Born from the grounds of a 17th-century estate once known as Cope Castle and later Holland House, Holland Park has since developed into a luxurious village within West London. Between Kensington High Street and Notting Hill, the neighbourhood wakes early with runners in the park, dog walkers by the Japanese Gardens, and the sound of coffee grinders from cafés along Holland Park Avenue.
In and around Holland Park, there are exceptional cafes to sit with a good cuppa, read the paper, or take a break between errands. Just beyond the park, Notting Hill’s Blenheim Crescent and Uxbridge Street keep the energy alive, home to inventive cafés that have become institutions in their own right. From garden terraces to takeaway bakeries and cookbook-inspired kitchens, these five cafés show what downtime looks like in West London.
Holland Park Café by Daisy Green
For those who like their coffee with a view, the Holland Park Café by Daisy Green is as close to nature as a London brunch spot gets. Set within the grounds of Holland Park itself, beneath the listed arches of Ilchester Place, the café sits at the edge of one of West London’s most peaceful green spaces. The terrace unfolds directly onto the park’s pathways, making it a natural stop for walkers, runners and locals making their way through the gardens.
Part of the Daisy Green Collection and founded in 2012, their menu brings Australian café culture to London. Options include sweetcorn fritters with smashed avocado, poached eggs, habanero sauce, marinated feta and corn rib, or the Fancy Bacon Roll with poached eggs, crispy shallots, hollandaise, chilli and paratha roti. Daisy Green’s coffee story began in 2012, brewing espresso from a converted 1970s Ford Transit ice cream van parked at the foot of London’s Gherkin. Today, that same passion continues with the café’s bespoke Daisy Green espresso blend, a mix of speciality-grade beans from Brazil, Guatemala, and Colombia. As the day goes on, the café shifts toward relaxed evening small plates and extensive cocktail and wine lists. Be it a calm start to the day, a coffee with friends, or a golden hour drink, Daisy Green hits the right note in Holland Park.
PAUL
Almost next door to Holland Park Underground station, PAUL Holland Park is where every day café life meets a touch of French savoir-faire. The café is part of the long-established PAUL bakery group, known for bringing authentic French patisserie and boulangerie traditions to the capital. Its Holland Park branch feels particularly at home in this neighbourhood, just a short walk from Notting Hill Gate to the east and minutes from the park’s Japanese Gardens to the west. The café’s terrace catches the morning sun and fills quickly with locals and passers-by stopping for coffee and croissants.
The menu covers everything from buttery viennoiseries and filled baguettes to soups, quiches, salads, and patisserie. Guests often drop in for take-away loaves or cakes, but it is equally suited to a sit-down brunch with a cappuccino or a glass of wine. The croque monsieur is a dependable favourite, and the fruit tarts are as classic as they come. With its convenient location, calm terrace, and French offerings, PAUL Holland Park is the kind of place where a morning espresso can easily turn into ordering that second pastry.
The Design Café
Inside the Design Museum on Kensington High Street, The Design Café sits on the ground floor, opening directly onto the borders of Holland Park. With full-height windows and a minimalist layout, it is a stylish continuation of the museum. The Design Cafe’s location makes it ideal for visitors drifting between exhibitions, families spending a morning in the park, or locals stopping in for coffee away from the crowd.
The menu follows a modern, plant-based approach, reflecting the museum’s environmental stance. Vegetarian and vegan options dominate, with dishes such as toasted rosemary focaccia filled with roasted sweet potato, black beans and chipotle mayo, courgette and smoked tomato flatbread, and the classic vegan sausage roll. Lighter snacks include fresh bakery items and daily cakes, whilst drinks range from kombucha and elderflower pressé to locally brewed beers like Toast Grassroots Pale Ale. The café’s partnership with Caravan Coffee Roasters provides the coffee with beans roasted in London, reflecting the emphasis on ethical sourcing and sustainability. Alongside Caravan’s blends, teas come from Good & Proper Tea, another British brand known for its single-origin leaves. The Design Café manages to feel calm even on busy weekends, with a mix of design students, Kensington locals, and gallery-goers browsing through exhibition catalogues over cappuccinos.
Books for Cooks
A short walk from Holland Park, on Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill, Books for Cooks is one of West London’s most innovative cafes. It’s a bookshop, a kitchen, and a local institution all in one, drawing food lovers, chefs and curious browsers through its red-painted doors since 1983. Founders Heidi Lascelles and Eric Treuille set out to create a bookshop devoted entirely to cookbooks, then built a working kitchen at the back where recipes could be tried and served. Four decades later, that formula remains the same. Floor-to-ceiling shelves hold every genre of cookbook imaginable, from regional classics to avant-garde gastronomy.
The café sits at the heart of the space, part open kitchen, part community hub. The daily-changing menu is small, but often built from the pages of whichever book the team happens to be testing that day. A typical lunch might include an Italian lentil stew, Moroccan spiced chicken, or an Ottolenghi-inspired salad, served at communal tables. The kitchen serves until the food runs out, which it often does. Cakes, tarts, and biscuits are baked fresh in the morning, whilst locals chat across tables, authors occasionally drop in for signings, and tourists stumble upon it on their way to Portobello Road. In a city filled with contemporary cafés and designer brunches, it’s rare to find one that serves such a clear sense of purpose alongside its coffee.
Eggbreak
A few minutes’ walk from Holland Park, Eggbreak sits quietly on Uxbridge Street just off Notting Hill Gate. The café opened in 2015 as part of the Soho House group and was built on one simple concept: making the egg the star ingredient. Set within a compact townhouse, the café unfolds across two cosy floors with retro charm.
The menu is, unsurprisingly, built entirely around eggs, but served with imagination. Classics include Turkish eggs with dill yoghurt and Aleppo butter, and the sweet ‘n’ spicy chicken sandwich, with fried egg, scotch bonnet jam, and potato brioche. Also on offer is smashed avocado toast with poached eggs and pickled chilli, or pancakes layered with salted caramel butter and banana. The drinks collection covers Allpress coffee, iced lattes, fresh juices, and brunch cocktails such as Bloody Marys and Espresso Martinis. Eggbreak is close enough to Holland Park to make the journey worthwhile, and proves that when executed well, even the simplest of ingredients rarely go out of style.
Holland Park and its surrounding streets have long attracted cafés that understand their audience: local, loyal, and particular about their coffee. From the park’s edge to Notting Hill’s side streets, it’s a place for a quick espresso before the school run, a long lunch after a walk, or a weekend brunch that lasts most of the afternoon. With their West London charm, these five cafes have the kind of atmosphere that makes it hard to leave after one cup.
