The grand crescents of colourful houses are a hint at what’s on offer in this most sought after of London villages, with its eclectic high street and vibrant community of locals. Then there’s the view from the Hill itself, and the hundreds of acres of green space on offer in neighbouring Regent’s Park. Small wonder the area is in such high demand
Photography by Emmanuelle Peri
Meet the Locals
Luke Ormsby Owner, Luke Ormsby Hair
“I have just opened my second salon on the beautiful Princess Road in Primrose Hill. When I began looking for a second location I wasn’t looking in any area in particular, but when I came across these premises, I fell for them immediately. The area is so special, and I feel extremely lucky to have found such a perfect space here; Luke Ormsby Hair Primrose Hill really is a little gem!
I travel into the area in the morning from my home in north west London and I am always blown away by how beautiful it is here. And the community has been so warm and welcoming. I’m an animal lover so I’m a big fan of the many beautiful pooches who live locally – it’s so lovely to meet them strolling around with their owners.
Generally, for lunch and a cup of green tea (my fuel!), I’ll pop to Sam’s Café on the corner of Chalcot Road and Fitzroy Road. The food selection is really good and the team there are always so friendly.
When it comes to fi nding a local bite to eat or a drink after the salon closes, I’ll pop into the La Collina, an authentic Italian restaurant at few doors up at 17 Princess Road, and then on to The Engineer pub for a drink or two.
Primrose Hill and its wonderful residents have welcomed me and my team with open arms and I’m so grateful for the local generosity of spirit.”
23 Princess Road, NW3 (020 7586 0969; lukeormsbyhair.com)
Local Heroes
OKA, NW1
“While there are some outstanding Japanese Restaurants in the West End, OKA, located on Regent’s Park Road, receives my nomination as one of a handful of Japanese restaurants in north west London offering great food which is served quickly,” says Marc Schneiderman, from Arlington Residential. “It is ideal for when you don’t want to sit in a restaurant for hours.” As OKA proves, fast food doesn’t always equate to junk food – far from it, in fact. The kung pao chicken, miso black cod, and the bulgogi beef are all finger licking good.
71 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 (020 7483 2072; okarestaurant.co.uk)
Nuyu London, NW1
Primrose Hill locals know there’s no need to travel into Harley Street for the best in aesthetics and skincare with this boutique clinic on their doorstep. Offering a wide range of treatments from dermal facial fillers to Botox, microdermabrasion to laser hair removal – and including the latest, innovative treatments such as Profhilo – you can find your best self right here. Local resident Gemma Ward says: “I can’t recommend NuYu highly enough, and in particular, the award winning Dr. Arti Singh. I know I’m always in safe hands with her.”
9 Princess Road, NW1 (020 3204 2020; nuyulondon.co.uk)
Park Mum, NW8
Orly Lehmann from Knight Frank nominates this female specialist personal trainer, AKA Becky McDonald, as her local hero. As the name Park Mum suggests, Becky takes outdoor classes on Primrose Hill. “She came up on my Instagram. I’m really wanting to get in shape, having had a child. It’s nice to see somebody helping the community using a communal space. I did her Saturday morning class, which was really good, and I hope to become a regular if my husband can look after our son! You can tell she plans her classes very carefully, and it’s lovely to meet other women locally.”
Primrose Hill Park, NW8 (parkmum.com)
Streethearts
Chalcot Crescent
Primrose Hill’s most iconic street, thanks to those Instafamous pastel-coloured terraces. A film-makers’ favourite, too, it was home to the Brown family in the Paddington Bear films
Regent’s Crescent
A meticulous restoration of this curved stucco terrace at the southern edge of Regent’s Park saw it launch as the Capital’s only new-build development with a Grade I listing in 2020
Regent’s Park Road
The heart of this urban village, this pretty curve of Victorian buildings offers upscale shopping opportunities alongside everyday essentials, as well as a host of delis, cafés, restaurants and bars
Say what?
There’s history aplenty in Regent’s Park, which, along with its palatial terraces and villas, was designed by architect John Nash as a work of architectural and landscape art, but older still than the Regency architecture are a couple of prehistoric tree stumps beside the waterfall in the inner circle. Between 20- and 100-million-yearsold, the fascinating fossilised tree trunks were brought to the park by the Royal Botanical Society in the mid 19th century, to be displayed in their garden here.