My Guide to West London

I was recently asked to give some recommendations for where to eat and be merry in West London for an American Website. Below is my very personal and slightly abridged guide, maybe a bit biased to the area around where I live in Sheperds Bush, but not completely so. There are links added, but not to absolutely everything, as my arm got tired. Hope it inspires those of you coming to London for some Christmas Cheer! 

Where is  West London?

West London loosely stretches from Kensington to Ealing; its vibrant mix of inhabitants includes the very rich and the disadvantaged poor. It boasts green conservation areas juxtaposed with urban spaces; boutique shopping and Westfield, the largest Mall in Europe. European bankers and Russians set up home in Holland Park and Notting Hill alongside Jamaicans and Afro Caribbean’s  - long-term residents, who orchestrate the annual Notting Hill Carnival in August. 

What would you do in West London if you wanted to be elegant and have fun?

I would have lunch at the River Café, the elegant Italian restaurant on the River Thames. I would then go shopping at the independent clothes shops, The Cross near Holland Park and The Jacksons in Notting Hill, followed by a massage and a facial at The Park Club in Acton. I would relax afterwards in their 27 acres of grounds with a cup of tea. In the evening I would book a sofa at the Electric Cinema  and snuggle with my husband and get food delivered to me from the Electric Diner next door.

Five Places to Visit in West London

1. Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew also known as Kew Gardens is one of the most famous gardens in the world, with a vast range of rare and beautiful plants, a bamboo garden, Victorian glass houses, 14,000 trees and much more. I love to walk there and just take it all in.

2.Portobello Market in Notting hill  The big antique day is Saturday but Friday is also good if you want to avoid the crowds. Don’t forget to include the Golborne Road too, which also boasts food stalls, junk and antiques for sale, as well as Portuguese cafes selling custard cakes and coffee.

3. A Walk in Kensington Gardens, visiting the Serpentine Art Gallery (free entry) and then The Orangery for tea. The Serpentine always has interesting modern art exhibitions and the Orangery is just a beautiful place to sit.

4. Leighton House Museum is the former home of the Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton, and it contains a collection of paintings and sculpture by Leighton and his contemporaries. One of the best rooms in the house is the amazing Arab Hall with its golden dome, interesting mosaics and walls lined with Islamic tiles. It would be worth visiting  Holland Park afterwards.

5. A jaunt down the river from Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick House is one of my favourite walks in London. It’s easy to imagine what the city must have been like 200 years ago and the route passes beautiful houses, a few pubs and St Nicholas Church where the artist, Hogarth was buried. While looking at the river landscape, it’s easy to forget that you are minutes away from a huge loud metropolis. 

Best new Restaurant in West London

Bush Hall Dining Room voted favourite restaurant in Sheperds Bush by Time Out readers. The cocktails are great here.

Favourite Restaurants in West London

¬Persian food at Sufi in Shepherds Bush. This is a  unpretentious and cheap, local restaurant. The grilled chicken or lamb and rice are delicious. Also the home-made flat bread.

English Tapas at The Shed in Kensington – little plates of dishes like pork scratchings with apple jam and hake rillettes with dill and marmalade. Although it’s not the most comfortable seating, it’s a really interesting and delicious dining experience.

The Anglesea Arms near Hammersmith is a cosy local pub with a roaring fire. Order a pint of prawns at the bar  or sit down in the restaurant to order seasonal food. 

Good Shopping?

Turnham Green High Street and Chiswick High Street, where there is a good mix of good quality independent food shops, health stores, furniture shops and cafes, including The Old Cinema, a treasure trove of furniture and interesting antiques.

Askew Road, in Shepherds Bush is great for inexpensive local shopping. There is a wonderful butcher, The Ginger Pig that sells Deli goods, organic vegetables, homemade jams and chutneys and extremely good quality meat and Max Inc. an interesting mid-century furniture shop with fair prices.  

Westfield, near the Shepherds Bush roundabout is the largest shopping mall in Europe, and it’s worth a visit, just to experience the sheer size and variety of shops.  There is a pop-up skating ring here in the winter and lots of free and fun happenings. There are also a huge variety of restaurants and cafes.

The clothes, jewellery, furniture, flower stall and shoe shops around Ledbury Road in Notting hill are worth visiting. I Love Gorgeous is an independent children’s shop for girls, selling beautiful dresses with an edge – a perfect gift for a godchild, a niece or a daughter. Anya Hindmarch for bags and Ottolenghi the deli are amongst the array of other independent shops.

What to do in the Evening?

The Bush Theatre  showcases new writers and it’s a small intimate theatre which make this an exciting and affordable evening.

