The Distillery - including the Ginstitute, Resting Room and GinTonica

You may remember the Distillery from its previous incarnation in somewhat smaller quarters further down Portobello Road. Thanks to London's  recent 'ginaissance' (and the passion of the Portobello Road Gin crew) demand has seriously outstripped supply. Now, founder Ged Feltham has answered many a gin-lover's prayer and created what can only be described as a four-floor gin paradise on the corner of Portobello Road and Talbot Road. 

The basement houses the main still itself, upgraded from the original 30 litre capacity to a reassuring 400 litres (which will mean that production of Portobello Road Gin can again be done completely on site) and the Ginstitute. I didn't get to do this on my visit, but am definitely planning to - so watch this space, details to follow!

The ground floor is home to the Resting Room, a laid-back cocktail bar serving hand-blended and barrel-aged spirits - the latter served directly from huge barrels suspended above the bar. There is also a small but perfectly formed food menu; I dabbled, but it deserves my full attention at a later date.

On the first floor is the tapas restaurant, GinTonica, serving Basque tapas and G&Ts in the 'copa de balon' glasses that any self-respecting gin aficionado uses now (*cough, buys new gin glasses immediately*).  This shape, with the large 'balloon' bowl and stem, not only focuses the aroma of the botanicals as you drink to give you a better flavour experience, but also slows the melting of the ice, so keeping your drink colder for longer AND less diluted. Winner. 

The top floor boasts a private meeting/dining room (pictured) and boutique lodgings: three double rooms with huge windows overlooking one of the world's most iconic streets, a fully-stocked minibar with freshly-made cocktails (gin, obvs) and a selection of vinyls from nearby Rough Trade West. The only way these rooms could be any cooler is if they were sitting smack on top of a gin salon and a restaurant. Oh, wait . . .

I approached my lunch booking in GinTonica with high hopes, given that it offers a combination of two of my favourite things in the world: gin and tapas. I have indulged in both frequently, internationally and (on occasion) excessively, just never - until now - concurrently.  I've always gone for ice-cold fino sherry, a dry Spanish white or rosé, or una caña with my tapas but hey, I'm always open to suggestions.

The first plate to arrive was the Pan Catalan. This is one of those joyous dishes that is simple, quick and - even when using top-quality ingredients, which you absolutely must - cheap to make, but is utterly delicious. Easily pleased, me, but then this was a good one.

The Pollo a la Parilla was a juicy grilled chicken breast, sliced and served with a roast chicken croquette and a very tasty, chunky romesco sauce. Another big tapas win in my book is the option of croquetas, usually a reliable benchmark for the rest of the meal.

Tragically they were out of the Croquetas con Queso (it was their soft launch, so I can't moan) but the chicken croquette was very promising: light, crispy coating, melting interior, good flavour. To me, these are the comfort food champs of tapas (the equivalent of Chinese bao or dumplings) and the experience was exactly right. Perhaps a jamon version in your next menu please chef?

To go with, we did glance through the drinks menu but decided to let our friendly barman advise us. We started with a couple of simple classic G&Ts - a Portobello Road Gin 17, the house blend, served with Fever Tree tonic water, juniper berries and a twist of pink grapefruit, and a Botanist, with Fever Tree elderflower tonic, juniper berries, apple and mint.

These are 50ml serves (doubles, basically) and arrive beautifully presented in the aforementioned copa de balon glasses. They were also outstandingly good. There's a whole menu of these? Book me a room.

The next tranche of tapas included another fave of mine, boquerones. Anyone who hates anchovies because they had them on a pizza once - please believe me when I say that these white anchovies (marinated in olive oil, garlic and parsley) are light, mild, flavourful and worlds away from their punchy, salt-preserved cousins. (Not that I don't always have a tin of the macho ones in my kitchen cupboard, as they are singularly brilliant at bringing out flavour in a whole range of dishes, but I digress.) Perhaps there could have been a tad less oil, but that was more a not-dropping-it-down-my-top issue than a problem with the flavour.

The patatas bravas with chilli sauce and aioli was pretty much what you would want and was a good companion dish to the orzo risotto with smoked Spanish cheese and truffle oil. This dish prompted a foodie debate at the table: is there such a thing as an orzo risotto? I don't want to go all #paellagate on this - particularly as I am known for endlessly tweaking recipes to see what happens, cooking is a living language - but my Pavlovian response kicks in and I expect a particular texture that you can only get with rice. Anyway, I digress again. Either way, this was good; creamy, incredibly rich, looser in texture than a rice-based risotto and definitely best paired with a contrasting dish like the bravas.

