The Distillery on Portobello Road has already made a name for itself, with its Ginstitute, and very own home-distilled ‘Portobello Road Gin’, as well as being a much loved bar and boutique hotel, and now it’s given a home to new restaurant, Angel Above Portobello.
This modern British restaurant sees executive chef Peter Breckon at the helm, and the 34-cover restaurant, with both a la carte dining and modern small plates, has a focus on great-quality local produce. Breckon has worked with some of the most renowned chefs and names in gastronomy from Heston Blumenthal to Mark Hix, and his talent and experience shine through in the dishes on offer.
On our recent visit, we decide to tuck into the small plates, six for £66, (mains are from £19 and sharing plates from £55, but that’s for another day). As the kind of diners who suffer from major FOMO, ordering six plates means we rest easy knowing we have plenty of choice coming our way. As it turns out, we probably needed a bigger table! Once we’ve ordered our food we enjoy two very different martinis, Porn Star and Dirty, and question how much this says about our characters. Before we can delve too deeply into this, our first dish arrives. These plates are not by usual definition, small. A very decent helping of crab salad; white crab meat, zesty with lemon, pickled mooli, and with a light crunch from wasabi peas and seeds. A fresh and fragrant British heritage tomato and watermelon salad with a ‘Bloody Mary’ emulsion so good we refuse to let the plate leave the table until we’ve mopped up the very last drop with some excellent toasted sourdough. More dishes follow including an incredible mushroom parfait, creamy burrata served with wild garlic, cod cheeks on a bed of a citrussy, fennel spelt risotto, and the most tender piece of lamb rump. Such a variety of textures and unique flavours, that we can safely say we’re surprised in the best way. Chef Breckon really is the flavour king.
We are sadly too full up for dessert and note that we really shouldn’t have ordered extra bread to mop up all the excellent sauces and dips. The presentation deserves a mention too, edible flowers, pretty crockery, and delightful serving staff talking us through each dish, all combine to make it a relaxed and memorable evening.
What a welcome addition to the manor, it feels like a restaurant that has always been here. Ged Feltham, owner of The Angel Above Portobello, says: “We’re delighted to have opened Angel Above Portobello, in a prime location, in the heart of Notting Hill. We look forward to welcoming diners, inviting them to sample a unique gastronomic experience in Peter’s exciting and distinctive menu; through cosmopolitan flavours, locally sourced ingredients, and the highest standards of quality. With a focus on sustainability, we’re committed to delivering genuine excellence through our food, ambience, and service.” All boxes firmly ticked, it just leaves us to tell all our friends and come back to try out those sharing plates very soon.
Angel above Portobello is open Wednesday to Friday, 6pm – 2am, Saturday, 1pm – 2am. Food service is until 10pm. For bookings, please visit https://www.the-distillery.london/pages/bookings