The Gate

Went here a week or two ago for an expat event that a friend organised. It’s extremely easy to track down from Notting Hill Gate station so that’s a plus! We were pretty excited to come here after reading they had happy hour (which, for some reason has been hard for me to track down since moving here and as an American, I love my happy hours to the core). We were promptly seated but with some confusion about how to order and where — were we meant to order at the bar? What if we were eating? Could we order at the table? After giving up, we stood at the bar to order our food and drinks.
This is where the evening got especially unpleasant as far as service is concerned.
1. The vegetarian options at this place are god awful. GOD AWFUL. I cannot speak for non-​vegetarian dishes but I know they were enjoyed, so bravo on that part. The Gate Noodles side order I had was nothing but salt. Not okay! Use some flavourings, ya’ll. As far as ‘fresh vegetables’ in the dish, I may have only had one broccoli in there. Not kidding. The vegetable gyoza were pleasant but I’ve had better.
2. Our friends had to wait over 20 minutes for a drink to be made because there was no crushed ice. In what world does a bar open to patrons and have no crushed ice from the start? This was a repeated problem throughout the evening. Get it together!
3. The staff looked so unhappy to be there. The music was extremely low. Hardly anyone was there. Weird ambiance.
Did we enjoy our time there? YES because the drinks, even if they were slow to arrive, were fantastic and strong.
I’m not sure if I would come back, especially when there are other bars with better service, food and ambiance. So disappointing but a great night out with good company!

Great place! Yummy dim sum and cocktails and friendly staff. Good place for a boogie too!

This is an art-​house cinema which makes it so great!
The auditorium is very comfy, they have good food and drinks and the selection of films is superb!
5 stars!

We came here one night for dim sum. We started with bowls of miso (miso with a vegetarian base, noodles, and a generous helping of sesame seeds), and then ordered the Gate Love Sum Menu, which included 4 dim sum for a fixed price. We chose the pork siu mai, the shrimp dumpling, the Asian vegetable gyoza, and the beef and spring onion. The shrimp dumplings were moist and sweet, the pork flavorful, and the Asian vegetable gyoza pleasantly crispy. Upon tasting the 4^th variety, I wondered if we had received prawns instead of beef, as we’d changed our order, but it was delicious regardless. Our waitress also convinced us to order dessert, the fresh fruit trio with the warm chocolate dipping sauce. There were orange pieces, kiwi, and pineapple, all wonderfully fresh and perfect with the dipping sauce. Well, more a drizzle across the plate than a sauce, but good. The only downside to this visit was the service. While we savored our meal and enjoyed watching the place fill up, it took a great deal of time for us to get our waitress back and close out our bill. Otherwise, definitely worth a visit.

I went here on a Monday to check out the Salsa night. I found the vibe lacking somewhat and the place crowded and very little space to dance. I won’t be rushing back.

I used to live across the street from this place and Im pretty sure most of my US dollars went to paying the insane cover fees even by London Zone 1 standards.
Decent music, strong drinks and lots of places to sit and dance. A-​OK.

I visited The Gate midweek when it was very quiet. There was a big group of us who were very hungry so it didn’t matter-​it was actually quite nice to have the place pretty much just to ourselves. The food was really good, Their home made bread is gorgeous-it’s so moreish that i must had a whole loaf before my starter even arrived-​delicious with balsamic oil and a few olives. They do some great pizzas here, the first time i visited they had a more varied main course menu which i preferred but even so the food is still good. They do some great cocktails but they are a little pricey. As the evening went on the music got funkier with a very Latin feel to it, apparently they do salsa down there sometimes too! I will be going back.

I have always had SO much fun here. Sure, I’ve only ever been here on a Thursday or Sunday, when the music is a fabulous mix of reggae, pop, and funk.
Intimate enough to feel cosy without feeling like you can’t move, The Gate has always had a great mix of punters who have always been pleasant.
Drinks are slightly on the pricey side, but, hey, it’s Notting Hill. They have a great range of beers, top-​shelf spirits and cocktails.
Go down! It’s totally super fun!

The Gate is quite stylish, very suiting to the whole Notting Hill feel, personally I did not enjoy myself here and didn’t feel to happy about dishing extortionate amounts for a drink in a pretty souless place. Cocktails are £8.50 for god’s sake.
You can apparently do salsa here which would be quite fun. And it is free with sessions for all levels of ability… beginners for me! I guess that is one attractive quality of the place.
Also, the food is really good– that is some of the meze starter menu. The broad bean falafel is good. And not too expensive. I wouldn’t really return here in a rush, maybe on payday if I wanted a bit of class. And yes, it would have to be in the summer.

I got off to a bad start at the Gate in Notting Hill. My friend was first to order her Caipirinha, I followed and was asked for I. D because I looked «very young». Bearing in mind that it was about half 5, almost empty and I had hoped that my days of looking 15 were well and truly behind me, I was not happy.
This was during the summer, when the Gate transforms itself from simple London bar to a tropical beach. The sun umbrellas come out, as do the coconuts, Hawaiian flowers and the floor turns to sand. It is bit cheesy but when the London summer forecasts weeks on end of rain and cloud, the cheesiness goes down quite well.
The cocktails were good and I got to catch up with my friend, so I could not really ask for much more. I will however, always remember my drivers license should I drink here again.

Das beste Kino in Notting Hill, wenn auch nicht ganz so ausgefallen und trendy wie das Electric in der Portobello Road. Gute Auswahl an Filmen, nettes Personal und rundum gute Stimmung.

The Gate is a pleasant little restaurant-​bar, tucked away in the heart of Notting Hill. The restaurant serves tapas style starters, with pizzas and pasta options for the main courses. We had prawns and spanish sausages for starters, with a tasty thin crust pizza topped with chicken, olives, pineapple and mushroom for the maincourse. There’s not a dessert menu at the Gate Restaurant and Bar, but if you feel like something more you can simply pop across the road to their other venue.
DJ Mano starts to spin an electic mix of pop, dance and R&B at 10pm, as the Gate transforms itself into more of a clubby atmosphere. A private lounge area is available for reservation, with comfy sofas and chairs to boot.

Showing arthouse films, an alternative to the electric situated in nottinghill gate.

A great little one-​screen cinema, showing arthouse films as well as live opera from the Met in New York and kids films on a Saturday morning.
One of the first cinemas to allow you to take a drink in to the film, the Gate also has very comfy double seats at the back and tables between the chairs, so you can bring nibbles in too — an altogether more sophisticated cinema experience. The tiny bar is a cool place to have a drink before the film, but best avoided if you’re in a big group.