The Cow
COMMUNITY HUB AND ELITE hang-out: there must be few pubs in London that can tick both boxes with the confidence of the justly celebrated and perennially popular Cow. A fixture on the Notting Hill scene for a quarter of a century, its down-to-earth décor belies its glitzy clientele of fashionistas, socialites and well-heeled hipsters. On any given afternoon, one shoulders one’s way through the unhurried daytime drinkers at the bar to take one’s seat in the wedge-shaped dining area at the rear, where one is just as likely to be flanked by Savile Row suits and Chanel jackets as by tousled musicians on the brink of the big time.
What keeps them all coming? The food, mainly. Customers are enjoined to ‘Eat Heartily and Give the House a Good Name’. A menu featuring an impressive array of British and international dishes is an incentive to do precisely that. The Cow Special is a plate of oysters washed down with either a pint of Guinness or a glass of wine: simple but extremely satisfying. If seafood isn’t your thing – besides oysters, you can choose from crab, whelks or shrimps – you can look towards the dish du jour, available from noon to 6 PM. For around £15, an early or late lunch might comprise chicken Kiev, veal pojarski or lamb curry. I advise you to save room for pudding and/or cheese. The Cow excels at both.
See also: The Guinea Grill, The Quality Chop House, Simpson’s Tavern
