Rating: ★★★★★

Address: 127 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London, W11 2AQ

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7792 9090

You are planning your trip to London and you are scrolling down the list of Michelin starred restaurants. You suddenly realise that there are over 50 of them in London alone – what should you do? The best solution is to skip the Michelin one-starred restaurants and head for the two-starred ones.

Restaurants with two Michelin stars typically have an edge over the ones with only one star. Moreover, they will usually be striving for the third star, so they usually perform consistently well. Michelin three-starred restaurants are excellent, needless to say, but tend to be more lavish and might not be suitable for a meal on the run.

The Ledbury is a great example of a phenomenal Michelin two-starred restaurant, with gracious service and mouthwatering food. It is difficult to secure a table at the Ledbury, so we were very happy that we managed to find a table at 9.45pm during the week. The restaurant’s popularity was immediately evident in the fact that it was completely full on a Tuesday evening, despite its not-so-central location (by that, I mean a 15-minute walk from Westbourne Park tube station). I can, however, assure you that the meal was definitely worth our walk in the cold!

For lunch, there is a set menu (£35.00 for three courses) as well as the à la carte menu, but for dinner there is only a fixed menu and you can choose how many courses you want to order. The set dinner is not cheap and costs £80.00 for three courses, but it is worth every penny as the food truly exceptional!

The Australian super-star chef Brett Graham certainly did not disappoint, and produced thoughtful and delicious food throughout the entire meal.

(1) The amuse-bouche was a Soft Boiled Quail and Mushroom Marmalade, which was a playful and delectable combination. Not to mention the portion was perfect!

(2) After the amuse-bouche, I delved straight into the bread basket for the tasty breadroll (on the right in the photo below), which had delicious onion and bacon bits in it!

(3) Your heart will literally sing, as mine did, as you eat this Flame Grilled Mackerel with Smoked Eel, Celtic Mustard and Shiso. The mackerel was tender and deliciously burnt on the surface, and the creamy Celtic mustard was wrapped in a chewy (and slightly sweet) gelatin packet.

(4) Also an appetiser, the Oyster Tartare with Horseradish and Dill tasted sea-fresh and the seasoning was absolutely agreeable. How elegant and edible did the oysters look in a cocktail glass! There was also the Cornish Oyster Chantilly which was marvellously crispy and decadent.

(5) I apologise to animal-lovers for having eaten bunnies…but the Hand Rolled Macaroni Stuffed with Rabbit and Celery was marvellously al dente, and was cooked with an excellent Velouté of Toasted Hay and Truffle. This dish surely got brownie points for the shaved black truffle, which all girls absolutely love!

(6) This main course below was the Roast Turbot with Crab, Pinenuts, Cauliflower and Blood Orange. Arghhhhh!! Look at the floral pile on the right – who shaves cauliflowers like this? It looked so pretty and so much like snowflakes that I didn’t want to eat it!

(7) You just have to come and try this Jowl and Cheek of Pork with Carrots, Spice Cream, Pedro Ximénez and Dried Chicory Reduction! The pork has been slow-cooked for 8 hours and it was jelly-soft and literally melted in my mouth! It beats the phenomenal pork dishes at L’atelier de Joel Robuchon and Hibiscus! Best pork ever!

(8) For pre-dessert, we had a Pineapple Jelly with Coconut Foam. It was very tropical anddelicious, and tasted like an edible piña colada!

(9) The Passion Fruit Soufflé with Sauternes Ice Cream was light and fluffy, and the sweet and citrus passion fruit seeds and syrup gave the dessert a fruity flair. We loved it!

(10) The Caramelised Banana Galette with Salted Caramel, Peanut Oil Parfait was absolutely amazing as well! The thinly sliced caramlised banana was sweet and crunchy and tasted wonderfully in my mouth.

(11) Our last dessert was the Mille Feuille with Vanilla, Rhubarb and Clementine Leaf. Don’t let the word “rhubarb” scare you; this mille feuille was absolutely fluffy, buttery and delightful, and we ate it in seconds!