Pizza East Portobello: Casual-Chic in Notting Hill

In my recent review of Egg Break, I exalted the fabulous Soho House brand for their wonderful club houses, restaurants and hotels. Step into any venue associated with Soho House and you know you’re going to get a buzzy atmosphere, great food and friendly service. There’s a real home-away-from-home feel about the brand created by visionary entrepreneur, Nick Jones and I know I will always have a relaxed and fun time at his venues.

The Pizza East brand is no exception and when I walked into the Portobello branch we immediately felt the lively atmosphere in a restaurant mostly full of yummy mummies – well it was Notting Hill… It was perfect for lunch with my friend Claire, a new mum herself, as she didn’t have to worry about her little son being noisy or crying.

I love the casual, rustic decor that’s a staple for the Soho House brand, with the homey tiled floors, reclaimed wood and shabby chic chairs and tables.
There’s a bar and coffee counter at the back and lots of cute touches such as the weighing scales, barrels and hessian bags on the walls.
With the open kitchen you can see the chefs at work and the wood-fire pizza oven roaring in the back ground. The name of the restaurant may seem a little odd as we’re in West London, but it comes from the original branch of Pizza East in Shoreditch. Where the original had a more trendy warehouse vibe, Pizza East Portobello, is more intimate and as a converted pub, it has a lovely local and cosy feel to it. There’s also one in Kentish Town and they’ve gone international with a branch in Istanbul, plus they’re competing with some of the world’s best pizzas with a branch in Chicago.

Ok, so obviously the pizza is the signature dish at Pizza East, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to work that out…but when Claire and I saw the pork belly and the salt-baked salmon on the counter, we knew what were going to have…

Actually Pizza East is so much more than a pizza restaurant, there’s a deli counter of meats and cheeses, a great selection of starters and more options from the wood fire oven such as lasagne and mac’ n’ cheese. Pizzas are both classic and creative with hearty meat options such as spicy sausage, crispy pork belly and veal meatballs; I’m pretty boring when it comes to pizza and I love a good mozzarella and tomato!
Actually my salt-baked salmon and heritage tomato salad was a great light choice for me as I’m going to St Lucia in two weeks. The salt-baking meant that my salmon was perfectly cooked and flavourful and I loved the juicy tomatoes.

Claire’s pork belly was succulent on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside and the roast potatoes were both fluffy and crunchy. We loved our dishes, but next time it’s definitely pizza for me 🙂