Finally, the LocalsInsider team has a new favorite all-day café on Portobello Road — perfect when you want something spicy after a big night out.
Any foodie worth their salt, especially those who have visited London in the last decade, will have stumbled across a Dishoom. These wonderful local restaurants (14 and counting at the time of writing) are beloved for their delicious Indian cuisine: creamy dahls and fragrant curries, best paired with cocktails laced with evocative Indian spices.
And while Permit Room is a light version of Dishoom, distilling the experience into more of a bar and cafe, they have a similar menu of curries and cocktails, but in a laid-back setting that aims to replicate the post-prohibition drinking dens, popular in 1970s India. The London branch of Permit Room is the fourth, after Brighton, Cambridge, and Oxford, but this one, on delightful Portobello Road, has added a spicy new addition to the formula: a hotel, of sorts, on the top floor.
Bombay Eccentricities at The Permit Rooms
The rooms, which are snug above the restaurant on Portobello Road, encompass more of a bed and breakfast experience. Imagine it more of an apartment but with more amenities: namely, the Permit Room restaurant found down a private set of stairs, with a reserved table for your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
The Permit Rooms sleep up to four people across two bedrooms, and there’s a comfortable living space with views out into Notting Hill. The ambiance and decor are laiback luxe: all dangling plants, elegant drinks cabinets, classic lamps, and retro furniture recalling the 1970s in shades of orange, stone, and paprika, or what Dishoom calls “Bombay Eccentricities”.
Descend after a night’s sleep in the cosy king-size beds and you’ll be offered a world-spanning breakfast menu with things like Indian-style Naan Rolls, French Toast, and fried eggs served atop fluffy English crumpets.
For an Indian themed morning tipple, try the chai or a morning lassi. Try the Chicken Keema Pau (£11.20): spiced minced chicken with a fried egg on top, served with warm, fluffy pau buns.
If you want to book a stay in Notting Hill’s Permit Room, you’ll need to stay for at least 2 nights, and bookings are by either email or phone. The nightly rate for up to 4 guests is £700 ($945) at the time of writing.
Extend your exploration in England’s capital with our guide to the best cosy pubs in London, or if you’re looking for more boutique hotel options, take a look a look at our top 10 here.
