london
Core by Clare Smyth
• European• Notting Hill
About the restaurant
Chef-patron Clare Smyth’s work heading up the kitchen of the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay meant her first solo venture was one of the most anticipated openings of the late 2010s. She won two Michelin stars immediately and followed it up with a much-deserved third in 2021.
While the food here is classic fine-dining fare, the restaurant itself has the feel of a warm Notting Hill neighbourhood restaurant. The dining room is airy, with huge glass doors through to a semi-open kitchen, and a small bar area that’s perfect for a pre-meal drink.
Smyth’s food puts British ingredients at the forefront, with touches that show her classical French and European training. It results in some truly stunning dishes – the tasting menu changes regularly, but mainstays like charlotte potato with caviar and seaweed butter are far greater than the sum of their parts, and show exactly why Smyth’s cooking has become so lauded.
Reviews from the Web
Critic reviews
The Infatuation
When you walk in, you’ll feel like you’ve just entered the living room of a quietly well-off friend who so happens to have excellent taste in interior design.
Standard
The menu is not a leather-bound volume but a folded card which the customer is encouraged to keep. Music burbles in the background and I can make out U2 and Van Morrison (Smyth comes from Northern Ireland). Artworks include ones by YBAs Michael Landy and Marc Quinn as well as a screenprint from Bridget Riley, a neighbour, apparently.
The Telegraph
The jellied eels weren’t revolting - a culinary miracle'
Time Out
This is a not a teeny hatch in a plus-sized zone, but a gorgeous period building in Notting Hill.
The Nudge
Taking the place of the Notting Hill Brasserie, it’s a light, airy space tucked into a townhouse at the peak of Portobello Market. Inside, you’ll make your way through a dinky 18-seater bar, before arriving in the breezy dining space, with its pistachio feature walls, smooth wooden flooring and relaxed, retro-styled seating overlooking a huge, glass-panelled kitchen.
- 92 Kensington Park Rd
- W11 2PN
- London
- +44 20 3937 5086
- Visit website
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