Open for Lunch Tue–Sun midday–3pm; Dinner Tue–Sun 6pm–10.30pm, Sun 6pm–9.30pm
Tucked off of the King’s Road on the corner of foodie hub Chelsea Green, Geales has a solid reputation for rustling up fishy fare supplied fresh daily and sustainably.
The Chelsea branch is a relatively new addition to the original Notting Hill restaurant which first opened its doors in 1939 and was given a new lease of life in 2006 by the pair behind the Embassy London and Sanctum Hotels. Food is reasonably priced for a SW3 postcode and wine starts at £18 a bottle.
The restaurant is suitably low-lit with on-trend grey walls adorned with black and white stills – it would have been atmospheric had it been busy and Coldplay wasn’t playing on repeat. Checked tablecloths and a board bearing a 1970s fish and chip shop menu are a humorous nod toward its roots. Make sure you bring a jumper as the air-con is cranked up high.
Service is very Chelsea – smarmy but efficient – fortunately the food lived up to its Michelin guide status. You won’t be able to stop dipping your bread back into the cider, bacon and sage sauce that accompanies the Brixham mussels. The tempura prawns are big, juicy and cooked with precision, but the seaweed mayonnaise is disappointingly lack-lustre. The haddock and chips is giant, beautifully flaky and will certainly make you rethink your relationship with the local chippy, but old Notting Hill regulars will complain about the absence of beef dripping which used to be Geales’ signature. It was a toss-up between the lobster tail burger and the lobster tagliatelle, but following the waiters advice I was delighted by the latter, which came with huge chunks of lobster and a creamy herb-packed sauce. Skip pudding; fish is undoubtedly their specialty.
