Cake Time at Café O'Porto near Portobello Road

Take a Short Walk from Notting Hill for a Cheaper Lunch in London

Nov 8, 2009

There may not be many cheap places to eat in London but Café O'Porto, close to Portobello Market, is. This café may not look fancy but their custard tarts are.

Pasteis de nata (custard tarts) are small custard filled pastries. They are a Portuguese national dish and O’Porto and its sister café Lisboa (just over the road) bake them daily on trays that stack dozens high. Don’t be fooled into thinking that they never run out though. Anyone arriving after 3pm may just find they’ve been cleaned out as they go like hot cakes.

A Rest Stop After Shopping at Portobello Road Market

It’s not necessarily worth trekking out to Golborne Road just to get a cheap coffee and pastry but with Notting Hill and Portobello Road close by it is a prime tourist destination. The craziness of Portobello Market can be overwhelming and this modest café makes an ideal rest stop. O’Porto is always bustling with a multitude of nationalities in search of a glass of milky coffee or two. The counter is almost always stocked full of sandwiches and cakes and on a good weather day customers spill over to the seating outside. O’Porto retains a sense of community and it feels more like a neighbourhood haunt and less like a tourist stop.

A Light Lunch Near Notting Hill and Stella McCartney

Despite having a healthy selection of sandwiches and savoury options, the lunches at O’Porto aren’t quite as first-class as the custard tarts. The sandwiches are generously sized though and available to order with plenty of fillings to choose from. There are also other sweet treats on offer but none quite as good as the pièce de résistance. It may seem a strange location to some for a celebrity fashion designer but perhaps Stella McCartney is also a fan of their baked goods and laid back atmosphere. Her studio is also on Golborne Road (keep an eye out for the ‘SM’ sign) where antiques sellers barter beside the sizzling hot plates of fellow street vendors.

The Pastel de Nata (Custard Tarts) are some of the Best Little Cakes in London

The creamy pasteis de nata are faultless and if a perfect gift for friends and family as they are available for take out by the box. They are best eaten on the day of purchase but do keep for a couple of days in the fridge. The good thing about buying coffee and cake for two at O’Porto is that it costs under £5, a rare thing in London.

While O’Porto is continually busy and seating inside is limited the turnaround is quite fast so it is worth hanging on for an empty table as they do open up fairly quickly. If the main area at the front of the café is full walk to the back where there are a couple of bar stools that are usually open. From here there is a good view all the way down the café. It’s a great spot for people watching, paper reading and checking out the latest mishmash of misspelled advertisements on the notice board.

Café O’Porto Address and Location Information

Tel: 020 8968 8839Café O’Porto is close to Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Grove tube stations on the Hammersmith & City Line. It is about a 20-30 minute walk from Notting Hill Gate tube.

The copyright of the article Cake Time at Café O'Porto near Portobello Road in U.K./Ireland Travel is owned by Sara Revell. Permission to republish Cake Time at Café O'Porto near Portobello Road in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.