Time for another round of gins. This time we went for a Gin Mare with 1724 tonic, black pepper, basil and a slice of fresh mango, and a Portobello Road Gin 171 Director's Cut Number Two served with Fever Tree, smoked cardamom pods and blue cornflower. The first two were a really hard act to follow and these were also good, although very different - leading me to think more about the whole process of balancing botanicals and the variations that are possible.

No time for dessert - we had a table booked downstairs in the Resting Room to see what they had to offer.  I was very tempted to try a spirit from one of the barrels above the bar, partly because they are so cool and partly because the spirit is ageing as it is stored - meaning that it will taste very slightly different on my next visit. The drinks menu is wonderfully authoritative, explaining each spirit in terms of nose, taste and finish as well as recommending a way of trying it.

We stuck with the gin theme, though. I went for a classic martini, which was as lip-puckeringly dry as it gets and presented with skilled and elegant simplicity. How beautiful is this? (That's another set of glasses I need to buy now. If only there were an antiques market nearby. Oh, wait . . . )

Still full from our tapas, we just dipped into the small plates menu and ordered the scallops with chestnut puree, apple julienne and watercress and a side of truffle fries with parmesan and garlic. The apple was a good contrast to the soft silkiness of the scallops; the fries had a great flavour but lacked any crunch, which was a minor disappointment. Not enough to stop us finishing them, though.

So, that was my visit to the Distillery. I am intrigued by the Institute now, so have put that on my to-do list for this year, and will try the larger sharing plates from the Resting Room's Josper oven while I'm at it.

Yours, with two floors down and two to go,

London Girl About Town xx

Coco Nail Bar

Lately I've taken to treating friends to a day out in London rather than buying presents for birthdays and special occasions; most of us would be hard pushed to remember what a particular friend bought us for our last birthday, but an experience tends to be much more memorable, and doesn't gather dust in their flat. Plus I get an excuse to spend a day in my favourite place with one of my favourite people: what's not to like?

I was horrified to learn that this particular friend - let's call her Sarah, largely because that's her name - had never been to Portobello Road market. Faithful readers know of course that I have (see my blog post in October last year) but I am always very happy to go back and it happened to tie in nicely with somewhere I had been planning to try that seemed perfect for a day of girlie pampering and chat.

Coco Nail Bar is on Portobello Road itself, near the bottom of the hill just before the Westway. As most people sensibly start from the Notting Hill end and walk downhill this meant we could peruse almost all the market first and finish with a well-earned sit down. All my friend knew was that I was treating her to a pedicure; what lifts Coco out of the ordinary are the unexpected and seriously cool extras.

Massage chairs: Coco has those huge massage chairs you get in high end hairdressers and airport lounges, so you can get unknotted and de-stressed whilst getting fabulous nails.

Minx nails: I am a recent convert to these, particularly over the summer. Funky pre-printed and/or metallic designs are gently heated under a lamp and then applied to your nails, whether natural, gel or acrylic. Celebrity favourites, I love them because everybody notices them, you don't have to worry about drying time and they last for absolute ages - four to six weeks for a pedicure. Or you can go for standard OPI polish, obvs.

Still not impressed? Okay, how about . . .

Sushi: Coco have teamed up with another of my favourite places, Ukai (another blog post from October 2012) to provide absolutely delicious sushi in situ. We had just pigged out at the wonderful Books for Cooks, or this would have had to be done.

Scented candles: heaven forbid you should have to sit in a place that smells of street market and nail polish. Ancienne Ambiance candles provide a gently fragrant background to your pampering - and if you love them, you can buy them at reception.

Apple TV: watch the big screen, or the individual tablets mean you can watch catch-up TV, update your Ocado order or listen to your own choice of music. We didn't bother, because we were very happy with . .

The DJ: Saturdays see their resident DJ setting the scene with old school R&B and dance tunes - perfect for chilling out whilst being pampered. All that's missing from this picture is a glass of wine or an ice-cold margarita. Lucky, then, that they have a . . .

Cocktail bar: Seriously. Wimp out with freshly-made Illy coffee if you must, but we shunned the coffee, wine and bubbly for cocktails - classic margaritas and mojitos and Coco signature cocktails Nailed It, White Coco and Peach Bum. Now that's what I call a proper girlie day out. Happy birthday honey!

Yours, pampered, polished and feeling no pain,

Girl About Town xx

Portobello Road Market

Portobello Road Market is actually a series of markets stretching over half a mile from Notting Hill Gate tube station to just past Ladbroke Grove; I usually take several leisurely hours to cover this allowing for dodging the crowds, browsing and the odd purchase, plus a pit stop or two for refuelling.

