The Ledbury

This is consistently the most exquisitely executed, brilliantly presented food in London. 4 courses at £95 at this level is very reasonable. Each course, and all the in between bites are so full of flavour, it literally explodes onto the palate! What I appreciate too is that the portions are sensible, not too much! The wine list is comprehensive and the sommelier friendly and helpful… And that’s a trait that starts at the top from Brett, the chef and owner who despite his extraordinary success is down to earth, relaxed and humble… None of that Michelin starred superiority here… It’s all about the food! It’s a pity to see people turn up in jeans here, the food deserves a bit more than that! I’d love to see a candle on the table too, but it doesn’t distract from the incredible experience of the ‘art’ on the plate!

After having visited a couple of supposedly ‘great’ fine dining restaurants in London and being let down, I was a bit apprehensive booking a table at the Ledbury for my partner’s birthday. Turns out I had nothing to be worried about, we came here on Saturday for the set lunch special (YES — THEY DO SET LUNCHES ON A WEEKEND — WEW) at £50pp for 4 courses with snacks and were very pleased with our meal. The service was lovely and I think 3 – 4 people wished my partner a happy birthday throughout. The meal comes with little snacks, and the main courses were delicious and not too heavy on the palate. Definitely recommended.

Exceptionnel !
C’est le premier mot qui me vient à l’esprit quand je repense à la soirée que j’ai passé dans le restaurant 2 étoiles du Chef Brett Graham. L’Homme m’a fait la surprise d’y réserver une table le soir de mes 30 ans. Une surprise qui m’a laissé sans voix lorsque l’on nous a ouvert les portes de The Ledbury. Le cadre est raffiné sans en faire trop, on s’y sent à l’aise malgré l’armada de serveurs et serveuses qui se croisent dans une chorégraphie parfaite. Tout le monde est aux petits soins et j’ai même eu droit à ma carte d’anniversaire signée par le Chef en personne. Elle m’attendait sur la table. Juste le temps de la lire, de commander un Vermouth on the rocks et voici venir la carte du restaurant. Je trépigne d’impatience ! Ici pas de choix à la carte, on choisit une suite de 6 ou 8 petits plats, on annonce nos allergies pour que le Chef s’adapte (très bon point) et c’est parti !
Ce seront 8 petits plats qui défileront devant nous pendant les 3h qu’ont duré le dîner. Je n’ai pas vu le temps passer et malgré tout le travail que les plats ont demandé, il n’y a pas eu d’attente interminable entre chaque assiette. Quel plaisir ! Voici ce que nous avons pu déguster :
— Artichauts fondant, foie gras rapé (oui oui, on a l’impression d’avoir une glacé au foie gras en bouche) et jambon de pays
— Carpaccio de betterave, chèvre et noisettes
— Warm Bantam’s Egg, truffes, céleri et jambon sec
— Médaillon de porc, poêlée de trompettes de la mort, petites carottes violine et agrumes
— Choux fleur rôti, basilic et feuilles craquantes de parmesan
— Bécassine (chassée par le Chef en personne) et sa petite prune farcie
— Médaillons de cerf (fondant !) betterave et endives
— Pré-​dessert: crème de buttermilk citron huile d’olive rhubarbe et son petit beignet maison
— Tartelette au chocolat, bananes et crème légère
— Gâteau bonus pour mon anniversaire, une sorte de shortbread/​panacotta vanille caramel et sa glacé gingembre.
Tous les plats étaient annoncés en anglais mais notre gentil serveur a pris la peine de les traduire avec son charmant accent. En prime, à la fin du dîner, nous avons eu le privilège de rencontrer le Chef en personne et en cuisine. Une personne d’une très grande gentillesse, passionné par son métier et que nous avons eu de cesse de remercier tant les plats qu’il nous a servi étaient exquis. Dernier petit cadeau de sa part, une création maison, un café à la française revisité: une crème légère à la chicorée et quelques ingrédients supplémentaires dont il a le secret.
Une soirée que je né suis pas prête d’oublier. Je vous épargne le prix mais vous vous en doutez, c’est un deux étoiles, les plats sont un délice, les saveurs sont au rendez-​vous et la créativité aussi… alors soyons fous !

