The Ledbury

Funny. I suppose Sunday evening is the end of the week – or it could be the beginning of the new one. We went on a Sunday evening, because they couldn’t accommodate us any other time. But whenever you treat yourself to this kind of eating you do it to experience delight and surprise, and two stars should reasonably entitle you to a couple of delights and surprises. I suppose we could just about muster two: a fine dessert (that is, one fine dessert of two) and a wonderful Pedro Ximenez dessert wine.

I wanted to do a direct comparison with Murano, where we’d been a couple of weeks before, so was keen to try the beef. Accordingly, I asked for it medium rare – but it’s cooked for 8 hours, sir, so you can’t have it medium rare. OK: but disappointment has to loom here. Fully realised: a couple of hunks of very coarse and rather dry beef, with supposed roasted bone marrow, undetectable. Nonspecific dribbles/jus, not sure what. I’d suggest sourcing your beef where Angela gets hers. None of the amuses bouches really amused other than a spirited panna cotta with passion fruit. Roasted vegetables (remember at the equivalent of about 25 quid) to start were just dreary. All the dishes seem to have dribbles, powders and little jus puddles; all meaningless without a challenging taste puzzle, and they look a mess.

This is OK food, and OK service, but no two star establishment should feel the need repeatedly to ask whether the food is to your liking (while simultaneously turning away to leave). This is another warning of existential crisis, or more mundanely that all is not right in the kitchen (I can almost guarantee that the boss wasn’t in that evening). It was the same kind of experience we had at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s (though admittedly about four times as in-your-face); food as a celebrity experience (oriental visitors, all with a BMI of about 19, taking each others' pictures) rather than as deeply felt art. Having to replace some cutlery because it was wrong for the upcoming course is hardly a hanging offence, neither is asking who ordered which dish, but shouldn’t happen at this level.

Slightly casual service, slightly servile but dead-eyed servile. You know the kind of thing: staff portentously and noisily moving out of the way to let you pass, which presumably is on the list of must-dos to get a star or two, and, worse, apologising loudly when they fail to see you coming. If you must do this kind of thing, though I think it’s grotesque, then do it silent and slinky a la Gavroche, not so that you notice how vocally subservient they all are or that you feel you are likely to give them bubonic plague – or give you the irksome impression they are playing a very clever parlour game. Alternatively, they could try behaving like normal human beings. ‘Your partner isn’t drinking at all, so why don’t you go for a little bit more [than a mere half bottle at £45]?’ Actually, it’s none of your business suggesting how much wine I need. You’re here to guide me in quality. Departing: ‘I hope we can welcome you back here again’. Not at all likely. I’m happy to leave this venue to the discriminating iPhone snapping fraternity.
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David Levy
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Thursday, October 27, 2011

We enjoyed one of the most enjoyable meals at the Ledbury on 2/10/11in our lifetime of world travel. We had the tasting menu - an absolute triumph! Highly recommended.
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Graham & Christine Baker
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 03, 2011

Delicious fantastic food combined with a flawless service is what makes this restaurant the best in London. The price is steep but then restaurants like this are for special occasions.

It is not for everyone, you need to appreciate food , let yourself go and be immersed in a different experience. Not everyone is willing to do that and/or has the tastebuds for it.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 26, 2011

I think the Ledbury is simply one of London's finest resturants. We sampled the superb tasting menu yesterday with matching wines and both the food and wines were really first class.

The resturant is very smart but the atmosphere is relaxed and certainly not intimidating or pretencious.

The staff were quite superb.

Its a five min walk from Notting Hill tube in a very smart area.
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Erik Vikking
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, August 26, 2011

I am sorry, but I won't be giving elaborate descriptions of the food, I simply don't have the time. I will though make the time to say a huge THANK YOU to the Ledbury for an absolutely terrific evening last night. The staff and the wonderful service equalled the utterly fantastic food. You couldn't fault a thing. Is it an expensive night out-you betcha. Is it worth every penny-ditto.

