High St Kensington has got it all along with a beautiful new Bens Grocer store and newly reopened Kensington Roof Gardens private club on Derry street. With fantastic access via High St Kensington tube station and everything within a minutes walk. It’s a Saturday afternoon shopping destination for me for sure, better than the west end and more fun than Knightsbridge.

It’s got a real neighbourhood feel like Mount st only more casual and younger, that’s why I like it.

Bens of Kensington High St

I love High St Kensington, we’re members at Kensington Roof Garden on Derry street and Yes, the Kensington Roof Garden has reopened as an exclusive private members' club, following its acquisition by OVO Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick from Virgin who had the lease for a long time, over 30 years. The club has had a significant refurbishment, the restored gardens, new dining options at Komorebi which you’ve got to try and operates with a 3 AM license.

So I am in High Street Kensington all the time. I also have a friend who lives on Gloucester walk up Kensington Church st so I am a regular at the flower shop there on the corner Flower Corner and Ffiona’s restaurant which I can highly recommend for a completely unique and fun experience.

Where else can you go just to buy beautiful fresh fruit and veg in South Kensington.

We’ve got whole foods market a shop I go to and love, they stock delicious vegan ice cream from Booja Booja and few other unique small food brands you cannot get anywhere else unless you shop online but the fruit and veg selection although good can be hit and miss.

I have started going to Bens Grocer a bit further from the tube the other way, just before you get to Oxfam on the other side of the road, for exotic things like Figs and star fruit, fresh asparagus and fresh berries out of season when the ones in the supermarket are bitter and hard Bens always seem to come up with the very best produce whatever the time of year.

I’ve noticed the fruit and vegetables selection in Waitrose deteriorate over the last few years. But I bought some bananas at Bens the other day and although they weren’t like the giant green things you see in the supermarket they were firm, sweet, not under ripe and absolutely delicious so whomever is going the buying knows what they are doing for sure.

I smelled the tomatoes and it was like the sweet aroma was a long lost friend. Decent tomatoes which have been impossible to find, everything so tasteless and bland are at Bens Grocers like they’ve just been picked from your neighbours garden not mass produced over refrigerated balls if you were wearing a blind fold would be impossible to distinguish exactly what you were eating.

I love to eat a tomato on its own with a little salt as a snack, something I’ve stopped doing with supermarket tomatoes, they just don’t taste great.

The selection of dried fruits, vinegars and olive oils is as good as anywhere. I love browsing and trying something new everytime I go. The prices are not cheap, but reasonable three bananas cost me £0.99 about the same as Waitrose.

And if you don’t just love the vibes of a Mediterranean market where everything just tastes better and encourages you to home cook then the Hackney Gelato (a whole other snoop) you have to try. As good as any Italian gelato I’ve eaten wandering the streets of Rome or Naples.

If I am in my own neighbourhood I go to the Farm Shop on South Audley St which is also fab for food or to sit down outside with a cuppa and watch the world go by but I love the flowers at the junction of Kensington Church St and High Street Kensington aptly named Flower Corner. We don’t have a lovely flower stand near home. It’s one thing I really miss.

Flower corner is a must visit, also a really lovely shop.