Three tables on Portobello Road in Notting Hill I actually walk to with friends visiting London, in walking order from north to south: Dishoom Permit Room at 186 Portobello Road W11 for breakfast or Indian dinner, Miznon and Erev at 14 Elgin Crescent W11 for Israeli pitas by day and Levantine dinner by night, and Poppies Fish and Chips at 152 to 154 Portobello Road W11 for the British classic done properly. All three sit within a ten-minute walk of each other.
I live in Notting Hill and walk Portobello most days with Jazz the beagle. Portobello Road is the most photographed street in West London, and the bulk of the restaurants on it are tourist-priced and forgettable. The three tables below are not. They are where I take friends in town for the weekend, and where I go on a regular Tuesday by myself when the kitchen at home has lost.
The tube stops you want are Notting Hill Gate at the south end and Ladbroke Grove at the north end. The market runs Saturdays and is mayhem; midweek lunches are quieter and the food is identical. None of the three below requires you to navigate the market crowd if you time it right.
1. Permit Room Portobello, the Dishoom side-hustle
Permit Room Portobello is Dishoom's side-hustle, opened in an old Victorian pub on the corner of Portobello Road at the Westbourne Park Road junction. Address is 186 Portobello Road, London W11 2EB. Vintage jukebox by the entrance, weekend DJs on the ground floor, dining room on the first floor, three lodging rooms on the second floor if you want to crash without leaving the building. It is the same Dishoom kitchen DNA, set up as a pub-bar-with-rooms format rather than the full Bombay-cafe restaurant.
My Dishoom history goes back to the Edinburgh branch, which opened on St Andrew Square in 2016 and is where I learned the Black Daal will ruin you for anyone else's. I have eaten at most of the London branches since. The consistency across all of them is the thing that keeps me going back: the kitchen has scaled and the dishes still taste like they did the first time. Permit Room is the same kitchen running a different menu.
What to order at Permit Room Portobello
Six dishes I order on rotation. The House Black Daal, twenty-four hours of cooking, dark and rich, the signature dish across every Dishoom kitchen and the one to order if you have not been before. The Chicken Ruby, silky tomato makhani with proper depth. The Chicken Berry Britannia, biryani with cranberries baked under a pastry dome, theatrical and worth the show. The Chicken Pick-Me-Ups, Indo-Chinese drumsticks specific to Permit Room's menu, sharp ginger-and-soy heat, addictive. The Bacon Naan Roll for breakfast, the bacon cured in-house, the best bacon naan in London. And the gunpowder potatoes as a side every single time. Pair with a House Chai or a Picon Punch.
When to book Permit Room
Walk-in works for two at the bar most weeknights before 7pm. Tables for four or more on a Friday or Saturday need a booking, ideally a week ahead. Sunday brunch fills by 11am. The lodgings upstairs are booked through the Permit Room site and are a quieter alternative to the hotels around Notting Hill Gate. Weekend DJs start around 9pm on the ground floor, which is when the room shifts from restaurant to bar. Note: their bigger sister venue Dishoom Kensington at 4 Derry Street W8 5HY runs a Bombay-Jazz format with the Marine Liners band on Thursday and Friday evenings if you want the full live-music Dishoom experience instead.
2. Miznon by day, Erev by night, on Elgin Crescent
Hidden just off Portobello on Elgin Crescent, easy to walk past, your reward for knowing. Address: 14 Elgin Crescent, London W11 2HX. This is Eyal Shani's split-personality Notting Hill kiosk. Miznon, which means "canteen" in Hebrew, runs the original pita concept until 4pm. After dark the same room becomes Erev, which means "evening", dinner-only since March 2025, dimly lit, a tighter Levantine menu and a curated wine list. Two restaurants, one address, totally different rooms depending on what time you arrive. The brown paper tablecloths and the single tomato on each table are Shani's signature.
What to order at Miznon by day
Five dishes on the daytime menu. The hummus, one of the best in London, served warm with a pool of olive oil and a torn pita on the side. The rotisserie chicken pita, the rotisserie chickens visible from the counter, stuffed into pita with tahini and pickle. The whole roasted cauliflower, their global signature, charred outside and dense inside, served on a plate big enough to share. The lamb pita, fattier and slower than the chicken, the better pita if you are hungry. And the falafel, fried to order. Pita orders close at 4pm; arrive by 3pm to be safe.
What to order at Erev by night
The dinner menu is shorter and the prices step up. Five dishes I order. The Party Ribeye Steak, sharing-cut, dressed simply, the centrepiece. The "Terrifying Hammer", beef carpaccio with a small mallet served at the table, a dish that is half-show, half-genuinely-good. The Sabich 2.0, aubergine with boiled egg, tahini, hummus, the elevated version of the Israeli sandwich. The fish kofte, light and herby, a good non-meat second main. And the Tatami dessert, their take on tiramisu using custard in place of mascarpone, lighter than the original and the dessert to finish on. Wine pairing on request and worth taking.
What you should know before going to Miznon
The room is small. Both daytime Miznon and evening Erev fill on the night. Reservations open through the Miznon site and are essential for Erev on weekends. Brown paper tablecloths, candlelight, a single tomato on each table at dinner. Two notes for honesty. Eyal Shani is Israeli and Miznon has been the subject of protests in London including outside the Notting Hill site; check current local context if that matters to your visit. Second, the kitchen runs hot and fast, so do not arrive expecting a slow two-hour dinner unless you have booked one of the back tables.
