The first time I visited Notting Hill's Saturday market (Portobello Road) was twelve years ago. I visited in the winter and the summer, and the summer was busy with tourists. However, much has changed in twelve years, and like the rest of London, the Notting Hill market has at least tripled in visitors. I noticed the same trend with Camden Town's market, which I visited last March. Even in the tourist off-season, the markets in London are packed anymore.
The colourful Notting Hill street with the crowds and vendors wear and sell fur coats.
Portobello Road market has always been noted for its antiques. There's plenty more stalls here, and there's a few street performers. (I think the majority of street performers must visit more in the summer months.) However, if you wish to buy something antique, do make sure that it is genuinely an antique as a lot of the goods are reproduced, and there's a lot sold for the tourism industry here.
Various items on display for sale.
Letterpress stamps for sale from the days of print shops.
After walking down the market, we stopped at Zaza, an Italian Gelato shop directly on Portobello Road next to a stand selling beautiful flowers and plants. We tried Zaza's ice cream, ice cream cake, and liquid hot chocolate. We tried the pistachio (one of my ultimate ice cream flavour favourites) and vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was delicious.
Pistachio ice cream and chocolate.
One ice cream 'cake' was chocolate, and the other was strawberry. The ice cream was served onto a dry, biscuit-y base and decorated with chocolate (and strawberry for the strawberry one).
Vanilla ice cream and strawberry ice cream cake.
The liquid hot chocolate is probably the best I have had in London. I really recommend it. Imagine melting really good quality chocolate into a cup and drinking it.
Zaza liquid hot chocolate
After our desserts and hot chocolate to warm us up, we continued browsing the shops in Notting Hill.
A vehicle with crates and dust bin.
Browsers in the market
More browsers in Notting Hill
Increasingly, Portobello Road has embraced clothing stalls, and vintage clothing is common here. There was an abundance of fur coats, which seems to be the trend at the moment.
Cakes - Portobello Road
Bread for sale
I liked the colours of these buildings and the flag on Portobello Road
I hope you've enjoyed this tour of Portobello Road, Notting Hill's Saturday market.
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