You can start at either end but as it's on a hill most people seem to start from Notting Hill and walk down, and on manically busy Saturdays when the antique market is in town it can be easier to just go with the flow.
Assuming you have picked a Saturday to visit, follow the crowds out of the station past the chocolate-box mews houses (look out for George Orwell's blue plaque) and you're straight into the antiques section of the market, which goes from Chepstow Villas to Elgin Crescent - you can download a useful map here: http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk/getting_there.asp

Serious antique hunters should arrive by 9am latest (NOT 5.30am as some guide books say - none of the traders will be there!) but for those of us who are just there to soak up the atmosphere and idly browse, the market doesn't start closing up until around 4pm so it's a perfect lunchtime destination. Also, don't neglect the arcades off to the left; there are plenty of goodies to be had in there as well as from the stalls.

You can pick up some incredible bargains here. I don't necessarily mean investment pieces (although I'm sure that's possible), more just beautiful, characterful touches for your home that would cost a fortune in a designer shop. I love hunting around for mismatched silver cutlery and I have a friend who has gradually collected a set of gorgeous old fine china cups, saucers and tea plates, all in different patterns and styles, which look truly fabulous together and give simple tea and cake a real frisson of glamour. Amongst the silverware, glass and china there are lots of other wonderfully quirky collectables: antique printers' trays and blocks, metal advertising signs, worn leather footballs and wonderful old tins in all shapes and sizes - the old-fashioned food ones like Homepride, Oxo and Tetley make great kitchen storage!

After Elgin Crescent this segues into a food market which on Saturdays covers not only standard fruit and veg but also artisanal breads, cakes and baked goods, olives, flavoured oils, chutneys and relishes etc. If you happen to be here around packing-up time (just after 4pm) the traders are often keen to offload the fresh produce, so you can grab yourself some cut-price treats to take home. This area also offers a wide range of freshly-cooked street food, perfect for a quick energising pick-me-up before heading off down the hill.

The next section of the market, from Talbot Road to the Westway, is more like a standard weekend market with a range of new goods. Quality can vary enormously from stall to stall and you will find everything from 'original' art, jewellery, scarves and rugs to clothes pegs, batteries and watches. Keep an eye out for the regular shops as well though, as Portobello Road is home to some fabulous independent retailers; the rather wonderful Street Sensation website offers you a virtual shop-by-shop walkthrough map here:
http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/ptbello/pb_intro.htm

Look out particularly for the Oxfam Bookshop (172 Portobello Road) - if you are a bibliophile like me, declutter your shelves and drop your preloved  books here, then browse their shop and take home a whole new selection, all for charity. If I lived nearer, this would pretty much be my library. Also well worth a visit is Books for Cooks (4 Blenheim Crescent), which is an unbeatable combo of eclectic cookery book shop and working test kitchen/cafe. As soon as you open the door a waft of baking lures you inside and soon you're sampling the very recipe you're looking at on the page. Genius. They also run workshops on making everything from pasta to sushi upstairs in their demo kitchen - check their website for details:
http://www.booksforcooks.com/

Another fabulous coffee stop is newcomer Casa Nova (140 Portobello Road), which promises 'chocolate and something more'. It delivers on both counts; my coffee was really good, gutsy with a nutty depth that really hit the spot, and arrived with some freshly-baked biscuits drizzled with chocolate. There was an extensive choice of cakes and pastries to go with, as well as a range of delicious hand-made chocolate. For those with a real sweet tooth or in need of comfort, you must try the hot chocolate. It is literally that - like drinking warm melted chocolate, an oddly Willy Wonka-esque experience but highly recommended.

As you near the Westway you start to get into the fashion market. This is a great place to pick up vintage clothing, bags and accessories as well as hand-made pieces from young designers, usually fashion and textile design students; worth it to know you're unlikely to turn up at a party in the same outfit as someone else, and fabulous bragging rights if they were to make it big! Some stalls have a theme, maybe military or evening wear, whereas others are just a treasure chest jumble.

At this time of year it is worth checking out this season's fashion for coats and then rummaging through the racks; basic shapes like the peacoat or riding jacket don't change and you can find a bang on-trend winter coat or two for a fraction of the high street price. The best stuff is under the Westway; the market does continue on and into Golbourne Road but it degenerates into car boot type second hand goods past Cambridge Gardens.

Obviously the market is a tourist attraction but Portobello Road is fundamentally a working market for Londoners and a great Saturday afternoon out; I haven't managed a trip there yet without leaving laden down with fabulous finds. Go, enjoy.

Yours, vintage clad,

Girl About Town xx