A venue without either a formal entrance or a menu might not be everyone’s idea of a fun experience. But this is precisely the point. Create a mystery and you make things kind of cool. There’s a cachet value – you’re either in on it, or you’re not. Such is the zeitgeist of 2025 London. Overcome your prejudices and visit the Fat Badger. You will not be disappointed.
If venues such as the Parakeet and the Devonshire helped to define what a mid-2020s London pub should look like, then the Fat Badger is next level. Some of the features are consistent. Take a boozer in a somewhat grotty location, tart it up and merge the historic with the modern-day. Notting Hill’s Golborne Road fringe is fast up-and-coming and the Fat Badger fits right in. Look carefully for the sign with a short-legged white- and black-faced animal and follow the staircase up. Diners must pass the chefs at work in the kitchen. A nice touch, keeping things real, maybe more New York than London.
On the first floor is the room where your reviewer and his comrade dined on a recent weekday lunch. By night, this room becomes more pub, and guests ascend a further flight to eat. Regardless of the time of day, there is no menu. Yes, you read that correctly. Further, guests must pay in advance for their food. It’s a set price and the kitchen decides on the day what you will eat. Of course, if you have an allergy or a distinct dietary dislike, then the Badger can accommodate you. Similarly, if you don’t want to be surprised, menus can be supplied.
Surprised we wanted to be – and very happily so. Part of the Badger’s charm is just how relaxed the venue seems. We took in the wood panelling, the large windows for people-watching onto Portobello Road and the cool (heavily 1980s) soundtrack while awaiting our dishes. A lovely bottle of high-altitude Garnacha from Spain’s Sierra de Gredos region helped things along. At least with the drinks, guests get to choose, and the wine list certainly showed thoughtful innovation in its composition.
Culinary proceedings began with a quartet of openers. Soda bread and homemade butter showed immense promise while a thimble of pea & ham soup demonstrated a quite remarkable depth of flavour. It was, however, the tacos that stole the show. Sure, they have become somewhat omnipresent across London but the Badger’s iteration – a robust British combination of beef tartare and bone marrow – was as tasty as it was original. A lovely piece of guinea fowl then followed. What made this dish was its foil. Simple salad has rarely tasted so good. The ingredients apparently come from the garden of the Badger’s sister pub in the Cotswolds. The mint was incredibly fresh and zingy, while the accompanying purple flower decoration added a quite unique green olive flavour. Puddings pleased too, although if this reviewer were to quibble, for some reason, no coffee is served at the venue. Put this to one side though and come embrace the badger.