It’s been a few years since I was here but the experience is still with me. We had a group of 8 for my purchase and ordered the full 5 (actually 8) course menu.
The atmosphere of the Ledbury is immediately welcoming and unpretentious. The staff were extremely attentive and very knowledgable about the menu. The Sommelier asked what price range I would like to purchase wines at and selected some amazing wines all within the price with no upsell. Everyone who worked there was obviously passionate about what they do.
Starting with a melt in the mouth beetroot amuse bouche we then moved to an appetiser before being presented with the entrée, by this time we had a flight of (the table was circular so we were all facing each other) wines in a circle around the table. then onto a guinea foul main — This was mine I can’t vouch for what the others had but it all looked beautiful. Once finished we had one final treat which I won’t go into *Spoilers as it would ruin the surprise.
Brett Graham our 2 Michelin star chef hailing from Newcastle Australia originally even enquired about what we thought of the meal once done. All in all a very memorable experience and once I long to go back for. Life has just been a little too busy.

The Ledbury is located in Notting Hill. It’s a fairly small restaurant with no more than 20 tables. It’s an elegant restaurant with a large mirror that makes it look like the restaurant is larger. Chef Brett Graham’s cooking is very modern set in a modern setting without the stuffiness that accompanies a restaurant with the following accolades:
1) 2 Michelin star in 2014
2) 2 Michelin star in 2015
3) #10 on the San Pellegrino 2014 World’s Best Restaurants
4) #20 on the San Pellegrino 2015 World’s Best Restaurants
The service was fantastic and everyone was really down to earth. The wait staff was very diverse and included different people from different countries around Europe. The thing I really like about the Ledbury is I didn’t get any attitude or sense of pretentiousness when we decided not to go with wine pairing. The most absolutely memorable items were the Artichokes and Warm Bantam’s Egg. Amazing.
Overall, I would have to say the Ledbury was a wonderful experience. Chef Graham is very talented and the progression of the dishes were perfect. Major bonus points for the grated foie gras as it was definitely the highlight of the meal.
US 2015 Michelin 3 Stars Count: 12 Down. 0 More.
2015 Michelin Rated Restaurant Count: 29
San Pellegrino 2014 World’s 100 Best Restaurants Count: 20
San Pellegrino 2015 World’s 100 Best Restaurants Count: 22

Very innovative cuisine. We went for the 8-​course and I was pleasantly surprised at every dish except for the desserts which were rather average. Their service was good and I received a special birthday cake and signed card by the chef.

Must say I went here last year for my birthday and only got reminded to post a review as it was on the sidebar but what a memory it was. We turned up around 9.30pm and proceeded one of the greatest (long) course of my life. I can see why it was given michelin stars. We ended up leaving past 12.30 at night the courses just kept coming. Must have been at least 8 courses for the full tasting menu. Just fantastic. Found the photos which I’ve attached. I just know it was excellent food with excellent service. haven’t been back since as it was a birthday treat (a wallet buster) and is certainly best going for a special occasion.

I have to be honest, I was nervous this restaurant was going to be stuffy and no fun. I am happy to say I was wrong. The staff were friendly and had just the right touch of attentiveness and playfulness. They knew their stuff when we asked about preparation and where the ingredients came from.
Beautiful space and great service. Most importantly, the food was outstanding. I didn’t have a single bad bite here.

When we went to The Ledbury, it was number 20 in the world. Given its high ranking, I had high expectations for the meal. It was also a really warm day, and even though the Unilocal listing says the dress code is «Dressy», there is no dress code, and they did not blink and eye when we rolled up in our shorts after being out in the hot sun all day. (Even the Telegraph quotes the chef saying shorts are okay in the summer.) The venue itself is very nice looking and the servers are quite dressed up, so you can see how people would like to dress up for such an experience (most of the dining room were, but some were much more casual).
My partner had got me a voucher for my birthday, so we had the 8 course meal with wine pairings. We also started with a glass of champagne to have with the snacks. The snacks were pretty fantastic actually. Really holding up to the expectations I had. The deer dumpling was amazing, but the guinea fowl puff with mead jelly was the star. The first course was candied beetroot and eel, and it was really wonderful. It was definitely a «wow» course leading us to believe things were going to really be fantastic.
Unfortunately, there was only one more «wow» course, the duck egg with truffle. Because you can never go wrong with that. The other courses, they were just nice. Nothing was wrong with them, but nothing outstanding either. The shaved foie gras should have been great, because foie gras, but unfortunately it was a letdown. Also I had about one and a half almonds in mine while my partner had about 10. That sort of thing is just really not what you would expect at a two-​Michelin star restaurant. Luckily my partner gave me a few of his.
None of the other courses were very memorable. Something you could get at any other Michelin star restaurant, and definitely not what one would expect from one of the best restaurants in the world. It just felt lack-​luster. Which is unfortunate. Again, nothing was bad with them, just nothing amazing either. The cheese trolley was also a bit disappointing. No real interesting choices and nothing that wowed me. I did like the fennel crisps to go with it though. The pre-​dessert was pretty nice, but again, nothing amazing.
So it’s definitely not a place I think i need to go back to. It wasn’t great. It was just nice. The service was impeccable and friendly, so that’s always a plus, but given the lack of originality with the dishes, it’s not a top world restaurant in my opinion. If you really must do it, go for it, but I think you can find yourself more interesting and better food in London.

