Sunday lunch at The Ledbury

The Ledbury is one of London's most popular fine-dining establishments, located in the rather upmarket Notting Hill residential area. With a string of official awards including 2 Michelin stars and Highest New Entry (34th place) in the 2011 San Pellegrino's list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, as well as the unofficial honour of being London's best restaurant according to popular website Tripadvisor, getting a reservation there is no easy task. The Australian head chef Brett Graham is the protégé of Philip Howard, and had worked at his restaurant The Square, prior to opening The Ledbury in 2005. Obviously, I was very excited when I finally got a table for lunch today, after several unsuccessful attempts in the past.

Ledbury Road - largely residential area.

At a prominent junction - you won't miss it.

Small, elegant and cosy interior.

The Ledbury is probably the only fine restaurant in London that does a Sunday lunch sitting. Customers have two options: either a 3-course affair, or the full tasting menu. As it was my first visit, I opted for the former to get a feel of the cuisine without burning a huge hole in my pocket.

Canapé: squid ink biscuit with turbot purée and turbot roe, garnished with finger lime leaves (a native Australian citrus plant).

An artfully executed and very promising start to the meal. This canapé was a delightful combination of textures - incredibly thin & crispy biscuit layer (it looked so fragile that I thought it was going to break under the toppings when I picked it up), with thick & creamy purée and juicy & gelatinous roe. The piece as a whole tasted extremely fresh and full of savoury flavours from the sea.

Bread: As with the Roganic review, I feel compelled to write a short paragraph on the bread offerings here as they were simply amazing. Three types were offered - sourdough, crystallised malt, and onion & bacon brioche - not a spectacular variety but every piece was warm, oven fresh, and so fragrant and fluffy that I could keep going if not for the rest of the dishes! My favourite was the brioche - incredibly buttery, savoury (but not too salty), aromatic, with generous bits of onion and bacon scattered throughout. I had 3 pieces throughout the meal, which is quite a mouthful! The salted butter was also very rich, creamy and smooth and started to melt the moment it touched a warm piece of bread - simply comforting.

If only I could have this for breakfast everyday!

Amuse bouche: flamed grilled mackerel with artichoke purée, Celtic mustard, pickled cucumber, cucumber jelly wrap with smoked eel tartare, shiso dressing, and sprinklings of shallots and white sesame.

Simply a work of art!

How does one even begin to eat this? It was so beautifully plated that it became a work of art in its own right. This is actually a signature dish of the restaurant and a staple on the tasting menu, which the kitchen very kindly prepared as a special for my first visit. This Japanese-inspired dish tasted as stunning as it looked - the mackerel was extremely fresh and moist, and the natural sweetness and oiliness of the flesh was subtly enhanced with the creamy artichoke purée. The crispy charred skin went very well with the creamy eel tartare, while the use of shallots and sesame provided aromatic depth and a nice crunch. Despite its apparent richness, the whole dish tasted very 'clean' due to the use of cucumber in both pickled and jellied forms (very refreshing) and shiso dressing (in English: perilla leaf, a strong-flavoured herb thought to have anti-inflammatory properties). Flawless execution throughout.

My server told me that the chef's specialty is game, so I went with her recommendations.

Starter: roasted quail breast with a leg confit, on a bed of lentils, iberico ham and chanterelles, topped with chervil root shavings and parsnip crisps.

Every mouthful of this dish was an absolute delight. I have never had meat this tender and succulent - you could literally see the juices oozing with every stroke of the knife. An extremely savoury dish enhanced by indulgent slithers of the best ham and earthy mushrooms, amidst the roasting juices. The parsnip crisps provided an extremely appealing crunch. The only thing I didn't quite get in this dish was the chervil root - not much flavour or texture to speak of - but the shavings were, to the kitchen's credit, beautifully done (so thin and even, like white truffle discs!) and made for good presentation.

Main course: a substantial dish in 2 parts - 1) roasted pigeon breast with red vegetables (beetroot, chargrilled celeriac and pickled baby onions) and leaves, rhubarb (both diced and puréed), chantilly of foie gras; 2) leg confit, and on the skewer of liquorice root, various parts of the pigeon: wing, fillet and heart.

This dish caught my eye immediately with its extremely flamboyant and striking red colour scheme. Excellently cooked, just like my quail starter. The foie gras chantilly (the thick yellowish cream) provided a touch of luxury and complemented the rich savoury flavour of the meat perfectly. The vegetables provided an essential balance, and the rhubarb and pickled onions were particularly memorable for their extreme tartness, which cut through the richness of the dish effectively.

The cheese trolley for the adjacent table, with the nice waitress who took care of me for most of the meal:

Dessert: passionfruit soufflé with Sauternes ice cream.

This deceptively simple dessert was both very light in texture and infused throughout with the unmistakable aroma and taste of passionfruit. Passionfruit seeds scattered within the soufflé provided a nice additional bite. The ice cream was very smooth and rich but its taste was perhaps too subtle to match up to the overpowering passionfruit flavour. Despite the portion being rather generous, I did not feel overwhelmed at the end of it (perhaps due to the tartness of the fruit?), which was good.

Bonus dessert: dark chocolate pavé with milk purée and pumpkin seed ice-cream, with chopped pumpkin seed topping and a dash of pumpkin seed oil.

(I was tempted to order this actually but my server had recommended the soufflé - they seem to be able to read minds!) Another wonderful touch of service from the restaurant whose servers noticed that I was really enjoying the food. This is another of their signature desserts, which features occasionally on the tasting menu. The pavé was utterly indulgent (just like eating a huge slab of chocolate!), topped with roughly ground coffee beans, and sat upon a coffee-flavoured biscuit base. The richness of the chocolate was well matched by the ice-cream, and I thought that the dash of pumpkin seed oil was an ingenious touch, with its intense aroma and nutty taste.

Petit fours: dark chocolate with bourbon ganache filling, milk biscuit with Earl Grey ganache, and blood orange jelly.

Sweet endings; the Earl Grey ganache stood out for its rich bergamot taste, and the jelly was very tangy with a substantial chewy texture.

Two minor bugbears regarding the service - the bread waiter tried to take away my unfinished brioche during my main course, for which he promptly apologised; also both desserts arrived simultaneously, so I was scrambling to finish the ice-creams before they melted. Even if one of the desserts was complimentary, I'm sure the service could have been better timed by the kitchen, so that customers get to focus on and savour each dish completely, instead of shuttling between two plates on the table. 

Having said that, it was on the whole a wonderful first experience - great food and presentation with friendly service to match. I'll surely be back for the tasting menu when I am able to get a table!