Ionian Gold's olive oil bar on Golborne Road

For the whole of June, my wife Beatrice and I are running a pop-up olive oil bar on Golborne Road in Notting Hill. It's free to walk in, there's olive oil to taste every single day, and we'll be there to pour it for you. We open with a launch night on Friday 5th of June and host a press evening on Tuesday 9th of June. 

An olive oil bar in Notting Hill, all of June

If you're looking for things to do in Notting Hill this June, my wife Beatrice and I would love you to come and find us on Golborne Road. Our pop-up olive oil bar is free to walk into, there's oil to taste every single day, and we'll be there to pour it for you.

Alongside Ionian Gold, you'll find a carefully chosen selection of other exceptional olive oils, curated by Giulia Crouch, founder of The EVOO Edit. Walk in any day, and we'll be there to pour you a tasting, talk you through the oils, and tell you a bit about where they came from and how they were made.

Until now, Ionian Gold has lived almost entirely online, so having a proper place to welcome you feels like a big deal to us. For the first time, you can wander in off the street, taste our olive oil straight from the bottle, and talk to us about where it grew and why it tastes the way it does. I've wanted to do something like this for years, and doing it on Golborne Road, a few doors from the greengrocers and the bakeries, feels exactly right.

Why an olive oil bar?

Most of us treat olive oil as a commodity. We buy whatever's on the shelf, leave it by the hob, and top it up when it runs low without ever really tasting it. The oil we make asks for a little more attention than that, and the truth is that no label or photograph can explain the difference - you just have to taste it!

A really good extra virgin olive oil is alive in a way the supermarket stuff simply isn't. It's grassy and green, it catches at the back of your throat, and it changes a piece of warm bread into something you'll think about later. That peppery little tingle is the oil telling you it's fresh and unrefined, and watching someone notice it for the first time is the best part of my job.

When I mentioned the idea to Beatrice, she offered me half of her shop. OF THE BEA has been a fixture on Golborne Road for a while now, and it fits the street's independent feel exactly. She has the eye for how a space should feel, and I bring the oil and a fairly endless supply of things to say about it. We're married, so this really is a family business, which feels right because Ionian Gold has been a family story from the very beginning.

Where our olive oil comes from

Our grove sits on the Paliki Peninsula in Kefalonia, on land my family has farmed since around 1500. I grew up between London and the island, packed off to Greece the day after school broke up every summer from the age of two, so the place is stitched into me. When my father died in 2015, my sisters and I inherited the estate, and we found it had been left untouched for more than seventy years.

Bringing it back took us the best part of a decade. We pruned the ancient Koroneiki trees right back to their core, replanted the vineyard, and coaxed a kitchen garden out of soil that hadn't been worked in generations. We farm it biodynamically now, with no chemicals and no irrigation, on the simple principle that the grove gives back what you put into it.

The oil that comes off it is 100% Koroneiki, cold-pressed within hours of picking, left unfiltered, and bottled on site. What you pour at home is exactly what left the grove. That freshness is the whole reason it tastes the way it does, and it's the whole reason the bar exists.

• Read more about our story
  

What will you find on Golborne Road?

We've set the bar up as somewhere to slow down rather than somewhere to shop in a hurry. The idea is to bring a little of the Mediterranean to West London for a month. Across June you'll find:

None of the daily olive oil tastings need booking, so you're welcome to simply wander in whenever you're passing.

Launch night and press evening

Friday 5 June: launch night. We're marking the opening with an evening of tastings, food, and a drink in hand, and we'd love a crowd. Everyone is welcome, so if you think you'll come, drop us a line on Instagram at @ioniangold or @ofthebea so we know roughly how much bread to put out.

Tuesday 9 June: press and trade evening. This one is for the writers, buyers and stockists who'd like to taste the full range properly and sit down to talk it through with us. If that sounds like you, email me directly at nicholas@ioniangold.com and I'll make sure you're on the list.

About Golborne Road

Golborne Road sits at the quieter end of the Notting Hill and Portobello stretch, a short walk from Westbourne Park station. It's a street that still feels local. You'll find Moroccan food stalls, Lisboa Patisserie and O'Porto for famous Portuguese pastel de nata, vintage furniture dealers, and a tight cluster of independent boutiques and restaurants. The Friday and Saturday market spills over from Portobello and brings the whole road to life. Come for the oil and make an afternoon of it!

If you can't make it in

If June slips by and you don't manage to visit, there are still two easy ways to taste Ionian Gold olive oil. You can order a bottle from our 2025 harvest, which arrives plastic-free within a few days. Or you can join the Liquid Gold Club, our monthly olive oil subscription from £17 a month, which sends cold-pressed, single-estate oil from the very same trees to your door on whatever rhythm suits your kitchen. 

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the olive oil bar? +

You'll find us inside OF THE BEA at 72 Golborne Road, in Notting Hill, West London. We're open every day throughout June 2026.

Is it a good thing to do in Notting Hill this June? +

We'd like to think so. It's free to walk in, the tastings run daily, and Golborne Road itself is one of the loveliest corners of Notting Hill for a wander - independent shops, bakeries and cafés all around us. Come for the oil and make an afternoon of it.

Do I need a ticket or a booking? +

Not at all. The daily tastings are walk-in and free. The launch night on 5 June is open to everyone, though a quick heads-up helps us cater. The press evening on 9 June is the one that's by email.

Where can I taste good olive oil in London? +

For the month of June 2026, on Golborne Road in Notting Hill. We pour single-estate extra virgin olive oil from our family grove in Kefalonia and walk you through how to taste it. It's a proper olive oil tasting, not just a sample on a spoon.

What makes Ionian Gold different from supermarket olive oil? +

It's single-estate and unblended: 100% Koroneiki from one family grove in Kefalonia, cold-pressed within hours of picking and left unfiltered, with a high polyphenol count. Most supermarket oil is blended from many different sources and pressed long after the olives come off the tree, which is why it tastes flatter.

Can I buy bottles to take home from the bar? +

Yes, you can pick up single bottles or sign up to the Liquid Gold Club subscription while you're there.

Is the bar suitable for groups? +

It is. Small groups are very welcome to wander in for the daily tastings, and if you'd like to bring a larger party or arrange a private session, just email us first so we can set it up properly.

Come and find us on Golborne Road this June. Bring someone you love eating with, take your time over a few oils, and we'll have the bread warm and ready!