The Microhood: Hillgate Village, Notting Hill

What’s it got that we love?
Blessed with fine architecture, an international social mix and a reputation for boho chic, Notting Hill has widespread appeal. The neighbourhood is known for being seriously smart – with a long list of famous residents, elegant garden squares and excellent local schools – but it still retains a genuine community feel.

Perhaps the prettiest part is Hillgate Village, a small knot of streets tucked away between Notting Hill Gate Tube station and Kensington Church Street. Home to terraces of pastel-painted houses, and just a stroll away from Hyde Park, this is the Notting Hill of urban perfection. Its legend only grew after the Richard Curtis movie Notting Hill, which featured scenes at a blue door on Westbourne Park Road. “It put the neighbourhood on the map internationally,” says Pete Bevan, co-head of prime central London residential sales.

In the 25 years since, Notting Hill has continued to move inexorably upmarket. But alongside the entrepreneurs and Michelin-starred restaurants, you’ll find actors, musicians and writers. “Notting Hill’s a communal kind of place,” says Bevan. “It has retained a slightly boho feel, which is part of the attraction.” Even the most affluent residents have a low-key, relaxed vibe.

How’s the shopping?
Locals will be familiar with the highspots around Westbourne Grove. “There are designer shops, a Daylesford Organic and the original Ottolenghi,” says Bevan. Shoppers can avail themselves of Soho Home for design items, Sézane for French fashion and Pippa Small for ethical jewellery, all within easy reach of brunch spot Granger & Co if you need to refuel.

The world-famous Portobello Road market, no stranger to being a movie backdrop, still draws healthy numbers of enchanted antiques hunters, as do the secondhand shops and stalls of Golborne Road (where a simple pleasure is breaking for a mouthwatering pastel de nata at Lisboa). A more elevated take on curating the past can be found in the antiques shops of Kensington Church Street.

Hang out at…
The Hillgate pub is the draw of Hillgate Village, with its excellent Sunday roasts. A few streets north on Ledbury Road is the Walmer Castle, with an art collection featuring works by Cornelia Parker, Tracey Emin and Yinka Shonibare. The Pelican has helped to make All Saints Road a much sleeker proposition, while The Cock & Bottle is also a local favourite.

Notting Hill is known for its standout restaurants, spearheaded by Clare Smyth’s three-Michelin-starred Core. The ever-excellent Ledbury has a trio of stars, too, while Clarke’s has been a stalwart of Kensington Church Street for 40 years. There’s a vast amount of superlative coffee – Bevan likes the Hagen Espresso Bar for its lively atmosphere and quality brew – and the Electric on Portobello Road is a refurbished cinema with a members’ club as well as a big screen. In search of solace? Head east to Kensington Gardens or west to Holland Park, which is surprisingly peaceful – apart from the peacocks.

Where to buy?
Hillgate Village’s pastel houses can be bought for £3m-£4m. “It is convenient for Notting Hill Gate, with Kensington High Street on one side and Portobello on the other,” says Bevan. On Chepstow and Pembridge Villas, where you’ll get a drive for your car and a white-stucco frontage, prices run from £12m to £40m. For grand houses on streets such as Kensington Park Gardens, “you’d need £20m or so”, says Bevan.

On a sliding scale, for apartments and conversions, Bevan advises looking at Pembridge Crescent and Chepstow Crescent. On W10’s Oxford Gardens and Bassett Road, meanwhile, there are double-fronted houses that are more affordable than those in the prized W11 postcode.

Little black book
Portobello Road; Daylesford Organic; Ottolenghi; Soho Home; Sézane; Pippa Small; Granger & Co;  The Hillgate; Walmer Castle; The Pelican; The Cock & Bottle; Core; The Ledbury; Clarke’s; Hagen; Electric Cinema