I love house parties.
Some of my most memorable uni nights have been at house parties.
Everyone is always so chilled out, the drinks flow easily, old friends mingle with new friends, people casually make out on the staaairs…
In short: they’re FUN.
Amirite?!
And that’s exactly why I was so excited to hear about The Little Yellow Door.
(I don’t mean the making out with strangers bit. Obviously.)
Behind The Little Yellow Door at 68 Notting Hill Gate is a winding staircase that leads up to the coolest pop-up bar you have ever seen.
Five fictional housemates live in the flat, and from Thursday to Saturday they host the BEST house parties.
Everyone is invited to come along, have a drink and mingle, mingle, mingle!
Just make sure you Whatsapp the host to check there’s enough room first, okay?
(Seriously. Whatsapp reservations.)
It’s decorated in deep reds and yellow, with an eclectic mix of prints on the wall, beautiful mirrors and a whole bundle of random stuff. It’s exactly like what you’d find in any normal flatshare: family photos, shoes thrown around, and a load of cosy sofas and pouffes to sink into.
There’s even a little cubbyhole, decked out as a tree house and filled with plenty of cushions and board games!
(And PS if you’re looking for some eye-candy, go check out John Travolta working out in the ladies toilets… *wink*)
Gin cocktails are served in tea cups with jammy dodgers on the side, while bar snacks are named after the nightmare housemates that everyone will recognise: The Yoga Bunny, The Fridge Raider, etc.
But if you’re after something a little more substantial in the food stakes, come along on a Friday night: once a week, the “newest flatmate” provides a culinary feast from their native country.
(Actually it’s The Wandering Chef providing the food, but let’s just follow along with the charade for now ‘kay?)
“Luigi”, as his name would suggest, is Italian.
So, after a Libertine cocktail (Earl Grey infused gin, egg-white and lemon) and a glass of yummy house punch (rum and red wine, of all things!), we sat down to our meal.
For starters, we had sharing platters of antipasti: creamy burrata topped with mint pesto, tomatoes, smoked aubergine and soft caramelised onions; prosciutto with peach, basil and almonds; and THE BEST beef carpaccio I have ever tasted in my entire life, drizzled with mustard dressing and scattered with capers and ricotta.
Seriously guys.
That beef carpaccio.
To DIE for.
We also had a plate of mushroom and asparagus arancini (rice balls stuffed, then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried) served with a truffle-infused mayo.
I had waaay more than my fair share of these (hooray for Erica being silly and eating too much bread haha!)
In true Italian style, our next course was a pasta dish: fresh egg tagliatelle in a rich duck ragu.
Again: DELICIOUS.
The small mug-shaped bowls were more than enough excuse for me to go back for seconds (and thirds…)
Mains were (thankfully) carb-free: pork belly served with caponata (a Sicilian aubergine stew of sorts) and sprinkled with capers, sultanas and pine nuts.
Again: DELICIOUS.
(Sorry for the verbal repetition but there are just not enough positive words to describe the food we ate that night!)
All the ingredients used are fresh and locally sourced, with the menu changing weekly depending on what’s available. We had an ace chat with one of the chefs as well, and it’s amazing that the kitchen they use is the same size of any regular flatshare kitchen.
I would just like to point out that there is not a way in HELL that I would ever be able to re-create the amazing food we ate that night, in my own tiny kitchen.
Simply not possible.
But hey, it’s OK. Cos at just £35 for the entire meal (including a glass of punch) I can just head to Notting Hill and let Luigi do the cooking!
We finished our yummy meal with a trio of desserts: cannelloni with pistachios; mini pinenut and caramel tarts topped with a sweet and sticky raisin puree; and tiny jars of panna cotta with chocolate and tiramisu.
They were all okaaay… but quite rich, and just a bit of anti-climax after the savouries!
But it’s OK, cos then we rounded off the evening with Coffee and Cigarettes: perfectly smooth espresso martinis served with a cigarette and matches on the side.
(Oh stop panicking Mother. I didn’t smoke it. I did pinch the matches though. They’ve been doing a great job at lighting my Yankee Candles all week!)
I’m sorry I don’t have any photos of the coffee and cigarettes. As you can probably tell, the light wasn’t great for taking pictures, even after turning on the main lights.
Aaaand the ones I did take are all blurry and out of focus because maybe possibly I was a bit tipsy by this point…
Whoops!
Seriously guys: I cannot recommend The Little Yellow Door enough.
It’s friendly, it’s original, the food is OUT OF THIS WORLD and, most of all, it’s fun.
And, after all, isn’t that what house parties are all about? :)
They flatmates’ currently run “Warm Up Drinks” on a Thursday, followed by the “Dinner Parties” on Fridays and the main event: “The Houseparty” on Saturdays.
They’re also adding a shorter, simpler version of the Dinner Party to Wednesdays from February onwards.
Perfect for chilled out, catchup nights with friends!
THE LITTLE YELLOW DOOR
68 NOTTING HILL GATE
LONDON
W11 3HT
*I was a guest of The Little Yellow Door for review purposes.
As always, if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t blog it! :)
