The story
Caractère is a modern European restaurant at 209 Westbourne Park Road in Notting Hill, London, and it holds a Michelin star (2026). Owners Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari draw on French and Italian backgrounds for a menu that reads as personal rather than fashionable.
Diego Ferrari was born in Milan and started in a local ristorante at 14. He later trained in Paris under Alain Ducasse and spent three years as head chef at Le Gavroche before opening with Emily Roux. Emily, who grew up in London in a gastronomic family, looks after the pastry. Gaetano Farucci, who also came up through Le Gavroche, is now head chef.
The menu sorts its dishes by traits such as "curious" or "greedy", and diners can build a five-course tasting menu from them. An aged risotto Acquarello, scented with saffron, comes with roasted bone marrow, gremolata and veal jus. Cornish rack of lamb arrives with piquillo peppers, black olives, capers and lamb jus. The dessert is warm 75% Peruvian chocolate with hazelnut, gianduja and salted caramel. An à la carte menu and a lunch menu on Fridays and Saturdays run alongside the tasting format.
The Good Food Guide rates Caractère Very Good (2026), and its reviewers praised the quiet confidence of the room. The dining room is casually elegant, and the owners describe the atmosphere as friendly and warm. The wine list is led by head sommelier Marco Nardi and focuses on French and Italian bottles. Most are priced above £100, though bottles start from around £60 and the choice by the glass is wide.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
Notting Hill isn't exactly short of fine restaurants these days but Caractère, which sits on a handsome corner plot, has the distinction of being the only remaining restaurant in London to be run by a member of the Roux family. Emily Roux (daughter of Michel Jr) and her husband Diego Ferrari (former head chef at Le Gavroche) opened this casually elegant restaurant in 2018. It's a destination that exudes a quiet self-confidence. The menu draws influences from the couple’s French and Italian backgrounds, and the results are far from ordinary. Dishes are categorised by character traits such as ‘curious’ or ‘greedy’, and you can build your own five-course tasting menu around these traits. There’s also an à la carte and a good-value lunch menu (available Friday and Saturday). We were intrigued right from the off. A dish of aged risotto Acquarello infused with saffron, topped with roasted bone marrow and gremolata and finished with veal jus was simply delicious, while perfectly pink, perfectly tender Cornish rack of lamb, served with piquillo peppers, black olives, capers and lamb jus, impressed with its precision and clarity. And to finish, we thoroughly enjoyed a dessert of warm 75% Peruvian chocolate teamed with hazelnut, gianduja and salted caramel, which tasted like posh Nutella. To drink, there's a treasure trove of French and Italian wines (from around £60), but the majority are over three figures. However, there is plenty of choice by the glass. Good service is a given.
Location
Instagram