Lisa's — Restaurant in London

Lisa's in Notting Hill is a friendly Swedish coffee shop and restaurant with a simple, almost stereotypically Nordic style and an artsy touch to it.

I remember, I read about Lisa's a few months ago, and when I walked around Notting Hill and looked for a place to sit down and rest a bit, I suddenly came across it again and decided to check it out.

At day, the place is a light, pretty artsy and lovely coffee shop - right for a "fika", as the Swedes say. When it gets darker and dinner service begins, the atmosphere at Lisa's changes accordingly with lights being dimmed down and candles being lit up on all tables.

I had the luck, or maybe misfortune in some way, to be there right between afternoon and evening to witness the change of atmosphere. Kind of like watching the sun set. Due to my slightly off-peak arrival time, it all was a little bit chaotic. For example I was offered a coffee, at least until they came back to me and apologised very nicely that they had run out of coffee.

At other places, I might have been a bit grumpy about such a service. At this friendly Swedish place, I was happy just to sit down with a crispy and surprisingly light cinnamon bun.

Initially, the idea was to go to Lisa's for dinner, but then really I was just looking for a place to sit down, rest and read after an hour's walk around West London. And Lisa's turned out to be almost the perfect place for a break - even without a coffee.

Often, cinnamon buns are dense and heavy, which mostly is fine, but the cinnamon bun at Lisa's was unexpectedly light and fluffy and crunchy. Compared to the IKEA cinnamon bun I incidentally just had earlier that day when I went to one of the furniture empire's London outlets to satisfy my craving for the world-famous IKEA meatballs, the cinnamon bun at Lisa's was a right delight.

I enjoyed my time at Lisa's, even though not everything was perfect. Of course, I've instantly decided to go back soon to check out the full evening menu. Most likely, I'll go for the meatballs...and I'm already convinced that they'll be delicious!

If you like Swedish or more general Scandinavian food, Lisa's on Portobello Road is a place you...

Dropped in for late lunch. Warm welcome, buzzy environment but a bit too noisy for our liking. The barman decided randomly off his own back to turn the music up - which was too high. My thoughts were ‘is this a bar or restaurant’ . First impressions weren’t amazing. Decided on food, starter and main. Prices a tad high but was hoping for good quality and enjoyable meals. Sat for 10 min looking around as the lady serving was too busy with other ‘friends’ and customers taking pictures, I had to flag down the barman who took our order. Food arrived in good timeframe, but I was genuinely shocked at what I received. I ordered a main meal - Chicken & mushroom with reduced wine sauce. Well literally that was it. £22 for couple thin pieces of chicken, soaked in a oily sauce with some mushrooms ontop. No garnish, no veg, rice, nothing. Iv eat in thousands of restaurants and Italian is one of my favourite meals. This was the most disappointing dish I have ever received in an Italian restaurant and in many years in general. I was shocked. The lady offered to ‘add some veg’ if I wanted, but I shouldn’t have to ask. I mean. Wow. I personally would not go back. I started eating some and then thought I’ll take a picture and share. Because genuinely, for those portions and slow, dull service , it’s not value for money. Even charging £9 service charge when the service was crap is an insult. (I had genuinely only eaten a few mouthfuls of the chicken) but that’s exactly how it came. Oily, boring, dull and small. Sorry, but I must be honest. £78 for 2 and we left...

I rarely leave negative reviews, but our experience at Lisa’s was deeply disappointing and left us feeling unwelcome.

We were a party of two, waiting for my partner. We had already ordered drinks and starters and were mid-order when, for the fourth time, a staff member interrupted us to question our seating.

Initially, they stated they had double booked the table. We explained we were waiting for someone and even offered to move to another table or rebook a separate one. Both suggestions were dismissed, citing a strict 1.5-hour limit.

That rule would’ve been understandable if it had been applied consistently but it was clear other guests had been seated well beyond that time.

We were interrupted four times in under 45 minutes by two different staff members. At one point, a member of staff placed their hands on my shoulders while speaking to me something I found unnecessary and intrusive.

We walked away feeling distinctly “othered.” This wasn’t just poor service it was inconsistent and exclusionary. There are many restaurants in London that understand hospitality. Sadly, this wasn’t...