the many offerings at Cedric LaBlais’ cheese and sausage stall at the Portobello Road Market.
AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE / Special
Atiq Zaman owns Portobello Halal Meat, where meat is prepared in accordance with Islamic law.
Courtesy of Urban Turban
Among the offerings at Urban Turban are these tapas-style portions served like Indian street food.
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If you think “British cuisine” is an oxymoron, think again. There may have been a time when the Brits’ four basic food groups were “fish, chips, boiled and fried,” but an influx of immigrants has introduced English taste buds to a rich variety of food from around the world.
In Notting Hill, one of the metropolis’ most popular melting pots, you can practically circumnavigate the globe in terms of cuisine without walking more than 20 minutes in any direction. Persian? Check. Portuguese? You bet. Lebanese? Absolutely. Italian? Please. There are five Italian eateries clustered within two blocks on Kensington Park Road. And Indian? Of course. Indian restaurants are as common as Waffle Houses in Atlanta.
Like a Noah’s Ark of nosh, Notting Hill seems to offer at least two of everything. For instance, along Portobello Road — one of the area’s (appropriately clogged) main arteries — you’ll find a pair of Halal butchers who prepare meat according to Islamic law, a trio of Spanish eateries, and two Thai restaurants on opposing corners.
Here are four favorite spots to nosh on Notting Hill.
1 Taqueria. To the surprise and gastronomic ecstasy of many visitors, this funky multicultural neighborhood even boasts a respectable selection of Mexican restaurants. At Taqueria on Westbourne Grove, Mexican wrestling masks back a stainless steel bar where mix-masters serve up potent margaritas using 100 percent blue agave tequila to accompany spicy southern Mexican fare.
“We take our influences from Mexico City, where you have the corn and black bean belt to the south, rather than the pinto beans and wheat tortillas in the north,” co-owner Dodie Miller said. So instead of Chihuahua-sized burritos packed with pinto beans, Taqueria serves up compact corn tortillas, made fresh daily on the premises and filled with combinations such as chargrilled pork with pineapple and coriander or avocado mash with cactus.
2 Crazy Homies. Surveying the mad camp at Crazy Homies, just a few blocks away on Westbourne Park Road, you might feel as though you swallowed the worm at the bottom of a bottle of mescal, even before you sample any of this eatery’s 72 different tequilas. Here, the decor tends toward Day-Glo Day of the Dead, with kaleidoscopic murals crawling across the walls, a winged-heart neon light blinking beside the bar, and a donkey piñata and string of plastic skulls adorning the front window. But the food is the main draw, with a menu tending toward California-style Mexican fare, including bursting burritos, overflowing taco salads and homemade salsa with tortilla chips.
3 Portobello Road Market. Portobello Road, whose very name conjures images of big meaty mushrooms, has boosted Notting Hill’s foodie cred by hosting one of London’s most famous markets, with carts heaped with fruit and vegetables scattered along the street. Some days, you’ll stumble upon a variety of seafood stalls (just follow your nose), fresh-baked bread, and a deli cart piled high with cheese made from almost any animal you can milk, as well as delicacies such as foie gras and pig’s blood sausage.
4 Urban Turban. Vineet Bhatia — one of the first chefs ever to earn a Michelin star for Indian cuisine — offers a modern take on his native gastronomy at Urban Turban, with tapas portions that incorporate local delicacies such as Devon crab and Scottish salmon.
Farther south, Portobello Road intersects with yet another major gastronomic thoroughfare, Golborne Road. A hub of both Portuguese and Moroccan culture, Golborne is presided over by a pair of Portuguese patisseries, a Portuguese grocery and myriad Moroccan options, from a restaurant to portable food carts slinging kebab sandwiches and hot soup.
“This is my version of McDonald’s,” Sham Raihara said between bites of a Moroccan chicken, salad and egg sandwich at a Golborne Road food stand known locally as Cass’ Place. “It’s fast, and it’s a bit of your country at the same time, innit?” noted the affable engineer, whose parents emigrated from Morocco 10 years before he was born. Though Raihara’s accent is pure British, part of his heart — or at least his stomach — clearly remains rooted in North Africa. Fortunately, he hasn’t far to go to enjoy a taste of home.
IF YOU GO
Portobello Road Market. 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, Fridays-Saturdays; and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays. Saturday, when there are also dozens of antiques vendors, is the most popular day. www.rbkc.gov.uk/EnvironmentalServices/streettrading/portobello.asp
Crazy Homies. 125 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QL, phone: 011-44-(0)20 7727 6771,
www.crazyhomieslondon.co.uk. 6-11 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-11 p.m. Saturdays, noon-10:30 p.m. Sundays.
Taqueria. 139-143 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS, 011-44-(0)20 7229 4734, www.coolchiletaqueria.co.uk. Noon-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; noon-11:30 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Saturdays, noon-10:30 p.m. Sundays.
Urban Turban. 98 Westbourne Grove, W2 5RU, 011-44-(0)20 7243 4200, www.urbanturban.uk.com. 12:30- 3:30 p.m., 6-11 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 1-10 p.m. Sundays.
INFORMATION
VisitBritain. www.visitbritain.com, 1-800-462-2748
Visit London. www.visitlondon.com.
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