There isn’t a bad seat at Julie’s. But there is a best seat – a two-person corkboard booth carved out of a corner and concealed behind a red velvet curtain.  

‘Mick Jagger named it the G-spot,’ says our waiter as she tours us past tables filled with the vibing Friday night crowd. ‘It’s the table we usually reserve for VIPs – Princess Diana has been here, Kate Moss has been here, Tina Turner danced on the table here.’ 

In case you missed the memo: Julie’s is shorthand for glamorous. It’s now in its third iteration – the original Julie’s was opened by the original Julie (interior designer Julie Hodgess) and reopened in 2024 by debut restaurateur Tara MacBain. Despite being a celebrity hotspot, it’s never been the kind of place that draws headlines – but it is the kind of place that draws a fun-loving crowd every Friday. Intrigued by tales of everlasting lunches and tabletop dancing, I headed over to see what the Julie’s of 2025 is all about.  

The background  

A restaurant opening in Notting Hill at the end of the Swinging Sixties had to be cool. And Julie’s took on that mission with floral-patterned fervour. It became a hotspot for artists, creatives and musicians – anyone with a pair of flares and a taste for trouble. Mick Jagger hung out with Princess Margaret, Paul McCartney came – Kate Moss even celebrated her 22nd birthday downstairs. Celebs liked it because they could let loose without worrying about being papped; everyone else loved it because it wasn’t unusual to arrive for lunch and find yourself leaving after midnight.  

It’s remarkable that a place with so much glitz managed to keep its neighbourhood feel. But there was genuine sorrow in the local community when it closed in 2015 – and pure excitement when it was resuscitated by MacBain, a local who ate at Julie’s as a child and wanted to return its splendour.   

The space  

Julie’s is not in Berkeley Square, with its Lamborghinis and Amazónicos and glittering high heels. This is Clarendon Cross – a residential street with a plate-covered homeware store and, rumour has it from the table next to us, a soon-to-come Julie’s deli. The restaurant opens onto a small, fairy-light slung square stuffed with tables and a good-looking crowd – summer afternoons were born for sitting here with a glass of chablis.  

But summer nights are all about going inside, through the 5 Hertford Street meets Le Caprice interiors, and descending downstairs to the most sought-after seats. The design down here is deliberately eclectic and in-keeping with the original ’70s ethos – a flower chandelier creeps across the ceiling, the cushions are mismatched, and the walls are made from the same cork as the original restaurant. So far, so glam.  

 The food  

The thing about Julie’s is it needs to feed people who don’t come here to eat. They come to be at Julie’s. But the happy news is that if you do come for the food, you’re in good hands – it’s excellent. Nibbles include a pleasingly cheesy croquette, and a crisp crab tart the size of a chocolate truffle, filled with lemony spider crab and dressed up in its best florals. Order these with a glass of Rathfinny sparkling wine – it’s the Julie’s way. 

For starters, steak tartare is mixed tableside (for pizazz) and served with squidgy sourdough (for dipping) accompanied by shoestring onion rings wrapped in a light embryo of batter (for crunch). There’s also a pretty good courgette carpaccio that comes dribbled in golden olive oil like a Jackson Pollock painting – ideal if you feel like something light but don’t fancy dropping 100 quid on some caviar-topped Jersey Royals.  

The mains are all fairly French and so a bit heavy for hot days, but the steaks are good, the chips even better and there’s a surprisingly great new salad, Diane – juicy wedges of melon set against bitter radicchio and Lego-sized pieces of roquefort. Desserts are classic and, on the whole, done well – I order a pile of roast peaches drenched in crème anglaise. No complaints here, especially when washed down with a glass of something French and white (the wine list is also excellent).  

The verdict 

Julie’s is not the place for a quick dinner before dashing off elsewhere. It’s a restaurant designed for long, lingering evenings – catch-ups that stretch for hours, dates that descend into dancing, lunches that end at midnight. It has come and gone over the years, but it’s finally returned – and is better than ever.   

The bill 

£200 for two, including a bottle of wine. 

Julie’s, 135 Portland Road, W11 4LW; juliesrestaurant.com