3. Poppies Fish and Chips, the British classic done properly
Poppies Fish and Chips Portobello is the chippy I send people to when they want the British classic done properly. Address: 152 to 154 Portobello Road, London W11 2EB, on the Colville Terrace corner. Founded by Peter "Pops" Pope in the East End in 1952. Four London locations now. The Portobello branch opened April 2024 in an old NatWest building, and the original bank vault and the brass money-chute that ran between floors are still visible in the décor. Before the bank it was a butcher's. Retro fittings, Cockney signage, family-friendly with a proper kids' menu, music on at lunch.
What to order at Poppies Portobello
Six things on the order list. Cod and chips or haddock and chips, the move, both fried in beef dripping. Mushy peas on the side, the proper kind, not the bright-green tinned kind. The steak and ale pie supper, the better order on a cold day. The hot seafood platter, scallops, prawns, calamari, more than enough for two. The rotisserie chicken, surprisingly good for a chippy and the order for kids who do not want fish. And the battered sausage, which sounds like a joke and is genuinely excellent at this kitchen. The pickled eggs and gherkins are free at the counter if you ask.
What to know about prices and service
Heads-up on the bill. Cod or haddock and chips runs around twenty pounds before the side. A 12.5 percent service charge is added automatically, which catches people out who are used to chippies being a cash-and-leave-coins format. Worth mentioning to anyone you are bringing so they are not surprised at the bill. The takeaway counter is the cheaper move if you want to eat on the bench outside or walk it down to one of the smaller pocket gardens off Portobello. Sit-down inside on a winter weekday is the better experience; the room is warm and the windows steam.
How to walk all three in a weekend
My standard order if friends are doing all three. Poppies for lunch on Saturday, takeaway eaten on the bench outside. Permit Room for dinner that night, book the seven-thirty slot, stay through the DJ if the room is good. Miznon for brunch on Sunday before the market disperses, the rotisserie chicken pita and the hummus, sit at the counter if the room is busy. That is three meals, three cuisines, all three within a ten-minute walk of each other, and one of the better weekends you can put together in West London without leaving the postcode.
Jazz the beagle prefers the Miznon route because the staff slip her bits of pita crust by the door. Poppies is fine with dogs on the bench outside but not inside. Permit Room allows dogs in the ground-floor bar but not the first-floor dining room. The walking order on the dog map is therefore Miznon to Poppies to Permit Room, and yes, this matters.
Common questions
What is the best restaurant on Portobello Road?
For Indian food and the full experience, Permit Room Portobello at 186 Portobello Road is the best on the street. For pita lunch or a dinner with personality, Miznon and Erev at 14 Elgin Crescent is the one. For British fish and chips done properly, Poppies at 152 to 154 Portobello Road. All three are within a ten-minute walk of each other and all three are open for dinner most nights of the week. Pick by mood: Indian, Israeli-Levantine, or British classic.
Is Permit Room the same as Dishoom?
Yes and no. Permit Room is owned and operated by the Dishoom team, runs the same kitchen DNA, and shares much of the menu with Dishoom proper, including the House Black Daal and the Chicken Ruby. The format is different: Permit Room is a Victorian-pub-with-rooms concept, jukebox and weekend DJs on the ground floor, dining room on the first floor, three lodging rooms upstairs. Dishoom Kensington at 4 Derry Street is the full Bombay-cafe experience with the Marine Liners live band on Thursdays and Fridays.
Is Miznon dinner-only now?
Not quite. Miznon runs the pita menu until 4pm at 14 Elgin Crescent, then the same room becomes Erev for dinner from 6pm onwards, with a different menu, dimmer lighting and a curated wine list. Erev launched in March 2025 as the evening rebrand. If you want the pitas and the hummus, arrive before 3pm to be safe. If you want the Party Ribeye Steak, the Sabich 2.0 and the Tatami dessert, book Erev for the evening. Two restaurants, one address.
What is the Poppies Portobello fish and chips price?
Cod and chips or haddock and chips runs around twenty pounds at Poppies Portobello before sides. A 12.5 percent service charge is added automatically. Sides like mushy peas and curry sauce are a few pounds each. The hot seafood platter is the most expensive single item on the menu. Takeaway is cheaper than sit-down and the food quality is identical. The branch opened April 2024 in the old NatWest building at 152 to 154 Portobello Road, on the Colville Terrace corner, two minutes walk from Ladbroke Grove tube.
When is the best time to visit Portobello Road for food?
Midweek lunches are the quietest windows for all three restaurants, especially Tuesday through Thursday between 1pm and 3pm. Saturday is market day and the entire street is at peak crowd from 10am to 3pm, which makes walking the road slow but does not affect the restaurants once you are inside. Sunday brunch is the prettiest time at Miznon. Friday and Saturday dinner needs booking ahead for tables of four or more at all three. Avoid bank holiday Mondays unless you enjoy queueing.
How do you get to Portobello Road from central London?
Two tube options. Notting Hill Gate on the Central, District and Circle lines puts you at the south end of Portobello Road; walk five minutes north on Pembridge Road. Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City and Circle lines puts you at the north end, closer to Permit Room and Poppies. A ten-minute walk takes you from one end to the other. The 23, 27, 28, 31, 52, 70 and 452 buses all run along Westbourne Grove or Ladbroke Grove within a short walk of Portobello.