Local Area Guides
Where to Eat in Earl’s Court: A Food Guide for Guests at The Knaresborough
Earl’s Court sits at the junction of several more celebrated postcodes — South Kensington to the east, Chelsea to the south, Kensington to the north — which means it tends to be described in relation to places it isn’t, rather than what it is. What it is, for those who pay attention, is a neighbourhood with genuine character: genuinely international, genuinely mixed, and in possession of a food scene that rewards the guest who ventures one street beyond the obvious. Old Brompton Road alone contains more good eating than most London neighbourhoods manage per square mile. This is what to do with it.
BREAKFAST & COFFEE
The Troubadour on Old Brompton Road is six minutes on foot and has been open since 1954 — the cellar hosted Dylan’s first London show, Hendrix, and Adele’s debut; the café above has been feeding the neighbourhood every morning since. The garden at the back is one of the better-kept secrets on the street. If your morning is headed towards the museums, Comptoir Libanais on Exhibition Road does shakshuka, labneh, and strong coffee that is considerably more interesting than the standard alternative — and Benugo inside the Natural History Museum is useful if you’re planning to go in early.
Open since 1954. One of the last genuine coffee houses of its era in London — breakfast is generous, the flat white is good, and the garden at the back is one of the better-kept secrets on Old Brompton Road. Do not mistake it for a tourist attraction.
Visit site →Shakshuka, labneh, pastries, and strong coffee — considerably more interesting than the standard breakfast alternative. Good value, good light, and on the route to the V&A if that’s where your morning is headed.
Visit site →Strategically useful if you’re heading to the Natural History Museum. Opens before the crowds arrive and does a respectable breakfast. The setting, inside one of London’s great Victorian buildings, does most of the heavy lifting.
Visit site →Nestor Local Tip
The French quarter of South Kensington — the streets around the Institut Français on Queensberry Place — has a cluster of authentic French brasseries and bakeries that open early. Slightly further than Old Brompton Road but worth the 12-minute walk if you want a croissant that has no desire to apologise for itself.
LUNCH
Old Brompton Road is the right address for lunch. Cambio de Tercio has been in operation since 1995 — the ham croquetas, the Huelva prawn taco, and a wine list that runs exclusively Spanish make the case for booking rather than walking in. Tendido Cero a few doors down is Lusa’s more casual sibling: same kitchen intelligence, lower register, walk-ins more feasible. For something entirely different, Addie’s Thai Café on Earl’s Court Road has been an institution since the late 1990s — deservedly busy at all hours, properly spiced, and at prices that make its thirty-year tenure entirely explicable.
One of the more quietly accomplished Spanish restaurants in the country. The ham croquetas and Huelva prawn taco are the non-negotiable orders. The wine list runs exclusively Spanish and runs it very well. Book ahead.
Visit site →Lusa’s more casual sibling a few doors down. The serrano ham croquettes and octopus are the obvious orders. Same kitchen intelligence as Cambio de Tercio, lower register, walk-ins more feasible.
Visit site →An Earl’s Court institution since the late 1990s. Properly spiced curries and good som tum at prices that make its thirty-year tenure entirely explicable. Deservedly busy. Book for evenings; lunch is usually a walk-in.
Visit site →DINNER
For evenings, the neighbourhood has more range than its low profile suggests. The Abingdon on Abingdon Road is one of those restaurants that becomes a reliable local for anyone within walking distance — modern British cooking that is seasonal, precise, and not prone to announcement, run by two generations of the same family for over twenty-five years. San Pietro on Stratford Road is a quietly exceptional Italian with a fresh fish display on arrival and scallops that are a recurring highlight — not cheap, and not trying to be. Maroush on Earl’s Court Road has been open since 1981: Lebanese mezze and a mixed grill that solves the problem of what to eat when the evening has arrived unexpectedly. Cambio de Tercio in the evening is a different proposition from lunch — the tasting menu comes into its own, the wine list makes its best case over several hours.
Two generations of the same family, over twenty-five years. Seasonal, precise modern British cooking — the kind that doesn’t announce itself. One of those restaurants you leave feeling everything is good in the world, which is harder to engineer than it sounds.
Visit site →A quietly exceptional Italian in a tucked-away corner of Kensington. The fresh fish display on arrival sets the terms immediately. The scallops are a recurring highlight. Not cheap, and not trying to be. Book ahead.
Visit site →Open since 1981 and open late. The mezze is the right starting point; the mixed grill is the reason most people come back. Solves the problem of what to eat when the evening has arrived unexpectedly.
Visit site →Dinner is a different proposition from lunch — the room fills up, the tasting menu becomes the natural choice, and the Spanish-only wine list comes into its own over several hours. Book a week ahead for weekends.
Visit site →Nestor Local Tip
Cambio de Tercio, Tendido Cero, and Capote y Toros — three generations of one restaurant group on the same stretch of Old Brompton Road. Taken together, they make a very good evening: sherry at Capote, dinner at Cambio, and the knowledge that you could walk home in six minutes.
DRINKS & SOMETHING SWEET
Capote y Toros on Old Brompton Road is Lusa’s dedicated sherry and jamón bar — fino, manzanilla, amontillado, and palo cortado, with a slice of Jabugo ham, and one of the best sherry selections in London. Go before dinner and stay longer than you planned. The Troubadour in the evening is a different room from the morning café — check the live music listings in the cellar before you go. The Scarsdale Tavern on Edwardes Square is the neighbourhood pub that most guests don’t find until their second stay: a traditional pub on the edge of one of the most beautiful garden squares in West London, and almost entirely unknown outside the immediate neighbourhood.
A dedicated sherry and jamón bar that does one thing with complete conviction. Fino, manzanilla, amontillado, palo cortado — among the best selections in London. Go before dinner as an aperitif. Stay longer than you planned.
Visit site →The evening bar is a different room from the morning café. Check the cellar live music listings before you go — folk, jazz, singer-songwriters. The Wednesday house band is a reliable option for an evening that doesn’t require a plan.
Visit site →On the edge of Edwardes Square — one of the most beautiful garden squares in West London and almost entirely unknown outside the neighbourhood. A traditional pub that does not manufacture its character. Good real ales, a garden in summer.
Visit site →All restaurants listed here are within a 12-minute walk of The Knaresborough on Knaresborough Place. Studios with private balconies, air conditioning, and a Piccadilly line three minutes from your front door.