"Portobello road, Portobello road, street where the riches of
ages are stowed/Anything and everything a chap can unload is sold off
the barrow in Portobello road."
It might not look quite like it did in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks,
with a creepy Bruce Forsyth waiting to pounce at any moment with his
flick knife, but Portobello Road is still an excellent place for a
bargain or a treasure. Here is a guide to finding your way round the
market and a list of some of the road's best amenities to check out.
The Market
All of the market is open on Fridays and Saturdays but that still
doesn't mean going on Sunday is a waste of time. The food and clothes
stalls aren't there but heading up Portobello Rd towards Notting Hill
Gate you will find jewellery, pictures, books, antiques and various
bric-a-brac stalls ready to trade. For the full experience on a Friday
or Saturday, the best way to start off is by catching the tube to
Ladbroke Grove and crossing the road to start at the clothing area of
the market. This starts shutting down first around midday, so if
you're a fairly chilled out customer you might have missed most of it
by the afternoon.
Clothes
Leather handbags and shoes (soundgen2003, Flickr)
The best area for
clothes shopping stretches from Ladbroke Grove along the Westway until
you hit Portobello Rd. It also crosses Portobello into Acklam Road and
this is where the fashion students and small–time designers set up
shop. Sex and the City stylist Trisha Field once bought a customised
fur coat there from FrannyB stall-owner Selena Francis-Bryden which was
worn by Carrie in the series. Other items of interest are handmade
lingerie, army uniforms of all kinds (good for fancy dress) and a wide
range of vintage handbags, belts and shoes. Once you reach Portobello
Green at the end and turn right onto Portobello Rd, the market starts
to turn decidedly natty. You can expect touristy London T-shirts and
knock-off Ray-Bans but don't out miss out on the art deco and retro
pieces located right under the Westway itself.
Food
The
market has an enormous food section from where Portobello meets Elgin
Crescent stretching to Talbot Rd. There are two fish mongers, several
butchers, a patisserie, cheese stall, fruit and veg stalls, delis…the
list goes on.
Pumpkins (JoseNadalest, Flickr)
It is amazing how much fruit and veg you can get here
for a quid especially on Saturday afternoon when they start to pack
up. Other delights of the food section include the hot snack stalls
like the gargantuan paella dishes that are turned over all day, not to mention burgers, bratwurst, noodles, homemade pizza and falafels; you
certainly won't go hungry.
Antiques
The
last section of the market from Talbot Road to Chepstow Villas (near
Notting Hill Gate) sells mostly antiques but there is a lot of
miscellaneous bric-a-brac thrown in with it all too. This is what the
market is really famous for and stays open the longest, supposedly from
8am-6:30pm (although realistically, trading doesn't kick off properly
until 9am and people are packing up by 4pm).
Antiques and bric-a-brac (soundgen2003, Flickr)
It also opens mid-week
with a half day on Thursday, so if antiques are all you're interested
in, this is the best time to go to avoid the crowds. There is a wealth
of treasures and oddities to be discovered here from silver cutlery to
first edition Dickens, 19th century prints and maps, old sporting
memorabilia, snuff boxes, phonographs and Nazi helmets. Several
doorways lead into labyrinthine arcades like The Good Fairy (100
Portobello Rd) which is stuffed full of china, Beatles memorabilia,
watches, telephones, books and costume jewellery, run by traders eager
to haggle.
Good Fairy stall (TV Boy, Flickr)
Market tips...
There
are only two cash points on the road – Abbey National at no.174 and
HSBC at no.152, both in the middle, on the east side. The queues for
these on market days could bring a tear to the eye, so get a good
supply of cash out before you go there.
If you see something
you like, buy it – the market takes a long time to get through and by
the time you've wound your way to the end and have decided to go back,
your stall might have shut. They tend not to have lots of similar
stalls so it's unlikely you will see the same thing or better further
on.
Open All Week
R.Garcia and Sons (nos. 248-250) is a Spanish
delicatessen selling all the expected goodies from homemade tortilla to
morcilla, Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, Rioja and turrón. The cafe
attached serves chocolate, churros and tapas all day.
Mau Mau (no.265) is a great live music bar with a cheap selection of
blisteringly strong cocktails, comfy sofas and regular showcases by
indie, London jazz, rock and funk record labels.
The most civilised way to watch a film in London must be at The Electric (no. 191). Recline on leather armchairs with your feet resting on
footstools, choose from a selection of alcoholic drinks and eat from a
menu that includes brownies, fish and chips and chicken goujons (note:
this changes daily). This is not a cinema to pitch up at – book at
least a week in advance.
The Electric Cinema (Soho House Group)
The famous Hummingbird Bakery (no.133) sells homemade cupcakes, pies, cookies and large cakes to
order but, should you feel particularly indulgent, you can buy up to 24
cup cakes on the spot.
Cupcakes in the Hummingbird (Diana Janicki, Flickr)
On the corner of Westbourne Grove, Negozio Classica (no.283) is an Italian deli and bar which sells fine wine, cheese and
olive oil. Perhaps its best feature however is the tasting menu it
offers with suggestions for combining particular vintages with the
freshest cheeses, meats or cured hams.
Trailer Happiness (no.177) is an incredibly kitsch 70's style drinking den located on the
corner of Elgin Crescent which is one of the best value bars on the
road. Once a month, the Rum Club holds meetings there which anyone can
join for £10 and we're guessing, put away a lot of rum.
One of a Kind (no.253) is a designer vintage clothing store of the highest degree,
Kate Moss is one of its famous patrons and, if you can face the
too-cool-for-school store manager, forever dressed in his fur coat, it
does have some beautiful clothes and accessories. Be warned, if you're
looking for a bargain – it's best to go to the market.
As well as doing great comfort food like sausages and mash, toad in the hole and shepherd's pie, the S & M Cafe (no.268) under the Westway do the world's best sausage sarnies and you can take your pick out of about 10 different varieties.
S&M Cafe, Portobello (Sue_n_Alex, Flickr)
So
there you go. Portobello is a long road indeed but it is well worth
the trip. Jack Wills and Starbucks aside, it has held onto its unique, bohemian
spirit and is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant, bustling places in
London. Sure loads of tourists go there but unfortunately any place
with this much on offer is going to be like flypaper to visitors and we
should appreciate why that is rather than moan about it.
Emma McAlpine
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