What: A relaxed restaurant and bar on Notting Hill’s reliably buzzy Portobello Road. A large four-storey multi-faceted space, Gold is on the former site of Portobello Gold, which closed back in 2017.
Who: Former River Café chef Theo Hill is overseeing the kitchen having teamed up with Alex Ghalleb and Arez Akgundogdu, who are best known for their roles at Soho House. Perhaps unsurprisingly given its post code, the project has some celebrity backers. Nick House - the man behind a string of celebrity-magnet venues including Mahiki and The Punch Bowl - has led a consortium that’s rumoured to include Ed Sheeran.
The vibe: The site has been given a modern makeover but retains a high-energy pubby vibe, with a busy bar to the front of the ground floor space. The fully open kitchen has been built into the back of the bar looking on to Gold’s attractively leafy and airy conservatory, which has a retractable roof. Moving further up the venue, the first floor has further lounge and dining area while the second houses a large room for private parties.
Braised new season peas, roasted tropea onions, wild garlic, chicken broth
The food: While not explicitly Italian, Gold’s eclectic menu shows plenty of influence from Hill’s former employer and is all the better for it. Much of the menu is cooked in a wood burning oven, including purple potatoes, caraway sauerkraut slaw, oregano; half Cornish Red chicken, nduja, tomatoes, parma ham, sourdough; and whole sea bream, wild oregano, capers. Other dishes include fish stew, smoked paprika, chickpeas, Exmouth mussels, scarlet prawns, grilled bread; and a particularly memorable plate of braised rabbit leg tortelloni, porcini butter.
And another thing: Gold’s striking facade has not gone down well with some in the area. Famous Portuguese street artist’s Alexandre Manuel Dias Farto stylised pair of eyes gazing out onto Portobello Road has been described as spooky and sinister.
Eyesore? Gold's eclectic exterior