Portobello Star

Small
Jul 2nd, 2022

Incredible cocktails (unique flavours, blends and options that they have curated themselves) and a good vibe all around. Set in the heart of Notting Hill, this cocktail bar is one of my favourites in London. The happy hour pricing is the best time to head there, if you're cost conscious (although everyone would probably have the same idea so it could get crowded). It doesn't have a lot of seating but if you get a spot, it's an absolute delight. Debra, the mixologist / waitress, always fills us with so much joy and makes us try new cocktails and shots and I've always left the place feeling considerably happier than I did before I walked in.
Jun 6th, 2022

on Friday I made a reservation to watch the game on Sunday night online as on my first call nobody answered. Right after I booked I received an email that confirmed they received the booking and I needed to wait for a confirmation. Due to the situation it's very hard to find a pub now so I called the pub one more time, this time a guy answered and I asked if my booking was confirmed, he took a couple of minutes to check if they had space then came back to me with a good news, my table was reserved. on Saturday (today, day after) I received an email stating that my booking was not accepted because they are fully booked. Called back the pub and nothing was done to help, the excuse was that whoever confirmed my booking over the phone was not familiar with the reservation system and "did not see that they were fully booked". over the phone He explained that they only have four tables and cannot add any more. Now, if there are only four tables the person who confirmed my booking should have seen four bookings, no matter how inexperienced a person is, must be able to count from 1 to 4, or at least ask someone else who knows more. At the moment I find myself one day before the Euro Final without a reservation, and if any of you reading this have tried to book a table anywhere you'll know how hard it is to find somewhere available to book. I hardly leave reviews but I feel like this is not acceptable mostly because of the specific day I am talking about. I hope others had a better experience with this place because it looks very nice. UPDATE MONDAY 12/07/2021 (CHANGED FROM 1 STAR TO 4): Saturday night (after I wrote this review) I received an email confirming they had space and that my booking was therefore accepted. Had a quick phone call with the pub as soon as I saw the email to double check and apparently they had enough space to fit us in. In complete honesty I would have not gone anyway because of what happened but had no choice. Today I am glad I went, my friends and I had a very good time. My friends went at the time of the booking and I went later as I was working. When I got to the pub I was told the Manager went to our table to apologise about what happened, so when the game finished I wanted to give her my apologies as well and to talk to her face to face. She was very nice, we had a quite long conversation to clarify what the issue was and to apologise from both sides. When I went to the pub I immediately realised I had been there before (last year) and I actually had a very good night. I don't want to remove my review because it shows that whatever happened they were able to solve it instead of just ignoring the issue. To finish, I do recommend this pub, considering both last night and last year, overall it is a very nice place and mistakes happen, I don't want to write reviews only when it is a negative one, they deserve more. I will definitely go back very soon and hopefully the manager Debora will be there, she saved our Sunday night.
Apr 7th, 2022

Great ambiance, amazing drinks & a lovely staff! One of my favourite locals.
Feb 6th, 2022

The staff are really friendly and attentive. The drinks are a bit pricy. 2 for 1 cocktails until 7pm is a good offer but not many cocktails to choose from, great if you like gin but could do with a more diverse selection. The ambience is cozy and decent for a chat above the noise. It's a nice vibe.
Oct 22nd, 2021