Again, thank you to all the service staff, and of course the chef and his staff.
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Karen K
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, August 03, 2011

I have just returned from a dinner for four for my mother's birthday and it was wonderful and beautiful. I just want to add to the review below that I think the food is beautifully delicate and light, yet ssuch abundance of flavour is very satisfying and you can feel the love of the chef to the real taste of real ingredients. I feel that the 2nd michelin star didn't make the Ledbury complacent but merely gives them the confidence to pursue their delicate cuisine that do not have to be doused in sauces and butters, salts and cheeses, each ingredient enjoyed as they are. My mackerel with avocado was enhanced by the other components of the dish, the sweetness of the cured crunchy cucumber cut through the richness of the fish, lifting it up, making it taste more mackerelly, fresh and tasting of the sea. I love it. There were also hints of dill here and there, and the grilled side a touch of Japan, a country that I grew up. The avocado was so subtle, I could barely taste any salt, and yet it just brought the dish together. My mother's chicken wings on a bed of 'risotto' and mushrooms was perfectly ballanced, and I really enjoy the way the Ledbury offers dishes which are sort of 'abstract' or deconstructed; it's fun to go from one end of the plate to the other trying so many flavours; it's sensational. My main course was the turbot. I grew up in a port town in food-loving Japan and I know my fish, and I know when it's not cooked right, and too much done to it. This, however, lived up to my expectation. The cauliflower provided a kind of mildness and a slight mustardyness that complimented the delicate texture of the fish, that arrived at the table at the right time! when it was just, only just cooked through, just before it flakes. It tasted sweet, and fresh and most of all surprisingly creamy. I was so interested in my fish, and my mother's amazing venison, that I was reminded of my two other companies, who were both having lamb. 'This lamb has a texture of chocolate' says my cousin. It really was perfectly cooked. The aubergine that came with it was difficult to imagine on the menu, is it mediterranian style - sort of chargrilled? I had wondered... but it provided an almost middle eastern type of sauce that added a creaminess with any cream at all. All our dishes were beautiful. For dessert I had a sort of deconstructed eton mess, and what I learned from it is that strawberry sortbet is wonderful in eton mess! It was a truly refreshing dish bound together in not cream but a yogurt, it had a texture that was foamier and lighter than usual. The strawberry was a gariguette type, not wincingly sweet, nor overly tangy, nor doused in sugar. Again, the whole dish seemed to compliment everything about the loveliness of a strawberry. My cousin's brown sugar tart was more of leche flan, and it was a wonderful surprise. The ginger ice cream didn't have the slight bitter aftertaste that I had imagined it would have, it tasted very fruity! In the middle were dots of gooseberries, in a kind of midway between the leche flan 'brown sugar tart' and the ginger. It was an excellent arrangement.... Then I just had to try my mother's banan a flan, which wasn't really a flan but thin slices of torched banana on a thin biscuit, layer by layer sprinkled with caramel, surrounded by passion fruit dots. I was too full to try it, but she certainly enjoyed it...So my verdict for the Ledbury is that if you really appreciate the taste of natural foods, then they intensify it for you with loving magic with their culinery hands, and it is a wonderful adventure for your taste buds. But of course, if you want a dish that almost hides the taste of nature then a 2 star Ledbury doesn't care for you too much!! Price? Price you pay for a wonderful little trips from the orient to Scandinavia to Southern France to Greece!
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Maria Farrar
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 29, 2011

Oh Ledbury, how could you let us down so?!

Having been loyal customers of the Ledbury for some years now, and having been our fail-safe, I would have safely said it to be our favourite restaurant in London. That was, until last Saturday. Our most recent visit (and I purely base this on past experiences at the establishment), left us bitterly disappointed. And for all the times I have scoffed at unfavourable reviews of the place, I am now finding myself, with regret, adding to them:

Our initial Amuse-bouche of fois gras and goat cheese tarts were fantastic, however a second; a salad of tomatoes with black sugar and goats cheese cigar was just about OK – textures being balanced, but the sugar too overpowering in flavour. Even the delicious Onion and Bacon Brioche were cooling and not as impressive as normal. My Husbands first course of Frogs Legs with Pea Puree amounted to nothing more on the palate than chip shop batter and mushy peas, the delicate flavour of frog’s leg, completely overpowered by its greasy encasing. I opted for the Milk Curd with Saint-Nectaire and Truffle Toast, the toast being pleasant enough, but the cheese was bland and I was left under whelmed and feeling it didn’t work as a complete dish. This being in total contrast to my last visit where I devoured the celeriac baked in hay, which was both imaginative and delicious.

