The Latimer

Like The Avengers of London hospitality, the Spiteri family have quite the collective resume. Jon Spiteri is a partner in St. JOHN and Sessions Art Club, Melanie Arnold co-founded Rochelle Canteen, and daughter Molly leads business development at Koya. While they all bring their own superpowers to The Latimer, it is sons Lorcan and Fin who are steering the ship - food and drinks respectively - having traded their beloved barge restaurant Caravel for something a little less buoyant.

Residing on a quiet patch of west London, the striking corner pub is perfectly positioned for the evening sun. Out front, a sea of unbuttoned collars and loosened ties is gulping down pints, and while it’s tempting to join them, we squeeze through to the rear dining area. White tablecloths, subdued lighting and a succinct three-course menu gently shift the tone from raucous boozer to gastropub; one sip of a superb dry daiquiri and we’re away.

The Spiteri signature is at play here: seasonal produce, confident cooking, and well-judged restraint. We merrily bounce between pillowy milk buns and pleasantly punchy pickles, before a couple of pork belly skewers demand our attention. Braised in cider, each bite is sticky, charred and fatty in all the right places, served with a slightly sweet apple sauce to cut through the butteriness. Equally faultless are a stack of crispy haddock bites, dialled up with masala spices and dunked in creamy tartare. Spend some time on the starters - it’s where Lorcan’s playful style shines brightest.

A fresh, summery tagliatelle quietly steals the spotlight. Composed of al dente courgette, creamy stracciatella and citrusy olive oil, each element finds its rightful place on the plate - effortless, wholesome and fine-tuned. The balancing act wavers slightly with a slow-cooked ox tail - our expectations for a rich, hearty braise are met with something that hangs on the more subtle end of the scale. It’s an anomaly, though, and the deep chocolate mousse that follows is neatly enlivened with plump segments of blood orange.

Between sun-soaked pints, clean-cut cocktails, and deftly poised plates, you’d struggle to not have a lovely time at The Latimer. Much like the food, the service here is comforting and considered, and while we might not carry a Spiteri-level CV, we felt right at home in the family pub.

The Latimer is a neighbourhood pub and restaurant on Latimer Road in Notting Hill, west London. The venue occupies a ground-floor corner building with a street-facing entrance that opens directly into a single dining and bar area. It was relaunched by members of the Spiteri family — a hospitality group associated with restaurants such as St John, Sessions Art Club and Rochelle Canteen — bringing their approach to quality food and drinks into a local pub setting.

Inside, the space is laid out with a bar counter near the entrance and a dining area that extends towards the back of the room. Seating includes tables of various sizes throughout the floor and stools along the bar. The layout remains open and accessible, with large windows at the front that connect the interior to the street and allow light into the room. Materials and finishes are straightforward, with wooden floors, upholstered seating and reclaimed elements alongside artwork chosen by the team to give personality to the space.

The food offering at The Latimer spans snacks, starters and larger plates. The kitchen produces dishes such as black pudding confit potato and poached trout mayonnaise as smaller items, alongside more substantial options including brown crab tagliolini with bisque and ox tail with mashed potato and horseradish. Masala monkfish with tartare sauce and tempura oyster mushrooms with pickles appear on the bar menu, and on Sundays the kitchen serves shared meat platters with seasonal vegetables alongside traditional roasts.

Drinks are an integral part of the venue’s identity. The bar serves draft beers alongside wines on tap from Uncharted and a concise selection of bottled wines and other beverages, reinforcing the pub atmosphere.

The restaurant and pub together combine to act as a neighbourhood destination in Notting Hill, blending a bar and dining area within a single room, and presenting a menu that moves between snacks, shared plates and heartier dishes in a setting shaped by reclaimed materials and familiar pub elements.