On a holiday, where you manage to go to a 1 Michelin Star restaurant (which also holds the #7 spot on the 2013 World’s 50 Best Restaurants index) as well as a 2 Michelin Star restaurant – I think it’s fair to say you’ve done pretty well. While my 1 Michelin Star experience can be revisited here, my 2 Star experience was for my birthday at The Ledbury in the beautiful suburb of Notting Hill, London.
It was one of those meals that just got better and better as the night went on. I was a bit uncertain to begin with as we walked into the rather formal dining room. I was afraid it would turn into a stuffy, conservative meal. You know the ones I mean – where the staff are condescending, the room overly quiet and full of old, rich people. Turns out the only problem was that we had turned up to the restaurant rather early (a 7pm booking is considered early).
Soon the guests started flowing in, filling the restaurant with noisy chatter. It also seemed to relax the wait-staff, which led to some banterous conversation with us as well. We sat by the window, our only table decoration being a small, irregular-shaped ceramic bowl filled with dark rice and a hollowed egg. I like the idea of using food as decoration – you are, after all, at a restaurant!
There are two options for dinner – £80.00 for three courses, or the £105.00 nine course degustation. We went for the former, which turned out to be well more than simply 3 courses. We were first served a canapé of a Gruyère Tartlet with Pickled Carrot. The crisp pastry was well balanced by the tangy gruyère cheese. I love how the edible flower adds that extra bit of colour, making it seem like such a fresh, summery snack! We were also served a selection of small breads, and whole warm loaf that looked like it had just come out of the oven! I went for the Bacon and Onion Brioche – super tasty and fresh, bacon and onion is always a great combination and would work well in a tart or pie I think.
We were then served an amuse bouche of Chilled Courgette Soup with Lobster – what an absolute treat this was! Food with strong vibrant colours is always amazing. That green, coupled with a cold soup and lobster (and that black caviar!) really signifies summer to me – albeit a very expensive, refined summer. All of these little yummy goodies and the main deal hadn’t even begun yet! If you’re like me and have a small stomach, I’d recommend going slow on the bread, even though it is so so tasty.
For my entree I had Hampshire Buffalo Milk Curd with Saint-Nectaire, Truffle Toast and a Broth of Grilled Onions. I loved how different aspects of the dish were presented separately, so you can taste them by themselves or with the milk curd in the centre. The onion broth was artfully poured over the dish at the table, while the truffle toast was served separately on what looks like a log of wood. For me the highlight was definitely the truffle toast. The crunchy bread, subtle but not overpowering truffle flavour delicately shaven over the toast was perfect. I wish I could have this as a daily snack. Saint-Nectaire, by the way, is a French cheese that has its origins around the 17th century. Similar to the menu design at Dinner by Heston, I liked the incorporation of old and more contemporary ingredients and cooking styles.
S. went for the summery and very fresh-looking Salad of Green Beans with Fresh Almonds, Peach and Grated Foie Gras. While my entree had a ‘heavier’ feel to it and could well have been a Winter dish, S.’s salad definitely exuded a summer feeling. She says the peaches were the best bit, as well as the almond slithers. How great are nuts in a salad?! Grated foie gras was definitely something new but all together the dish was super refreshing. Would recommend it if you’re planning on having a larger, more substantial main course.
As soon as I saw bone marrow and celeriac on the list of main courses, I knew I had to go for the Fillet of Belted Galloway Beef with Celeriac Baked in Juniper, Bone Marrow and Crisp Potato. Bone marrow, along with celeriac, is a very under-used and under-rated ingredient. I feel like I always bang on about this. In this dish, however, the bone marrow was presented sans bone, ‘disembodied’ as little lumps on top of the beef fillet. The meat was amazingly tender – the type where you barely have to chew yet it is still substantial. I believe in simple plating and ‘accessorising’ of good meat. For this dish, the only accompaniments were the small celeriac (which looks like a black rock on the picture) and some thinly sliced potato. If the meat is that good, there’s no need to cover it up with a million sides.
Before S.’s main was served, it was brought out to us ‘pre-plated’. I’d never seen this happen before. The purpose was to demonstrate to us how the Jowl of Tamworth Pork with Apricots, Girolles and Caramalised Almonds was cooked with various spices (including star anise as seen above), and how the skin would be removed once back in the kitchen and fried separately to make crackling. We appreciated this explanation immensely. As guests at the restaurant it made us feel included in the cooking process. We don’t just receive it at the end, we know a little bit more about what’s done to it in the kitchen. Post-plating was yet again another artistic masterpiece. While the steak at Dinner by Heston wasn’t the best steak that S. had ever had, this was definitely the best pork she’s ever had. She said it was the perfect follow-up to her refreshing entree.
As I mentioned above, we went to the Ledbury for my birthday. The kind staff surprised us with a complimentary dessert, the Mille-Feuille of Alphonso Mango with Vanilla and Kaffir Lime Ice Cream – a super puffy of the usually flat and rather slice-like dessert. The mango pieces were a lovely surprise hidden amongst the cream. Of course S. and I had also ordered our own desserts. I had the Pavé of Chocolate with Milk Purée and Lovage Ice Cream and S. had the Passion Fruit Soufflé with Sauternes Ice Cream.
Prior to ordering, there was an awkward moment in our conversation where we both stopped and our eyes involuntarily followed a group of soufflés from the kitchen to the table next to us. Our waiter actually came up to us and said: “So you’ll be having two soufflés then?” Seriously, there were four of these things on one tray. Whatever I was saying to S., she had stopped listening a long time ago to stare at that soufflé magnificence.
A generous dollop of Saunteres Ice Cream was shoved into the soufflé – boy can you imagine that combination? Saunteres is a sweet French wine and again I’m loving the use of unusual ingredients. The ice cream in my dessert was extremely unusual. Lovage is in fact a plant that is used in salads – kind of similar in taste/smell to celery. I felt like it didn’t go too well with the chocolate but then again, I’m rather traditional in my desserts.
Wow – what a meal. I would definitely recommend The Ledbury for a special occasion in London. The menu is constantly changing as well, and there is a large selection. Too expensive for dinner? Why not go for the set lunch priced at £35.00 for three courses? That’s a bargain for a 2 Michelin Star restaurant! Perhaps next time we meet again London…
The Ledbury
127 Ledbury Road
Notting Hill
London W11 2AQ
http://www.theledbury.com/