For mains my husband had Pigeon, which he described as ‘so-so’ however, totally lacking the flare and flavour displayed on previous mains. My Lobster was good, but having been hard pushed to choose it as nothing else grabbed on the menu, we were begrudged at having to stump up for its £5.00 supplement. We were similarly uninspired by the dessert menu, in particular I was disappointed to find no Soufflé – they haven’t had the Passion Fruit variation I had adored for some time, but I had a great Honey Soufflé with Thyme Ice cream on my last visit and was hoping for an equally impressive alternative, however there wasn’t. With both my husband and I un-enticed by the other offerings we decided to plump for cheese, which was a let down too, especially at another £7.00 supplement (particular mention to the fact that they had run out of Epoisse and on serving a substitute we were dismayed to find it was still thoroughly chilled and almost inedible), it is also worth mentioning that I had asked for a glass of port as an accompaniment to the cheese but it was a no show.. Very ‘un-Ledbury’ like.

Aside from food, we also found the atmosphere in the room muted and more sterile than normal, although this did pick up somewhat as the evening wore on. Other noticeable differences are prices have risen significantly, which neither my husband nor I would have minded to if the food had been up to normal standards, sadly the inflated prices also mean it less likely that my husband and I will be returning to give it a second chance.

Maybe it was an off day or maybe there is a degree of complacency having gaining a second star. Whatever it is, we both left sad and concluding that the Ledbury we know is not the Ledbury we knew...
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Gemma
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Absolutely fantastic food. Innovative, perfectly executed and presented. Excellent service in a pleasant atmosphere. A MUST!
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Susana - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A second visit at a busy Saturday lunchtime. We each had a two course set lunch at £28.50 and an a la carte dessert (£9). With wine, water, coffee and service our bill came to £130 for the two of us. Unusually for a restaurant of this calibre we didn't find it too easy to choose food we'd like and so we ended up with identical meals, which is very rare.

Our starters were a tiny consomme with mushrooms, a little onion and something grated and toasted, all of which were nicely cooked and tasty. Sadly all of this was served on top of buffalo milk curd which resembled a blancmange rather too closely for my liking and I couldn't finish it. In my view this is a dish with some excellent components but which just doesn't work.

Mains of pork belly and cheek were better. There's a lot going on in this dish- black pudding in the belly, some nicely cooked carrots , and delicate smears of puree here and there. All of which worked well together and the only thing I'd want to add is that it looked a little small for a main course and a small portion or potato wouldn't have been amiss.

Dessert was a brown sugar tart accopanied by a delicious stem ginger icecream and three flavoursome gooseberries. The "tart" wan't a tart but a slice of something that tasted sweet but had a texture which again was rather too close to a blancmange for my liking. It does seem to me that the chef is preoccupied by textures and that I for one am not a fan of things slippery and gelatinous.

Service was decent and friendly throughout, and I was offered a replacement starter which I refused on the grounds that I can't expect restaurants to carry the entire consequences of my choices. Tables are well enough spaced. The amuses bouches and petits fours were a bit derisory and I guess if it were me I'd either not bother at all or make more of them. I should mention however that the bread is exceptionally good.

Overall this didn't live up to the experience of our last visit, and for £130 I would normally enjoy a meal rather more than I did today. I should mention also that we looked at the online menu before we left home and the items that we would have selected had disappeared from the menu when we got there . Now I know that there are disclaimers on the website, but it did get us thinking why they should be necessary- I mean its really simple today to change website copy when you're typing up the menu daily or weekly anyway. Getting this on the website is (or should be) the work of moments.
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David Henderson
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Saturday, July 23, 2011

the ledbury is an amazing restrant for some people yet for others its overpriced and this depends solely on the customers taste buds as someone with good taste buds can really appreciate the brilliance ,care and love that was put into the dish alliteratively someone who hasn't got such good taste can't appreciate the complex ,rich delicate taste so therefore it seems overpriced to them .ive dined at the ledbury an awful lot and i have been in their kitchen during service and firstly they should be praised for the mirical that food of that standerd can actuly come out of a kitchen of that size as it is tiny, pub kitchins are simular sizes ,and secondly the atmosphere is incredably and the love that is put into making the food is amasing.the fish are simply as fresh as posibal theyre caught one day and served the next..

if you want the best food in london for a modest price (at most 1/2 the price of the ritz which doesnt even have 1 michelin star let alone 2) the ledbury is the first place you should go.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, May 23, 2011