On a dark Monday night the rest of London might have been quiet enough, but Wild was doing a storming business
What do we need to know about Wild?
This is the latest restaurant from the restaurant partnership of George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev who are also behind Goodman, Burger & Lobster and The Belvedere in Holland Park. They're also responsible for Wild Tavern in Chelsea of which this Notting Hill restaurant is a spin-off - a diffusion line, shall we say.
Where is it?
You'll find it on Westbourne Grove, on the very chichi section between Colville and Ledbury Road, where 202 used to be. It's about halfway between Westbourne Park and Notting Hill Gate tubes, but most of the clientele looked like they walked here from their candy-coloured mews houses nearby.
Where's a good place to meet for a drink first?
Your best bet is probably the nearby Walmer Castle which has just had another high-end makeover and is a very comfy spot to sink a pint or a glass of wine pre-or post a meal here. But there's also a large bar area at Wild itself if you fancy trying something from their short but well-crafted cocktail list.
Left to right: Amalfi 75 (£14) with Nicholson Gin and Amalfi lemon cordial and a Westbourne Margarita (£15) with Ocho Tequila, pink pepper, timur, passionfruit and bergamot.
And where should we sit?
This is a large, bustling dining room and there are plenty of larger tables for bigger groups as well as a semi-private dining space at the back, which is also a good spot to be in for lunch with its conservatory roof. But we preferred our table in front of the long open kitchen where we could enjoy the real action. So too, it turns out, did Idris Elba who popped in for dinner with his wife that night.
That empty table to the left is where Idris Elba ended up sitting...
So what kind of food are we talking?
Think the best of the Mediterranean, so the prawns will be red Sicilian, the burrata will have been flown in from Puglia and the tartare will be Spanish bluefin tuna. That focus on the best raw ingredients means it's priced accordingly, but the menu is loosely a little less burdensome on your budget than the original place in Chelsea.
Here's what we had to give you an idea:
A choice of three crudos - tartare of Spanish bluefin tuna with sesame and wasabi (£25), carpaccio of yellowfin kingfish with nduja and mango and - the best of the bunch by a mile - tartare of Sicilian raw prawns with raspberry and celery (£26).
Tagliolini with black truffle (£44) - we split this dish between the two of us, so this is a half portion of the most gorgeous pasta, liberally topped with freshly shaved truffles.
For our mains, we switched to the specials board where there's a range of cuts and catches of the day.
Josper-grilled rib eye
Cornish turbot with gremolata - quite the nicest bit of fish we'd had in a while.
What's on the menu for vegetarians or vegans?
With the exception of the raw bar, most sections of the menu had a vegetarian or vegan offering from the linguine with Datterini tomato and stracciatella to the artichoke alla romana.
Room for dessert?
We had just enough space to share one between us, which was a shame as we missed out on other treats like the hazelnut semifreddo and the roasted goats cheese with figs and truffle.
Cheesecake with blackberry coulis (£12) - a very nice, trad cheesecake made significantly better by the use of blackberry rather than the ubiquitous blueberry topping.
What about the wine list?
The wine list is very much worth your attention, particularly if you have the budget to push towards some of the big hitters on offer here. For ourselves, we were very happy with a glass or two of our Nebbiolo from Rocche Costamanga (£13 per glass) but if you fancy a magnum of Antinori's 2012 Solaia that'll be £1000. So that's something for everyone then.
Overall thoughts:
Monday night in Notting Hill really is a different world with this restaurant almost entirely packed full of groups of friends and family enjoying themselves. Add to that the undeniable cachet of a proper A-lister in the room and Wild really had everything in terms of vibe. The good thing is the food also more than matches the energy - we'd particularly recommend you hit up both the pasta section and the specials board to get a real flavour of the place.
More about Wild
Where is it? 202 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RH
When does it open? 23 September 2023
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @wildnottinghill
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Wild. Prices correct at time of publication.
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