Notting Hill Carnival 2016 was a hot and sunny one!

The last 2 years at Notting Hill Carnival were rather hard work in the rain and the chilly temperatures but 2016 saw blue skies and a full burst of summer.  It's one of London's great events and a major feature in our diaries. 

I was taking a couple of guests around and they loved the sights, the sounds and the food. We saw the parade of costumes and floats which had more emphasis on samba than I've heard before, so was great for dancing.  We ate jerk chicken and saltfish with ackee on the kerbside, danced to the sound stages and got caught up in the raving crowds by Rampage but escaped intact! My guests loved it and thought it was an amazing to experience this side of London's culture but were glad to dive into the wonderfully calm Commander Bar afterwards to recover...

Here are a few photos to give you a feel of how much fun it is to spend a few hours in the carnival spirit.

My favourite carnival band are Batala. You hear them coming streets away with their incredible loud and fierce rhythmic drumming.  

How do they keep so cheerful, it's such a long day of dancing and smiling?

New this year - composting toilets - remarkably good....

I love the inclusiveness of the parade:

A hint of panto with this one:

Another marching band:

She matched the sunshine with this amazing head dress:

Not sure what the references were here but lots of green was fun:

Always lots of dancing at carnival:

I just had to include this one!!

It gets busy....

Getting covered in paint or chocolate is a favourite look.  These folk were trying to persuade me to join in with this group and be in the parade next year. Who knows...

It's called 'wining' not twerking and there's a lot of it going on...

Anything for the best view and to be seen...

In case you were not sure, Red Stripe is the drink of carnival

Many residents head to the country when carnival weekend hits the streets but others set up a rum shack and have fun

This truck wanted to dress up too: 

Very happy to pose in her great costume

Covered in chocolate and having a great time.  

So there you are, another Notting Hill Carnival is over and we're looking forward to 2017 already!

Bye for now,
Sue
@itsyourlondon
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

The ever changing Notting Hill restaurant scene

Notting Hill is famous for the crazy annual carnival, Portobello market, posh houses, garden squares and of course that unforgettable film with its bookshop and blue door. As it's my own stomping ground, i have a special fondness for of the above but also love this area for its restaurant and bar scene. 

Notting Hill has everything from the 2 Michelin starred  and one of the top 10 restaurants in the world, The Ledbury  through to some great small cafes and the many and varied food stalls along Portobello 

One thing that is both a pleasure and a pain is how quickly places change due to the exorbitant rents charged around here. Some places last for ever but others come and go before you realise it. Old favourites like the First Floor have gone forever and I still miss El Pirata de Tapas but life moves on and it's moving very fast at the moment!

Here a couple of the latest additions:

Cocotte 

A great casual dining experience with the unmissable hunger-inducing smell of rotisserie chicken as you enter.  This is their key main dish and they are keeping it simple which is a good think in my book - you know what you are going in there for and they do it very well. There are interesting large and small salads and sides and a tempting wine list. Chose half a chicken between 2 with some tasty potatoes, a bit of veg and a glass of red would be my recommendation. It's a good spot to drop in day or evening and is very reasonably priced. They have a 'healthy' label which is a bit of a thing round here and their chickens live good lives in France!

Check them out (slow responding site..)

Chucs

Rather posher, this Italian menswear/restaurant combo serves top Italian food in classy surroundings with a bit of a price tag. I recommend a plate of Bigolo cacio e pepe and a coupe of prosecco, it's a very simple pasta dish which is tasty and satisfying and I do love a coupe!  The room is beautiful with a cool nautical look and I can't wait to see what they have done with their garden which was being prepared when we visited. This site saw Tom's deli and restaurant with its gorgeous hidden treasure of Mediterranean bohemian patio space but I'm guessing the new space will have a very different vibe. 

This clothes/restaurant combo is popular on this stretch of Westbourne Grove as we have 202 which is houses a Nicole Farhi boutique and one of my very favourite brunch spots in London. 202 offers top quality food in great surrounding with excellent staff but don't tell everyone as I need to be able to get a table whenever I want!

Chucs style 

Check them out. 

