After a hot and exotic November spent in Thailand, December was rather dreary for me…over indulgence on holiday meant a healthy December and avoiding Christmas treats. Mulled wine is especially hard to say no to! That said, I was particularly looking forward to the treat planned for my three year anniversary with the lovely Mr Silver.
The Ledbury in Notting Hill has been on my restaurant bucket list for years but I’d always struggled to get a booking. This time I was prepared and secured a table two months before the big day! Its not hard to see why the Ledbury is difficult to get into, it is one of only 9 two Michelin star restaurants in London and is also the holder of 3 AA Rosettes.
So dressed in our finery, including my 5 and half inch Jimmy Choos which only make an outing on occasions when I’m unlikely to move from a sitting position, we arrived at the restaurant with eager anticipation.
The restaurant is classic in design with large feature windows, cream furnishing and dark wood. Ambience is buzzy but formal and at *little* staid.
We started off the meal with a glass of the house champagne, which was disappointingly watery and lacking in flavour. But I still somehow managed to drink it…
With so many wonderful food choices we opted for the tasting menu and, as it was a celebration, Mr Silver order a bottle of Louis Roederer to wash it down with.
Bread was delicious and as well as the table bread we were offered other choices, a particular favourite was the bacon and onion brioche bread!
Our first course was a starter of artichoke and foie gras, I don’t like foie gras and I was given crapaudine beetroot with smoked eel and olives. As a big foodie I generally know what items on the menu are but I’d never heard of crapadine beetroot! It turned out to be a carrot shaped beetroot!
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| Mr Silver’s Foie |
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| A rather unusual beetroot |
The beetroot kind of looked like blood smeared on a plate and would not have been a dish I would have personally chosen but it was light and enjoyable. A sneaky taste of Mr Silver’s foie (Iknow, I know!) revealed that this was the better of the two.
Here’s what followed:
Grilled mackerel with pickled cucumber
Crisp quails egg with Perigord truffle. A highlight for me!
Cornish turbot with grilled leek. I had this as an alternative to the jowl of pork which I didn’t really fancy but Mr Silver enjoyed!
Sea Bass with brassicas, chopped oysters and sake. Another mystery item! Brassicas are cruciferous vegetables apparently. I love sea bass and this was my favourite dish!
Loin of Sika Deer with celeriac baked in juniper and crisp potato
All the savoury dishes were delicious and beautifully presented but, as I always find, the problem with a tasting menu is that such a small portion you really can’t savour the dish.
A pre-dessert
Dessert! Pear cooked in brown butter with walnut, beremeal and caramelised goat’s milk. The dessert was a light and tasty way to end the meal but it may not have been my first choice from the menu.
A very happy couple and a lovely meal!!
I really enjoyed The Ledbury and I was delighted to tick the restaurant off my bucket list! However, for me it doesn’t compare to my two favourite restaurants in London, Alain Ducasse and Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road. I guess I’m just a hard princess to please!
I visited The Ledbury in January 2014
