The Walmer Castle

The standard for a London pub is high these days. There’s lots of boxes to tick: interiors that could fill the pages of a magazine, seasonal menus that only use the best, usually British ingredients, and then, an atmosphere that’s actually befitting of a boozer. Reach too low, and Londoners aren’t impressed. Reach too high, and is it really a pub? But, Walmer Castle is the goldilocks of Notting Hill’s pub scene – it’s just right.

While this freehouse has stood since 1845, the beginning of 2024 saw a new dawn for the building after undergoing a re-design by Isabella Worsley, known for her rich, quirky take on heritage interiors. This feels especially important to mention when describing Walmer Castle because the experience of eating and drinking here really does feel framed by the presence of moody panelled walls, huge artworks, textured wallpapers and a sumptuous colour scheme – from the downstairs dining room to the beautiful private spaces. The space is designed to be universal – hipsters will be happy to hang-out here, as will West London stalwarts and local families, which is all reflected in the un-fussy yet happily trendy menu.

The kitchen puts a lot of stock into suppliers, prioritising British, award-winning, sustainable partners. We noticed that the same efforts have been put into finding interesting and independent drinks suppliers, too, with the wine list showing several English vineyards as well as better alcohol-free options than you’ll find in most places, highlighting small brands from the UK making new products in this market.

Food wise, we started with the Puglian burrata with heirloom tomatoes, a dish that’s really about simplicity. The burrata was certainly up to scratch, exploding with creamy goodness and accentuated by crunchy focaccia croutons and basil pesto. There's a soft and succulent herb crusted cod, falling apart just as you’d hope. Served with peas, broad beans, pork lardons and asparagus fricassee, as well as new potatoes, this is the kind of dish you’d expect to find in a contemporary gastropub – well balanced, tasty but not overly wild.

The website advises leaving a corner for pudding and we have to agree, this actually being our favourite course of the three. For us, the creamy lemon posset was light and moreish and worked really well with the lavender biscuit, which created a little playfulness to remember it by.

The Walmer Castle is a historic Notting Hill pub, which has stood in this leafy corner of west London since 1845. During that time it has changed many hands and led many lives; in November 2023, Jack and Poppy Greenall took over this much-loved local to give it a new lease of life, enlisting the help of designer Isabella Worsley and refreshing the menu with seasonal, British dishes that champion the UK's best produce. 

The ground floor is the heart of the establishment, where the large doors allow the atmosphere from the bustling streets to flow in, along with natural light, which dapples across wooden tables and along cream-toned walls. Here, you'll find a handsome central bar, authentic fireplace and sophisticated but fitting decor, like choice pieces of art and a latte colour palette. 

Across its three floors, Walmer Castle also boasts a more formal, upstairs dining room which is a beautiful spot for a special dinner and benefits from features like wine bottle-lined walls, cosy corners and on-trend lighting. While on the top floor, the Westbourne Room is a private dining room with soft, feminine details like floral wallpaper and a huge orginal artwork from Florence Houston of a berry-filled jelly. Here, you could host up to 18 people for a either lunch or dinner. 

As for the menu, it changes seasonally and there's always a sample example online, which gives you an idea of what to expect. It could be cured chalkstream trout with mango, chili and Arenkha caviar dressing with coriander cress and crostini to start, followed by mains like Somerset pork tomahawk servied with black pudding and new potatoes, as well as cavolo nero, apple and red wine jus, or seafood taglitelle with St. Austell’s mussels, Atlantic prawns, squid, langoustine bisque and basil. 

For dessert, who could resist the likes of sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream or Williams pear and Valrhona chocolate trifle with toasted almonds and vanilla sponge.