The team behind Julie’s, one of Holland Park’s most celebrated restaurants, is preparing to take on a new project in Notting Hill: the reinvention of The Prince Edward, a long-standing pub on Prince’s Square that has been shut since February of this year.
The pub is expected to open at the end of the year, though exact dates are yet to be confirmed. There has been no decision over whether the name will be retained, though it is considered bad luck to change the name of a pub.
The project is being led by Julie’s owner Tara MacBain, the restaurant’s chef patron Owen Kenworthy and general manager Rupert Walsh, who together oversaw the restaurant’s relaunch in the summer of 2024.
At the Prince Edward, Kenworthy’s menu is likely to focus on seasonal British produce, with familiar pub dishes — pies, fish and chips, rotisserie cooking and Sunday roasts — sitting alongside smaller plates.
Drinks will unsurprisingly centre on draught beer, a mix of independent and big-name breweries, classic cocktails and a concise European wine list.
Press material suggests the trio are gunning for an all-day pub — somewhere for coffee in the morning with food and drink later on — and are keen to keep the Edward something of a local. The pub, which dates back to the 19th century, has long been a neighbourhood fixture in W2, with its Victorian façade and original, preserved interiors. The new-look pub, designed by Rosanna Bossom, will draw on the building’s existing features; the idea is to restore and preserve, rather than to rip it out and start over.
MacBain said of the takeover: “The Prince Edward already has history, character and a loyal local following. Our role is not to reinvent it beyond recognition, but to restore its heart.
“We want this to be a pub people use constantly — for morning coffee, midweek suppers, Sunday lunch, or a spontaneous glass of wine. Julie’s has always been about warmth, personality and a sense of belonging. With The Prince Edward, we are bringing that same spirit to a true neighbourhood pub”.
The opening comes alongside another venture from the same team, Little Julie’s, a café and wine bar near the Holland Park original, expected later this spring.
