Notting Hill Pizza Slice Crawl Planner: Portobello Day

Portobello Road on a Saturday is a long, happy jam of antique stalls, vintage rails and food vans, and most visitors eat whatever they pass first. A better plan is to treat the market as a tasting route. Notting Hill has a good spread of pizza styles within walking distance of the stalls, and spacing three slices along the street turns a browsing day into a small lesson in how pizza changes from Rome to Naples to New York. This pizza slice crawl planner shows you how.

The fun of a crawl here is comparison. Start by learning the three shapes you are likely to meet. Roman pizza al taglio is baked in long rectangular trays and cut to the size you ask for, often with scissors, with a light airy base and toppings like potato, courgette or mortadella. Neapolitan pizza is round, soft in the middle and blistered at the edge, and slices of it are rarer, so grab one when you see it.

New York style is the one most people picture: a wide, thin slice from a big round pie, reheated in the oven and eaten folded in half. Trying all three in one afternoon makes the differences obvious. One is crisp and bready, one is soft and almost soupy in the centre, one is chewy and greasy in the best way. Ask your group to keep score as you walk.

The antiques section near the top of Portobello Road, around Chepstow Villas and Westbourne Grove, wakes up first. Serious dealers and collectors arrive early on Saturday mornings, and the street is easier to walk before the late morning crowds pour in from the Tube. Begin here with a coffee and a slow browse of silver, maps, old cameras and china, and save your appetite for a little later.

Your first slice should land when the crowds start to swell. Look for a Roman style bakery or deli on the side streets just off the main road, where you can order a few small squares by weight and point at whatever looks good. Taking the first slice slightly away from the busiest stretch gives you a chance to sit on a step and plan the rest of the walk.

Pizza al taglio is ordered by size, which makes it perfect for a crawl but easy to overdo. Hold your hands about two fingers apart and ask for a small piece of each topping you want to try. Staff usually cut, weigh and reheat it quickly, then wrap it in paper. Three small squares between two people is plenty for the first stop.

The best toppings to try are the ones you would never order on a round pizza at home. Potato with rosemary is the classic Roman choice, simple and salty. Courgette flowers, pumpkin with sage in autumn or a soft stracciatella with anchovy are all worth a try if you see them. Eat them while they are still warm, because the base loses its crunch quickly in a paper bag.

Walking south down Portobello Road, the market changes character. The antique arcades give way to fruit and vegetable stalls, then food vans, then vintage clothing under the Westway. This middle stretch is the busiest part of the day, so it is a good place for your second slice to be something quick and handheld. A thin New York style slice folded in half is ideal, because you can eat it while you keep browsing.

Keep one hand free for the stalls. Market traders are friendly but busy, and it is polite not to handle delicate china or old prints with greasy fingers. Eat first, wipe your hands, then browse. A small pack of wet wipes in your bag is the most useful thing you can bring on a Portobello crawl, and it makes you far more welcome at the antique tables.

By mid afternoon the market can feel crowded, so plan your last slice somewhere quieter. Notting Hill is famous for its pastel painted terraces on streets like Lancaster Road and Westbourne Park Road, and for its small cobbled mews hidden behind the main roads. Take your final slice, ideally a softer Neapolitan style one from a sit-down pizzeria, and then wander these back lanes with whatever you bought at the market.

The calm of the mews is a lovely contrast to the noise of the stalls. Pastel doors, climbing plants and old stable buildings make it a pleasant walk. Please be respectful here, because these are homes, not attractions. Keep voices low, do not sit on doorsteps and step aside for residents. A few quiet minutes in these lanes is often the part of the day people remember.

Portobello is at its fullest on Saturdays, when antiques, food, fashion and household stalls all trade together. Weekdays are quieter, with fewer antiques but more space to walk and an easier time finding a seat for your slices. If you want the full market atmosphere, come on a Saturday morning and accept the crowds. If you want a calmer crawl, a weekday visit works well.

November weather can change fast in London, so plan for rain. The covered arcades along the road give you somewhere to duck in during a shower, and a sit-down pizzeria makes a good shelter for the final stop. Wear layers and comfortable shoes, because you can easily walk several kilometres on a market day without noticing. A tote bag will hold both your shopping and your boxed slices.

Bring cash and a card, since some stalls still prefer coins while most food spots take cards. Keep your bag zipped and worn in front in the busiest stretch, as with any crowded market. If you are travelling with children, the side streets off the main road are calmer for a slice break, and the walk from the antiques end down to the Westway is mostly flat.

Before you go, open Karpo APP and save a Roman style spot, a New York style counter and a sit-down pizzeria in the order you plan to walk them. You can ask it to find a pizza place near a particular stall or a quiet cafe where you can sit for a while. Then let the market lead. The best crawls on Portobello leave space for surprises.