When Londoners dream of their summer escapes, the imagination often turns to the familiar west: a spritz and slice of pizza in Rome, a gyros on a sun-kissed Greek beach. Yet there’s a quieter, lesser-known world of flavors waiting in the East. Eastern European cuisine, long underappreciated in the capital, is finding its voice. And nowhere is that voice more confident, more refined, and more enchanting than at ZIMA Notting Hill.

A New Neighbour in Notting Hill

You’ll find ZIMA tucked neatly on Blenheim Crescent, right next door to the iconic Notting Hill Bookshop. The choice of location, with its intimate 45-seat setting, is no accident. “Our decision to open a second location in Notting Hill was a deliberate one, building on the success of our flagship restaurant in Soho,” says Jurate Volodzko, Head Chef of ZIMA. “While we’ve found the audience here to be slightly different, it’s an incredibly vibrant and diverse neighbourhood that embraces different cultures and has a real curiosity for various types of cuisine.” Plus, the location being so close to Portobello Road allows for ample foot traffic from both locals and tourists.

When you step through the doors, the first thing you see are hand-painted sledges, spinning wheels, wooden doors, and panels salvaged from villages. Some date back to the early 1900s, carefully restored and displayed in the UK for the very first time. Aesthetically, the restaurant is both a dining room and part living museum.

Where Tradition Meets Modern Elegance

The true magic of ZIMA lies in how it takes time-honored dishes and reimagines them with a touch of artistry. Volodzko is clear about the mission: “At ZIMA, we celebrate the beauty of Eastern European tradition with a modern twist. We want to challenge the common perception of heavy, potato-based dishes. Our goal is to show that our cuisine is diverse, elegant, and authentic.”

The menu reflects that balance. There are Royal Siberian black caviar and salmon roe blinis that gleam like jewels, a refined Olivier salad brightened with chicken and salmon roe, and inky black pelmeni, their silky dough hiding salmon and cod.

The philosophy runs deeper than just plating. “Back in the day, people cooked with what they had around them and that meant catching fish, picking seasonal herbs, and using local produce. It was a way of life,” says Volodzko. “Today, we keep that heritage alive by using ingredients that reflect those same traditions in the food we serve.”

Pickles, Vodka, and Celebration

ZIMA’s Notting Hill opening arrived with a splash, marked by a collaboration with acclaimed chef Evgeny Vikentev. His four signature dishes are venison with foie gras and ceps, scallop with chamomile and pumpkin, sturgeon with mushrooms and Caviar and an Asian pavlova. These dishes are novel on the palette and show the range of flavors that the cuisine spans.

Of course, not everything is haute cuisine. The heart of Eastern Europe is present in every jar of pickles — preserved at the peak of the season — and in every sip of nastoyka, the house-made infused vodka flavored with fruits, herbs, or spices. These touches connect diners to the simplicity of shared meals, to the warmth of family gatherings, and to centuries of cultural rituals. Then there are the celebratory dishes: shuba (herring salad with beetroot), beloved at Christmas and New Year’s feasts, and the iconic Olivier salad, a centerpiece on countless holiday tables across the region.

The most compelling feature of ZIMA is that it is a place where art and cuisine meet, where nostalgia is plated with elegance, and where Londoners can discover an entire region through flavor. As Volodzko puts it: “We believe that comforting food and art unite people. London is so multicultural that when our guests from various countries feel homesick, they come to our restaurant and find a heartwarming experience, both through their favourite childhood dishes and the cultural events we host very often.”