From long-timers to newcomers putting down roots, we asked Notting Hill business owners what the neighbourhood means to them and what it’s like to be part of such a vibrant local community.
Restaurateurs, bakers and cocktail-makers are among those featured in our first instalment of My Notting Hill, a series that shines a spotlight on all that’s great and good about an area, as told by those who live and work there. Some have called Notting Hill home for a decade and counting, while others made the move more recently, but all have, for one reason or another, been drawn to the enclave’s unique energy. Here they share what makes the neighbourhood tick, and what they get up to locally when they shut up shop for the day.


Irina Linovich, founder of Holy Carrot
“I adore the authenticity of Portobello Road. Its small market stalls and independent shops brim with personality,” says Irina Linovich, founder of Holy Carrot. One of the latest additions to the local dining scene that found a permanent home on the street last summer, Holy Carrot adds vegetable-forward cuisine to the diverse culinary melting pot – think coral tooth mushroom steaks prepared over fire with an umami-bomb glaze and celeriac schnitzel made from focaccia waste. Alongside a focus on fermentation (there’s an on-site lab), all produce is seasonal, organic and sourced from small scale regenerative farms or foragers.
For Irina, it was important that the restaurant felt rooted in both the environment at large and its environment. “Nature is our biggest inspiration, and we aim to nourish the neighbourhood with thoughtful, sustainable and delicious food,” she explains. “Notting Hill has always been a favourite spot in London since I moved here. The area’s vibrant energy and the inclusive, international community it fosters is infectious – whether it’s watching the familiar faces of locals or observing the excitement of tourists from the restaurant’s windows. It’s a living, breathing mosaic of culture and connection.”
Ideal day off in Notting Hill? “We often start our mornings at Portobello Market, searching for hidden gems and then stop by a local café like Klear Lab. A visit to Caramel, my kids’ favorite shop, usually follows. We’ll then have a late lunch at Holy Carrot, indulging in desserts – it’s our haven for refined sugar-free treats. If energy permits, we’ll head to a local playground or Holland Park to round out the day.”



Zoë and Layo Paskin, Founders of The Barbary
The Barbary founders – siblings Zoë and Layo Paskin – are no strangers to spinning plates, or records for that matter (you might remember their seminal nightclub, The End). Recently, the Paskin’s hospitality empire, which includes restaurants The Palomar and two branches of The Barbary in Neal’s Yard, arrived on Westbourne Grove.
“We were immediately taken by the corner site. It’s located in a listed building reminiscent of a Hopper painting,” says Zoë of The Barbary 3.0. “Notting Hill is such a contrast in many ways to Soho or Covent Garden – the location of our other venues. We really wanted to embed ourselves as a neighbourhood haven, bringing that same warmth guests have come to expect from us.”
It hasn’t taken long for the siblings to make themselves at home, a stone’s throw from where they spent their formative years. Layo was born and lived in Powis Square for part of his childhood and during his DJ-ing days had a recording studio on Barlby Road.
The backdrop for many of the duo’s creative milestones, it’s somewhere that feels familiar. “We’re both born Londoners so know many different areas very well,” reflects Zoë. “Notting Hill has always been one of our favourites. Seeing it evolve over the past 40 years, it feels kindred.”
They’re also in good company here, they note. “There’s a unique energy and a booming hospitality scene, with so many great spots. Pubs like The Cow and The Pelican, Michelin-starred restaurants Core and The Ledbury, as well as neighbourhood staples like Granger & Co. and Dorian. The list goes on…”.
New local rituals? “Time off locally invariably looks something like coffee at Hagen, pastries at Layla and an acai bowl at Acai Girls. Then popping into James Perse, mooching through the market or taking the kids to the pirate playground in Kensington Gardens.”
“The area’s dynamic energy is infectious – whether it’s watching the familiar faces of locals or observing the excitement of tourists from the restaurant’s windows.” Irina Linovich, founder of Holy Carrot
Rose Hood, Founder of Farm Girl
We have Rose Hood to thank for filling an avocado-on-toast-shaped hole on the local brunch scene. When the Antipodean arrived in Notting Hill 15 years ago, café culture certainly wasn’t in the same league as back home near Melbourne. “I landed in Notting Hill and saw a gap in the market,” she recalls. “Back then, there were only a handful of cafés serving healthy, fresh food and no one was serving Aussie-style coffee.”
Fast forward to today and the original Farm Girl branch on Portobello Road is still going strong (along with the eye-catching Beata Heuman designed interiors). “Portobello Road has never lost its charm,” says Rose. “I love the daily hustle and bustle. There’s not one day in the year – excluding Christmas Day – that you will see the streets quiet. It’s filled with such an eclectic mix: tourists, residents, all the original artists and stall owners.”
Almost a decade after founding, Rosie believes Farm Girl brings reliability to the local mix. “We provide the residents with a familiar, consistent place to get their coffee, and tourists a place to stop before they start their haul down the market.” Among her go-to orders are the dhal and a morning oat milk cappuccino – favourites that will also be topping the menu at a new Farm Girl outpost, due to open in Paddington imminently. “Since moving here 15 years ago, I’ve made so many wonderful memories. Notting Hill will always have a special place in my heart.”
Favourite local hotspots? “Yoga at Love Supreme on Golborne Road followed by a juice at Klear Labs. Or a walk to Hyde Park with the dogs, then a stroll down to the food market on Friday or Saturday for lunch – I love wandering around the market. Drinks at The Cow or the Cock & Bottle on a Thursday or Friday is always a laugh!”


