Where to grab a Carnival pint

There's more to the Notting Hill Carnival than costumes and long queues for the Tube station. If you fancy a beer or several with your Bank Holiday weekend partying, you may wish to check out one or two of these up-for-it local bars and pubs...

Babushka, 41 Tavistock Crescent, W11 (020 7727 9250)

Music is the name of the game for this Westbourne Park favourite, tucked neatly under the Westway. Expect to find DJs playing sets of funky house throughout Sunday and Monday as the Carnival parties along outside. What Withnail or I would make of it all (a scene from Withnail and I was famously filmed here, back in pre-Babushka days when 41 Tavistock Crescent was home to a down-and-dirty boozer) is anybody’s guess.

The Chepstow, 39 Chepstow Place, W2 (020 7229 0323)

Anyone hoping to stock up on food during the Carnival might want to head for this happy little pub. The Chepstow will be opening early on both Sunday and Monday (about 9am), offering full brunch for early Carnival-goers, while those arriving a little later should be able to stave off hunger pangs at the outside barbecue. There will also be the obligatory outside bar, as well as an evening DJ if you still have the stomach for a boogie.

Golborne House, 36 Golborne Road, W10 (020 8960 6260)

Expect plenty of musical mayhem at this top-notch W10 gastropub. The pub will be open for business as usual from midday to 5pm on Sunday and Monday, then will reopen at around 6.30 for a live DJ sets to keep the Carnival party going until late.

The Market Bar, 240a Portobello Road, W11 (020 7229 6472)

Being located at the heart of Carnival (smack in the middle of Portobello Road) means the Market Bar will be closed during both days of Carnival, but they will be serving tasty beers from the door on Sunday and Monday. If you still have the energy as Carnival draws towards a close, the bar will be hosting a live DJ set on Monday evening.

Portobello Gold, 95 Portobello Road, W11 (020 7460 4900)

Carnival can’t come soon enough for this Notting Hill institution. Portobello Gold will be pulling out several, if not all of, the stops, offering Caribbean cuisine (spicy wings, deep-friend plantain etc), as well as running a street bar serving draught beer, and sound systems both inside and outside the bar. Curiously, there will also be free Internet access, so you can e-mail those mates who stayed at home and tell them what they are missing.

Portobello Star, 171 Portobello Road, W11 (020 7229 8016)

Crowd considerations mean that this Portobello Road pub will be taking the bid to serve the Carnival public into the open air. Staff will be setting up a bar outside on Sunday and Monday, and serving thirsty customers from midday to around 8pm.

The Prince Bonaparte, 80 Chepstow Road, W2 (020 7313 9491)

Carnival will meet clubland at the Prince Bonaparte. This Notting Hill watering hole has a series of high profile DJ sets lined up for both Sunday and Monday. Monday sees big-name decks-spinners from superclub Fabric doing their stuff, with James Lavelle, Craig Richards and Lee Burridge all booked to play. The music starts at midday on both days.

The Walmer Castle, 58 Ledbury Road, W11 (020 7229 4620)

The arrival of Carnival brings bad news for the regulars at the Walmer Castle — their much-loved boozer will be closed throughout the big party. However, all is not lost — the staff will be running an outside bar doing draught beer on Sunday and Monday, 12-6.

The Westbourne, Westbourne Park Villas, W2 (020 7221 1332)

Carnival weekend will see the volume being firmly turned up at The Westbourne. There will be live DJ sets in the pub on both Sunday and Monday, along with the obligatory outside bar to keep customers suitably fuelled as they tap their feet to the beats.