We have 2 new venues about to open which are next door to each other but couldn't sound more different. One is a super healthy plant based restaurant and bar with no expense spared in the fittings as it's owned by Camilla Al-Fayed. The other is offering takeaway and delivery of sushi so at least the healthy theme continues.  

Watch this space for reports of these and any other new openings. 

Bye for now,
Sue
@itsyourlondon
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

When London caught Royal Wedding fever!

This was the week when London caught Royal Wedding fever and I'm going to show you just how much we were taken over by it! The weather was beautiful, London looked amazing and we really got into the party spirit.

The first set of photos show you the streets and shops all decked out in bunting and flags. You can see Notting Hill streets, street stall,, even Ann Summers getting covered (just) in the flag, and the most over the top of them all - Regent Street - winning the prize for the most possible flags in one street award!

Finally the day of the wedding arrived. You had to get up in the middle of the night and ideally camp out for several days to get a spot on the route itself and I decided not to try this as being rather short of stature I'd probably not see very much . I was offered an exclusive ride on the London Eye to see the procession to the church so here's a photo of the royal car passing Big Ben and a shot of the Mall as it looked the day before the big moment. From the Eye we walked through to Trafalgar Square to see the service on the giant screen where it was absolutely packed with people trying to catch a glimpse and be part of the party.
The next party was Hyde Park where, surrounded by thousands of Londoners and visitors, we saw the balcony moment, the WW2 fly past and then the band struck up and there was dancing and flag waving everywhere! Dressing up as well of course with knights and lots of brides. And finally the street party back in Notting Hill. What a day!
Good job we had a long weekend to recover!

Bye for now.

Sue

http://www.itsyourlondon.co.uk/

Cocktails and sunshine!

Last week it felt like summer even tho' it was only spring and it seemed like there was so much going on it was hard to decide where to turn first! Highlights were: the launch of a new cocktail ; a jazz show; 2 new restaurants; and, the beauty of spring!

Firstly the launch of Good Godfrey's at the Waldorf Hotel. I was invited to this but as ever the comments are completely unbiased! The Waldorf Hotel (now part of the Hilton Group) is on Aldwych and is steeped in history, being over 100 years old and is well known for its opulent Palm Court, tea dances and having lots of style. The cocktail bar's name comes from Howard Godfrey who was the house band leader in the 1920s and a household name at the time. The decor aims to evoke the 'opulent and theatrical' past of the hotel and does that rather well. The cocktails and the champagne were wonderful and their mixologists can delight any requests so this bar is well worth knowing about for pre/post theatre or a longer stay!

We've had the most wonderful week of spring weather in London as the trees erupted into a blaze of pink blossom. Good humour always accompanies good weather and these photos give you a glimpse of the beauty and the fun - look closely at the window box where you can see a mini Easter Island Moai head with sunglasses on! The trees are in Notting Hill where I live, which is one of the prettiest areas of London. I had visitors over from America who now believe London is like this all the time as I didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise....

Regular readers will know I love to try new restaurants and there are 2 to report on this week. Galvin La Chapelle is in Spitalfields, which hosts a very fine market, especially on Sundays. The restaurant is set in a spectacular 19th century listed building, which was formerly a chapel so has a wonderful open feel with massive roof space. The food is top notch French so not cheap and we lingered happily for our Sunday lunch which was rather special. Photos show the exterior and interior of this fine building. The second restaurant worth a mention this week is Dishoom which recreates the feel and menu of the Mumbai cafe although I'm sure both are somewhat more luxurious than the originals. These cafes are dying out in their home land but given the Brits' love of Indian food we'll have a good try at keeping them going here! We had a selection of sharing plates, many of which were new to us but they were tasty and zingy. It's a no booking, turn up and reasonably fast turnaround so as long as you go outside peak hours it's a great place to drop into on the way to theatre or cinema as it's right by the West End.

One more event to squeeze in was our visit to Ronnie Scott's, the Soho landmark jazz club where the evening show starred Georgie Fame and his current Blue Flames (his band has seen many changes of membership during his long career). Georgie is a real pro and gave us a lively, varied and polished show ably supported by my favourite trumpeter Guy Barker. Polly Gibbons deserves a mention as a great bluesy jazz singer who was new to me and a wonderful find so watch out for her!

Bye for now,

Sue

www.itsyourlondon.co.uk