Harneet Baweja, Founder of Moi et Toi and Empire Empire
“Empire Empire for us is basically like hosting dinner parties back home in India. It’s exactly how my parents would host people at home,” says Harneet Baweja of his neighbourhood curry house on All Saints Road. “There’s a great jukebox, the art on the walls is all by Indian artists – the vibe is like being in someone’s house.”
Known for its curries and biryanis, the much-loved restaurant is now moonlighting as a French bakery, Moi et Toi, by day. An unusual hybrid, perhaps, but it works. “It’s a site that runs around the clock,” says Harneet. “Dinner service finishes at 11.30pm and then we’re ready rolling out dough by 5am – it all feels quite natural.”
Swing by in the morning and you’ll find twists on the classics – pistachio and chocolate escargots, pain au peanut filled with house ground peanut butter and croque monsieur croissants washed down with Monmouth coffee. “Bakeries should serve the community,” Harneet affirms. “We might bake six or seven feet of focaccia every day and the same handful of people will come to buy it – so when they tell us they want olives and sundried tomatoes, we can tweak things accordingly.”
It was this community feel that brought Harneet to Notting Hill in the first place, influenced ever-so-slightly by a certain romcom. “Like everybody, I watched the movie and wished Julie Roberts had picked me,” he laughs. “Notting Hill does feel more community led though. People know each other and support each other, which is great. We’re so happy to be part of the neighbourhood.”
The best thing about Notting Hill? “It’s the community. When we get a queue at the restaurant towards the weekend, we send people to The Pelican, and they also point people in our direction when they’re busy. We have locals who pop in everyday; people in our neighbourhood are kind to us and we’re grateful, we don’t want to let them down.”


Rishabh Vir, co-founder of Caia
If Covid hadn’t happened, neither would Caia – or at least not in its current Golborne Road guise. It was an epiphany moment between lockdowns when Rishabh Vir happened upon the site, a stone’s throw from his own doorstep. “This is my neighbourhood,” he elaborates. “I’ve lived here since the day I moved to the UK. From the moment my wife and I arrived, that was it; we were obsessed.”
‘Fire, wine, vinyl’ – that’s what it says outside Caia – and that pretty much sums it up. The concept, partly inspired by fellow co-founder Tim Lang’s interest in Japanese audiophile bars, suits Caia’s laid-back surroundings, with a “playful but familiar” food menu overseen by Rishabh to match.
Two years in and while Caia feels very much part of the furniture, it’s also riding the wave of culinary revival going on in the area. “The truth is, I knew the peak of restaurants back in the day had faded somewhat,” explains Rishabh. “Then Core arrived and Gold and the Notting Hill Fish & Meat Shop, and it felt like something interesting was happening.”
Fitting into the fabric of Golborne Road was non-negotiable, he affirms. “You’ve got business owners who’ve been here for decades – people who have helped create this identity over time. It was so important to us to fit in and maintain that.” He also praises the area’s proud multiculturism. “As a neighbourhood, Notting Hill manages to find an amazing balance between having a congress identity and welcoming newer places and what they can bring.”
For Rishabh, the area will always have a pull. “We’ve integrated with the community and we’re glad to be here,” he says. “Our flowers come from the stall opposite and our bread comes from Layla. We try to source as much as we can locally. That’s the best thing about this neighbourhood; it’s a community, a village. For me, as long as I’m in London, this will be home.”
How do weekends off look? “I have two kids, so free time is a little different now. I’ll take them to Wormwood Scrubs or Holland Park. We’ll go to Layla and get a pain au chocolat. We might go swimming at Harbour Club or play some football. We also walk a lot through Notting Hill. It’s just so charming, with all the pastel colours and the trees.”



“As a neighbourhood, Notting Hill is quite strongly confident of that multiculturalism. It finds an amazing balance between having a congress identity and welcoming newer places and what they can bring.” Rishabh Vir, co-founder of Caia
