The Cow Pub & Restaurant

Still a trendy little pub with a restaurant upstairs. It is pretty small and it's always crowded with the beautiful (at least they think they are) people. The food and drink is pretty good, if phenomenally expensive, but the overbearing clientele usually make the novelty wear off before too long.

We here in Notting Hill are lucky ducks. Not only do we get some of the most impressive streets in the city, we also get some of the best gastro-pubs in the whole of London. And The Cow’s one of the best of the best, serving from a deliciously simple menu in a funny old Oirish pub. Upstairs is the dining room and downstairs you’re cheek to jowl with the more obscure characters this side of Trellick Towers. I spent an hour chatting to a Norwegian with an empty tennis bag and a penchant for ancient military history.

Owned by Tom Conran, the son of renowned restaurateur Sir Terence, this gastropub's vintage top-floor dining room has long maintained its reputation as one of the best in west London. Fresh oysters with Guinness are a speciality. Despite its fair share of trust-funded Notting Hillbillies, it's still a great hangout.