The Ledbury
The Ledbury
© Britta Jaschinski
Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says
Wed Oct 17 2012
On a busy weeknight, the Ledbury has all the relaxed bustle and hum of a hit French brasserie, yet as the international crowd and full reservations book shows, this edge-of-Notting-Hill spot has become a place of pilgrimage for lovers of fine dining.
Chef Brett Graham is arguably Australia’s most successful culinary export, but don’t come expecting wattle table decorations and waiters in shorts – even the east-west fusion that characterised upmarket Australian cooking in the 1990s is almost imperceptible. Yes, there’s Japanese herb shiso in the unmissable signature dish of flame-grilled mackerel with smooth avocado sauce; salted cherry blossom with roast leg and confit breast of pigeon; and kaffir lime in a mango millefeuille. But interesting ways with root veg (celeriac and beetroot baked in ash, for example) are just as typical.
Flavours are thrillingly layered: witness a pre-dessert of olive oil panna cotta with hibiscus-poached peach and sweet cicely granita. Amid such creativity, classic French passionfruit soufflé with Sauternes ice-cream seemed tongue-in-cheek, yet was faultless nevertheless. The intense creamy filling of the vanilla tart was lent an acidic punch with a layer of blackcurrants, while blackcurrant leaf ice-cream added a tempering green note to the plate.
Meat mains are elegantly butch, based on the likes of roebuck, Portland hogget, and cheek and jowl of pork. Wines start at £7 per glass; naturally, the charming sommeliers are happy to suggest wine pairings for each course. You’ll find a good choice of beers too. We finished with Turkey Flat PX sherry, unusually from the Barossa Valley in Australia – but that’s the Ledbury for you: intriguing, classy and quietly Aussie-accented.
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