LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Straker's
If you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover then it’s probably unwise to judge a restaurant by its wifi password. But, then again, Straker’s is a place that has been birthed by the internet. The British restaurant in Notting Hill is proudly built off the TikTok and Instagram fame of Thomas Straker—its head chef, namesake, and password-protected butterboy (one word, all lowercase, FYI). It’s a reminder that anything built on the foundation of content is imperfect. But, at its best, Straker’s charms you in the most intimate of spaces before it thwacks you in the face with flavour. Like so many online things, it’s irresistible, a bit annoying, and something you desperately want to be part of.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
There’s much to live, love, and laugh about in this utterly overbooked restaurant. The candlelit, green-accented space is contentiously cosy (see: cramped) and a journey from one end of the restaurant to the other is like an Oliver Spencer-sponsored assault course. People and plates are over every shoulder. Bundles of bright girolles tagliolini singing with lemon sail past your head, while blistered flatbreads levitate around the room like butter-fuelled UFOs. A date night or a birthday dinner could feasibly capsize given the erratic chaos. If you can sit at the counter, do. If you can nab one of the booths at the back, even better. There’s air to breathe and space to enjoy a restaurant that feels like it could, one day, be quite brilliant.
Straker's is definitely confident. This is a restaurant that knows the Notting Hill locals and acolytes who fill the buzzing room will fork out—starter plates are all £20-plus and mains easily exceed £30. Yet just as you pause and furrow your brow at the prices, something will arrive at your table and your tongue will override your brain. Both the scorched mini flatbreads, either with gloriously garlic-heavy cavolo nero or chilli butter-soaked mussels, are sensational. While grilled langoustines with claw sauce are so good that they could, conceivably, be sold separately. Then there’s a plate of fresh sugared doughnuts with jam, crème fraîche, and a touch of thyme that mixes the smells of Brighton Pier with the finesse of a patisserie. With this kind of flavour, you can forgive Straker’s for any faults.
Food Rundown
Stracciatella And Cavolo Nero Flatbread
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Mussel And Scallop Burnt Chilli Butter Flatbread
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Grilled Langoustine, Claw Sauce
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Girolles Tagliolini
Middle White Pork Loin
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Fresh Doughnuts With Crème Fraîche And Jam