I would have given this newsagent 5 stars not so long ago, but I am not so keen on the refurb…read more Still, you can get a greater choice of international magazines in here than in most other newsagents. Definitely beats WH Smiths hands down.

I miss Raj and agree that the refurb (now a year or two back) removed some of the atmos, but still…read moredefines all that is great in a local newsagent.

I deposit 600 pounds on my monzo card and they charge me 16 pounds which is free on other pay…read morepoints.. fraud

Warning, this is more of a rant than a review ... about how it is near impossible to buy my…read morefavourite newspaper after 6pm on a Saturday. I love the Saturday edition of The Guardian and my weekend is not complete if I don't get hold of a copy. On several occasions now I've ended up rushing from supermarket to supermarket in Notting Hill (there's a Tesco, Waitrose and M&S all lined up the hill, another Tesco's next to Holland Park station) to find large stockpiles of The Times but not a single issue of The Guardian. No, I won't buy into Murdoch Press, is this a conspiracy? It's only desperation that drives me into supermarkets in the first place - gone are the days where you had a newsagent's at every corner, especially near the main tube stations ... shops that look like a newsagent's now only sell tourist tad and sweets. Except Embassy News - it really was worth walking up a little further towards Bayswater Road to finally come across Embassy News. Lovely man behind the counter who confirms that they don't pack up their newspapers to return to the distributors before midnight (most supermarkets remove all newspapers by 7pm, hence my panic). Not the most convenient location for me but this may well become a regular haunt as I keep remembering too late that there's something missing in my life.

Nice little store! Doesn't look glamorous from the outside but has lots of quick necessities when…read moreyou go inside (especially drinks and snacks).

This little convenience store is just around the corner from where I stayed in Holland Park…read more There's a Tesco around the corner and closer to the Underground but when you just want to pop out for emergency provisions, this is the place to go. Right next to the Zipcars too! FTR, again bishes!

Visited The Notting Hill Bookshop during our trip to London and we loved the selection of books…read morethey offer. If you love the idea of "blind date with a book", this bookshop offers it and they have a lot to choose from and we were very pleased with the books we ended up getting. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend visiting this bookshop.

You won't be the only one trying to snap a photo in front of the store! What I love about this…read moreplace is that the shop is actually cute on the inside and although a popular tourist spot thanks to Julia and Hugh, it's a great bookshop on its own. What I was surprised about was that a number of other book shops have popped up in Notting Hill trying to catch the tourists, but this is the OG.

Gayle and I had just arrived at Paddington Station (via the Heathrow Express) and checked into the…read moreadjacent Hilton. Looking for reading material, I backtracked to this WH Smith to pick up a Daily Telegraph, a trashy light read UK gossip magazine (Hello) and an upscale periodical (The Rake). Check out was self-serve and the various snack choices failed to inspire. The shop itself appeared to be a little worn at the edges.

Quite a good, small, branch of 'Smiths' with one door opening onto Paddington Station, so very…read morehandy to buy newspapers, books, sweets etc for a journey! There can be a queue so leave time to wait for 5 minutes.

Good bookshops are dangerous places, and Daunt Books is one of the most dangerous of all. You can…read morelose yourself for hours, browsing through the recommendations temptingly laid out on tables. And while you're queuing to pay, there are more temptations on your way to the till - for book junkies this is worse than the sweet counters in supermarkets! Daunt Books is a small chain of independent booksellers with an emphasis on travel and literature. I like the way they curate their shops and always succeed to find a gift here - but not without buying one or two books to keep myself.

A trip to Holland Park is in order when I feel like I want to treat myself to a view of upscale…read morehomes, eat fancy deli foods, and, a recent discovery, peruse the Daunt bookshop outpost tucked into the main drag there. Compared to the Marylebone locale--the only other Daunt that I've visited--this shop is smaller, quainter, and, on my trip, super quiet. Ahh. I found an interesting-looking book, 'Mendelssohn Is on the Roof', quickly bought it and went on my merry way. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/05/books/trying-to-murder-a-statue.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Corner shop with a large selection of domestic and international newspapers and magazines as well…read moreas sodas and confectionery. Friendly. They also do phone and Oyster card top-ups.

Yes, this is the age of the Internet and all media can be found on your phone…read more That said, I love newspapers. I love magazines. There's an art to headlines, to design. How photos are placed and which stories are chosen to meet your eye. Even ads help tell a story about the medium and you, the reader. These facts really pop when you can see a bunch of papers and magazines side by side. It is then when you can measure the soul of the news outlets. So here at Falstaffs you can browse scores of daily papers from all over the world, not to mention leading magazines. In an instant you can see how the world reacts to major stories. I can't read Russian or Arabic, for example, but you can decipher their coverage of similar stories based on placement and photo selection. But you don't always need to be so insightful. They'll also sell you The Sun which you can read at the pub across the street.