Each time I have set foot in London for the past decade, I have made the point of dining at The Ledbury. This trip we only have two nights here, so we landed, rested for much of the day and then headed across town for our two Michelin star experience.
I had already advised the hotel Sam was vegetarian and they had their tasting menu for that, and it was no issue when we asked them to add in poultry. The only choice on Saturday is a 6 or 8 course tasting and we were fine with that...
Will and I settled in with cocktails called Mezcal tonic of Ilegal Joren Mezcal, thyme and FeverTree Lemon Tonic, while Sam ordered a mocktail, of which he had many throughout the meal paired with all of his courses.
Canapes or Amuses arrived in droves:
Sea weed crisp with smoked mussel
and for Sam the veggie Sunflower crisp with artichoke and lemon.
We all had the Guinea fowl puff with mead jelly which was amazing and then we had the
Warm Crumpet with Brown crab butter and potted shrimp while Sam's crumpet had Tamworth cream and crispy shallots.
Everyone here works in a team and it's really amazing how you are never ever left on watched or in need of anything. Javier and Steph were our lead servers with sommelier Patrick doing all the pouring and in many cases reporting the refills, which were never refused.
We had not been to The Ledbury in several years and of course right after we went last time they had the horrible under riots which resulted in a lot of damage to the front glass windows and dining room. It's been redone and redecorated and now they're a beautiful chandelier is which were decorated with branches and blown glass droplet ornaments hanging from the branches, still maintaining the original feel and again with only a handful of tables. Zalto crystal is now used which is classy, but a bit too light for my tatse; I like to feel the weight of the wine glass. Our first wine was a 2016 Alvarinho, Deu La Deu, Adega de Moncso from the Vinho Verde region of Portugal. It's the first time I had an oaked Albarino and it was spectacular and it was the first of many brilliant pairings with Marinated Sea Bream (tartare)with horseradish, seaweed oil and a light cream.
Samuel's first course was a gorgeous Artichoke salad. He moved on to a white beetroot baked in clay with goat cheese and hazelnut which was paired with an Afghan rosebud spritzer.
Our next course was the same White Beetroot, But it doing with caviar salt and smoked eel. The wine was a 2016 Riesling Trocken, Clemens Busch from Mosel; a bone dry organic wine with loads of mineral flavors from the blue and black shale terroir.
Warm Porridge Sourdough bread arrived with a thick crunchy crust and Goat's Whey butter with molasses!! There are tons of pictures on Facebook but I think I forgot the delicious bread.
I think we all agreed that our favorite course of the evening was of the Warm Bantam's Egg with celeriac, Arbois, dried ham and chestnuts but for Sam instead of the ham he managed to get shaved truffles!! The magnificent egg just used all over the place and it was truly an amazing dish. Sam's paired tail was made with Apple lemon and fennel while we enjoyed a 2014 Rully Vielles Vignes, Gresigny 1er Cru from Vincent Dureuil-Janthial in Burgundy that was much thicker than any Rully I have had with gorgeous lines and legs in the glass!
Cornish Cod with Toasted Grains, Parsley and Cauliflower puree was next, while Sam has a Salt Baked Kabu Turnip in Padron Pepper sauce with dried olives and Ewe's milk ricotta.
Our wine was a South African 2017 Tin Soldier Semillon Gris from Thorne & Daughters in Swartland. We had this amazing rose while in Africa and have come to love it.
The next course was simply called Agen Prune as the prune comes from that place in France. Ours was with an unreal Earl Grey Tea and Bacon Sauce and was stuffed with Guinea Fowl stuffing!! A 2015 Cuvee Maisons-Dieu Domaine Violot-Guillemard from Burgundy was our first red and a magnificent Pinot Noir that was earthy and less fruity than the ones from the US.
Sam got the Roast Cauliflower with Chanterelles and Yeast paired with Jasmine tea with Lemongrass and Yuzu, a kind of sweet and sour drink that mixologist Dan created on the spot; he was brilliant behind the bar!
The "main" course was a perfectly cooked just past rare Aged Pigeon from Anjou, France which had been presented while at the table earlier on a nest of hay as it was roasted over that for flavor. It was served with Endive cooked in Grilled Oil, red leaves (radicchio,) and veggies all in a thick pigeon jus with truffle cream that had hints of BBQ flavors. On the side were 3 small skewers with grilled heart, liver and wing which were a triumph of flavor in themselves. Alas, Sam, newly a poultrytarian(?), had to surrender his to me! Sam drank stem ginger, cranberry and lime while we adored gutsy 2015 Saumur-Champigny, La Folie from Chateau Yvonne in the Loire that we just had to get refills on.
Pre-dessert was a Pumpkin (Custard)Chantilly with Dandelion ice cream and Whey Caramel that we all loved and Sam went on to the regular dessert of Christmas Tart of clementine and nutmeg which at first he didn't seem to like but managed to gobble up. Will and I chose the cheese trolley as Steph carefully explained the spread and we chose, but I opted not to write down the choices(look at the FB foto and try and guess!). The wine was an Albert Boxler 2012 Grand Cru Brand Riesling from Alsace that was fascinating with lots of minerals hidden amongst a trace of light sweetness.
As if this was not enough a happy 10th anniversary plate of chocolate and crunches arrived, Even though I had explained to the staff that it was not Will and mine 10th anniversary, but my 10th anniversary of first coming to the Ledbury!!
Of course mignardies arrived and these were exquisite chocolate eucalyptus truffles, but even better were the crispy caramel, lime and juniper sticks!! What a way to go home!
It would take a lot to make me change my mind that there is a better restaurant in the British Isles, indeed The Ledbury is surely one of the finest dining destinations I can think of on Earth.