Michelin Two-​Starred restaurant The Ledbury, London. Its like a modern french cuisine with a british touch. The art was definitely more easier to interpret and to understand than some of the french three michelin star cuisines. I enjoyed every part of the meal especially the black truffle, young deer, scallp, and lamb meat. Taste was unique yet elegant and acquired that euphoric taste.

It was yet another exceptional menu at The Ledbury, top food and and top service and I just couldn’t really find any fault at all. But in Brett’s view, it is still work in progress, he continually seeks as to how the place can be improved and I absolutely salute his willingness and determination. On a final note, I would recommend the tasting menu over the a la carte, because for a little more, you would be able to experience the full package of The Ledbury and one not to be missed.

Great place to go to on any occasion. I don’t believe that this place will ever be a let down as long as the culinary team remains somewhat the same.
The food that was served that night used classic flavors and elevated it to make many dishes quite innovative/​creative. It definitely wasn’t boring. For those who enjoy beauty more than taste, these dishes have impeccable plating skills.
Service was of course amazing as well.
Please come here if you haven’t been!

Beautiful top notch Nottinghill area restaurant.
Delicious beer and wine selection to go with your perfect food.
Speaking of perfection, the bread is amazing. If a restaurant can’t get the bread right, it’s usually a bad sign. This restaurant starts blazing hot and keeps it going until your stomach is full and your wallet is empty.

Presented whole prior to carving, the GF was a bit aghast, but did not let on. I was ecstatic. A huge honor, considering it was the first of the season and shot by the Chef himself, I was excited to say the least
Woodcock
Brain, breast, thigh, kebab of heart, raisin
Gorgeously presented, the breast was not overly gamey. Quite moist, it served medium rare. The thigh had more of a chew and ate like BBQ. The head was butterflied and obviously housed the brain, which was creamy and surprisingly sweet. Macerated raisins and water chestnuts rounded out the dish.
We can’t forget about the kebab of heart, lightly grilled, with great texture and a surprising sweetness.
Cheese Course [15 Pound Supplement = $ 24.58]
We also opted for the cheese course, presented by a wonderful cheesemonger from Brittany, France. Knowing we were Philly, she jokingly noted that there was no cream cheese, but went through the wide selection on offer.
We ultimately decided on an all-​British feature, including a wonderful burnt ash goat cheese, which was salty, creamy, and smoky. A gorgeous triple crème herbal milk’s cheese. A semi-​soft cheese not unlike Camembert.
And last, we had a blue cheese that was herbal, yet expectedly funky. Candied smoked pecans and honey were paired with the semi-​soft and blue cheese, respectively. Rustic crackers were also provided as well.
Pre-​Dessert
Prune granite, cream custard
Pre-​dessert was a prune granite over a cream custard. Light and refreshing — the perfect entry to dessert proper.
Burnt Cream
Chicory, roast pear ice cream, beremeal cake
The burnt cream ate like crème brûlée without the overt vanilla flavors. The beremeal cake was moist and had a nice spice to it. Strands of pear were paired with the roast pear ice cream providing sweet, slightly tangy flavors.
Hazelnut Puffs
A pair of hazelnut puffs were light and perfumed, with candied hazelnuts on top to provide texture.
Nitro Coconut
Coconut ice cream
A coconut shell housed nitro coconut ice cream within — cold, delicious, and eaten to great effect with the liquid nitrogen.
Juniper Pirouettes
Lime
Finally, juniper pirouettes housed a tangy lime crème to provide a nice bite to end our meal.
But that actually wasn’t the end! GM Darren McHugh kindly offered to bring us down to the kitchen to meet Chef Austin and the brigade. Heading down the stairs, I couldn’t help but snap a picture of the woodcock guarding the kitchen from above.
Quiet and immaculate, it’s what you would expect from a proper Michelin-​starred restaurant. In addition to introducing us to his staff, Chef brought us out a final snack of chocolate and coffee crisp.
Chef Austin also revealed that he had just been to L’Arpege and we both expressed our admiration for all that Chef Alain Passard has accomplished, with the simplest of ingredients.
And with a final picture and handshake, our experience came to an end. Service as a whole was extremely precise, yet personable and relaxed. I couldn’t rate it any higher. The meal was wonderful, with the quality of the ingredients shining through. It’s safe to say that while there are more than few restaurants I’d like to try the next time I’m in London, The Ledbury will be a mainstay of each visit.