The Bush Hall for original live indie music in a Victorian, music hall setting. 

The Riverside Studios for movies, theatre, eating and drinking

Chiswick House Gardens and Café 

Enhancing my Face

When I moved to Shepherds Bush, 14 years ago, the Askew Road consisted of a Coop, a betting shop, a couple of cafes, some lousy pubs and a funeral shop.  A few years later a high street beauty spa opened and I spontaneously booked a Christmas facial. The beautician showed no mercy and squeezed my pores until I began to weep.  Afterwards to my horror, I found burst blood vessels all around my nose, which took an expensive few sessions of  laser therapy to remove, and even after that they never really disappeared. I decided not to let just anyone tamper with my face ever again.

Luckily, soon afterwards, I joined the Park Club in Acton and not only benefitted from getting fit after the birth of my first baby, but discovered Anya at the health spa, who is the woman I go to for facials and pedicures and the occasional massage. Part of my routine at the Park Club also includes regular Pilates with Louise and more recently dynamic yoga with Karen. The sessions are part of my week,  written in stone in my diary, and I couldn't do without them.  The Askew Road is unrecognisable too now, with the opening of  The Eagle (gastro pub) The Ginger Pig Butcher, Lavelli Bakery, two supermarkets a vintage clothes shop and a mid century furniture shop.

The area is improving and then last year with much fanfare and a day of free mini mani/pedi/facials for members, the Medispa at the Park Club opened. The director is Dr Bela Horvath, a true professional, who is adamant that he only uses the best and safest products and takes the job of analysing your face very seriously. It is a real bonus to have all these treatments available only a few minutes away.  If I could afford to, I would probably try every treatment on offer and there are a few to choose from including Botox, dermal fillers, dermal roller, mesotherapy, PRGF twilight therapy skin peels and hair removal.

It was hard to choose what to have for my first treatment, but in the end Dr Bela suggested that I try a bit of cheek contouring, which would hopefully make my face that little bit more youthful. (Believe me I need any help I can get!) The treatment took about forty minutes, and started with Dr Bela gazing at me intently and then chalking some lines on my face that would guide him when he inserted the cannula under my skin. He used Juvederm Voluma, but he explained that different products are used for different parts of the face. The micro-cannula  is a newer and much safer method compared to needles. When he inserted the cannula one side of my face, it was relatively pain free, but on the other there was some pain, despite the tiny bit of anaesthetic. After two weeks of some sensitivity to the area, it settled down and I can see a fresher version of myself.  The only problem is that now I want to go back and have everything possible done!

To make an appointment call 020 8743 1900 or visit the website to see the January offers.
020 8743 1900

Ten reasons why families should move to Sheperds Bush

1. The Park Club in Acton is a good reason to live in this area. You will never need to go away again because there are 27 acres of outdoor space in this fantastic family Health Club. There are adult classes, yoga, pilates, zumba, (anything you can think of) and if you have children you won't feel the pressure to get out of city  or move house, desperate for a bigger garden. It's all here. They have play equipment, sand pits, tennis courts, ping pong, football, tennis and the piece de resistance - an outdoor swimming pool. It's not cheap but your children will be happy. Really happy. And as you sit on the terrace or sunbathe by the outdoor pool, you will be too.

2. Excellent schools:  Brilliant state primaries -St Stephens Church of England School, run by renowned head Michael Schumm. He's an inspiration, loved by both parents and children. They had their own talent show this year judged by Davina McCall, Ollie Murs and Oritze from JLS.  My son Jude won with his stand up comic routine. Brackenbury, John Betts and Greenside are all in close proximity too. Also there are two new state secondaries opening in September - The Hammersmith Academy and The West London Free School.   Excellent private schools too -Harrodian, St Pauls, Latymer, Colet Court, Ravenscourt Prep are just a few.

3. Ravenscourt Park and Holland Park. Both have cafes and playgrounds for toddlers, preschool and older children.

4. Bush Hall.  Spent many years taking toddlers here for music time with the heavenly Emma Raworth. Also have groovy music gigs for grownups and music courses for children.

5. Kite Studios . Good holiday and term time art courses for Children, run by magical Auriol.

6. Westway. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay and is really convenient.

7. Proximity to Chiswick and Turnham Green, packed with specialist food shops and good restaurants and cafes.

8. Arts Educational School - runs really good drama and music Saturday school. 

9. The Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith offers free first nights to residents.  The Bush Theatre  is moving to bigger and better premises on the Uxbridge Road, and is opening this year. 

10. Easy to get to M4, M3 and M40, Heathrow and the central line to town.