Hummingbird Bakery, Notting Hill

Hummingbird Bakery
133 Portobello Road
W11 2DY
Tel: 020 7229 6446

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, August 16

The Damage: £5?

The Victim: Jen

The Background: My cousin Jen was visiting the other week. We’re 24 days apart. (I’m a Taurus, she’s a Gemini, not that I’m into that stuff. I just thought it was a clever way of telling you who’s older.) It’s Jen’s first time in Europe. And I’m nervous! I want her to have a good time. I want her to come back!

We’ve had lunch at The Well. And we’ve gone around on the London Eye. We’ve done the double-decker bus tour. (If you do the Big Bus tour, make sure you take the ones with the live guides. We were in stiches!) We’ve seen the changing of the guard. We’ve gone to two pubs, The Princess Louise, and Stonch’s pub. We’ve enjoyed some champers and oysters at The Covent Garden Night Market, plus a meal at Wahaca. And now I’m taking her to Madrid. I’m the best and most-fun cousin ever.

But before we leave for Madrid, I take her to Portobello Market. I don’t go to Portabello  often, and now I know why. At 11 a.m. on Saturday, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Spanish tourist. (Perhaps this is fitting as we are, after all, heading for Spain. And Jen needs to practice her Spanish. "Yo soy enfermera." isn’t going to get us very far. In most places, that is.)

The Entrance: Portobello is packed. Hummingbird is not. We order cupcakes for breakfast and they are good. Very very good.

I had carrot cake. Jen had something with fruit. She also had what I believe she called the best coffee ever.

The Verdict: Who doesn’t love a cupcake? I’ve been London’s other Hummingbird and wrote about it on my blog. It was a totally obnoxious experience and it might be why I’ve got some hearing loss in my left ear (according to the experts). The Notting Hill Branch was much calmer when I visited. Will I make the trek across town for these? Probably not. But I like Hummingbird, just the same.