Service was wonderful and the food was delicious. They were very accommodating with our daughter and we had a thoroughly enjoyable meal. The atmosphere was very light and pleasing in the middle of a cute neighborhood. The desserts were especially memorable.

Pretty wonderful. 5 stars for the service we were able to book on-​line for our party of 7 at a reasonable time. They were wonderful to accommodate one of our diners who was rather picky when it came to food. 5 star setting. 5 star for the very nice Sommelier who was a gracious as pretty.
As for the tasting menu, it had it’s hits and misses. The menu is changing so little we can add to help you. Wonderful job with seafood and truffles.

Quietly exquisite. That’s how I’d describe my evening here. Or maybe understatedly charming is better. Or refreshingly unstuffy? Dang it, our meal here was just so downright lovely that it’s hard to do it justice in words!
I loved that for such a well-​known (and double Michelin-​starred no less!) place, the atmosphere is just so relaxed. It’s a bright but cosy dining room, and the staff are so welcoming that I felt very well taken care of right from the start (or maybe I was just overly impressed by the engraved handbag hook I was given at the table!).
It’s fun to people-​watch here too — you can spot the regular set mingling with holidaying foodies who’ve read about it in a ‘Best Restaurants in London’ list (or Unilocaled it ;). And then there was us, 2 wide-​eyed and hungry housemates looking to celebrate a birthday by splurging on great food and wine.
That’s exactly what we got with the tasting menu. It changes regularly so there’s little point detailing what we had, but you can tell the ingredients are high quality and each course had real substance for me — all beautifully presented without any need for the OTT flourishes that you find elsewhere. And ohh baby, the wine pairings. Do it. Don’t agonise over the money at this point — if you’re there, you may as well do it right!
You’ll need to break open the piggy bank (or three) for this one, as it’s possibly the most expensive meal I’ve ever had. And yet, after working its very special down-​to-​earth magic, it’s the first place in this price bracket that I can actually imagine coming back to try again. Now if only they’d halve all the prices and I really would be back once a month!

My first impression of The Ledbury: practically perfect in every way.
It was not easy to make a reservation here during Christmas season, but I managed to squeeze one in just before they close. So glad that I did and what a wonderful dinner we had!
The Ledbury is located on a quiet residential street at Notting Hill. For a 2 Michelin star establishment it has a very warm and intimate ambience. It’s moderately sized and very nicely decorated. I love how their lighting is soft but just bright enough, as opposed to most other fine dining restaurants where I literally have to use the candle light to read the menu, and get sleepier as the meal progresses. I never understand why this seems to be the rule for high end restaurants but I’m glad it wasn’t the case at The Ledbury.
I’m not going to go in detail for each dish because frankly I can’t remember all the names, and it’d be an absolute disgrace to put down «that fish dish with some green sauce on the side». Check out my photos if you are interested. However, I have to say that every dish was impeccable. Beautifully presented, very well balance flavours, nice texture, and we certainly cleared every single plate. That is quite an achievement because there are 9 dishes! All the dishes came promptly, enough time in between, but never made me wonder where’s the next one.
Our servers were friendly and helpful. This is definitely a meal to remember and I will return at some point in the future…

Did the 5 course tasting; good food but not the best I’ve had. The location is set in Notting Hill and it’s absolutely darling. The restaurant is beautiful and chic, but it was a little too quiet. That’s one thing that I don’t like about fine dining; people take it so seriously that they forget to have fun during the experience. Other than that, it was lovely. Wine list was a little limited, but the choices were still nice. I wouldn’t necessarily say it should be in the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants, but maybe I should go back again and give it another try.

The Ledbury consistently delivers a quality experience but when it comes to food and service and it has been the same on every visit. I do actually feel a bit bad that I have not written a review sooner but after yet another fabulous visit I felt it was time. We had a fairly early reservation for 18.30 so when arriving we were the second table to be seated. We were promptly seated and immediately someone asked if we wanted an apéritif and who would say no to that. We opted for a glass of champagne each. I opted for the Bérèche et Fils and my lovely companion S opted for the Jacques Picard rosé champagne. Having tried both before these were safe bets and the Bérèche et Fils is in my opinion slightly better than the Picard when drunk on its own while the Picard is a great option with some food. In general the wine list is good but having seen what for example Pollen Street Social are doing with the Coravin (nifty little device that allows you to pour one glass from a bottle, of course not from sparkling) and offering everything by the glass I did feel that the wine list per glass could have been a bit more extensive. That said we had a chat with the sommelier and found some great options for a few glasses each to accompany the food.
That brings us in to the food. As this was a repeat visit the expectations were justifiable high but they were no doubt met. No issues with exchanging a few dishes on the tasting menu either so that is nice. The meal started with some lovely amuse bouche that really made me want more. Moving into the proper food we had some fabulous dishes. There was nothing that was average so every single dish was either good or better than that. The highlights included the onion soup with truffle and cheese bread, the heritage tomato salad (so simple yet brilliant) and the pigeon (the only good pigeon is a dead pigeon cooked by the Ledbury…). Desserts were plentiful and as usual when having the tasting menus I always end up feeling as if I ate a bit too much.
The service was exactly the way I like it — they are knowledgeable (had some fairly detailed questions about the produce), take the time and also manage to be service-​minded yet relaxed. The Ledbury remains one of my favorite fine dining options not only in London but globally.

Wow!
Tout simplement un des meilleurs, que dis-​je, LE meilleur plat que j’ai jamais dégusté.
De passage à Londres, et à l’occasion de l’anniversaire de ma chérie, on s’est fait le plaisir d’un déjeuner au Ledbury, restaurant 2 étoiles Michelin au coeur de Notting Hill.
2 étoiles? Ca veut vraiment dire quelque chose? Très clairement, OUI!
Au-​delà de la qualité du service (absolument irréprochable) ou de la déco très soignée, il y a dans l’assiette du génie qu’on né retrouve que dans ce type d’établissements. La créativité des recettes, la démonstration technique, la justesse absolue des cuissons et une grande subtilité dans les saveurs le démarquent indéniablement d’un «très bon restaurant».
Passons aux choses sérieuse.
— L’entrée: déclinaison d’artichauts violets, de Jérusalem et Chinois avec des noisettes, de la poire, et une poudreuse de foie gras. Une poudreuse? Oui, du foie gras «gratté» et presque glacé, qui fond dans la bouche avec une telle délicatesse…
— Le plat: un filet de bar cuit à l’unilatéral, coques, poireau grillé, sauce au riesling et truffe. Le poisson était coloré et cuit à la perfection, le poireau était un délice, sans une once d’amertume alors qu’encore légèrement croquant. La sauce d’une très grande subtilité avec la truffe présente mais qui n’emporte pas le plat. Des petites touches qui explosent en bouche comme ces feuilles se rapprochant de la citronelle. Du grand art.
— Le dessert: une poire rôtie dans un beurre brun, caramel du Chef au lait de chèvre, glacé à la noix (une tuerie), noix pralinées et petit gâteau aux épices pour terminer en beauté.
Si l’Angleterre n’est pas forcement réputée pour sa gastronomie, force est de constater que les grandes tables sont beaucoup plus abordables qu’à Paris. Un 2 étoiles à ce prix là (35£ entrée+plat+dessert), on aurait eu tort de s’en priver!
Reste plus qu’à programmer un autre week-​end à Londres juste pour y retourner!

Ever eaten in a two-​star Michelin restaurant in Los Angeles? What about in London? This was my chance to compare… Providence vs. Ledbury.
One thing about the Ledbury is that it’s tucked away in a residential area in Notting Hill. The other is that it’s smart casual, so not many suits here… mostly locals. Once the Chinese arrive with cameras it’ll be over… oh, that’s us! :) Pics:

The décor is a relaxed, but curated vintage look: velvet embossed black drapes, chairs with muted, but unmatching textile designs, plates that change with the courses. A real sensory experience. Pics:
We chose the set menu $ 150/​pp without wine.
#1 Amuse bouche. Pics:

#2 #2 Chantilly of oysters with oyster tartare, cucumber and radish. Pics:
#3 Flame-​grilled mackerel, melon radish, celeric mustard and shiso. Pics:
#4 «Risotto» celeriac, new potato, smoked eel and parsley. Pics:
#5 Fillet seabass, brocolli stem, crab and black quinoa. Pics:
#6 Jowl of pork, walnut, apple and black pudding. Pics:
#7 Saddle of roe deer, red vegetables leaves, rhubarb and bone
:
#8 Pre-​dessert. Pics:
#9 #9 Brown sugar tart with poached grapes and ginger stem ice-​cream. Pics:
Post-​dessert. Pics:
So what was my conclusion? Ledbury was pricier than Providence due to it being in London, but it was worth every penny. The dining experience was more relaxed than at Providence, yet there was no lack of dining experience and excitement to see what the next dish had in store for my tastebuds. I’d come back here. But, not so much for Providence.