Taste

I chose the six-course tasting menu. Appetizers were absolutely great. Radish tarte with seaweed cracker, foie gras and verison meatball with mustard were both perfect. 

The first course was white beetroot baked in clay with English caviar salt and smoked eel. Smoky flavor of the eel accompanied very well with the thinly sliced white beetroot. The following course was warm Bantam egg with celeriac, dried ham and truffle. The combination of egg and truffle is always a safe and delicious one. It was also an exquisite match with celery and dried ham.

Next was steamed cod fish with anchovy, courgette and basil. It was delicious and plain. I loved the simple yet strong flavors. The successful simplicity shows the expertise of the chef.

Iberian pork with hen of the woods mushroom, potato emulsion and rosemary came afterward. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. It makes a power couple with meat. Hen of the woods is one of the tastiest mushrooms I had so far. It grows in clusters at the base of the trees, especially the oak tree. Both the Iberian pork and mushroom were victoriously cooked. 

Pre-dessert was passion fruit curd with Sauternes, olive oil and donut. The donut was served hot and passion fruit curd was served cold. It was a glorious meeting. The sourness of the passion fruit curd was the correct dosage.

The dessert was, unfortunately, my least favorite in the tasting menu. Dark chocolate chantilly with mint ice cream was mediocre. I was expecting a grand finale after such an ambitious tasting experience. Petite-fours were also not very remarkable.

Service 

The first thing I noticed when I was greeted at the door was how well dressed the staff were. They were all looking so elegant that for an instant I thought that I might have been under-dressed.

I was very satisfied with the quality of the service. The staff was very attentive and friendly. It was an impeccable experience. 

I loved the fact that they brought a table hanger for my bag. This is a gesture that I look forward to seeing in fine dining restaurants. Especially the restaurants with round edge chairs that provide no place to hang your bag. 

I made the reservation easily via Open Table. You may need to make your reservation in advance to get a table. There is a sample menu on the website but the dishes are mostly seasonal.

Creativity

I have seen one of the most elegant looking dishes of my life in The Ledbury. White beetroot served in a marble-like white plate was so classy that I gazed at it for a while before eating.

The use of decorative herbs and wood looked very natural. I also loved the use of stone for the presentation of the dishes. A great variety of different materials were used for tableware.

I found the combination of different ingredients very creative. Brett Graham worked as if he was an alchemist.

The only thing missing was the surprise effect. I didn’t get very excited nor surprised when I first encountered with the dishes.

Value 

The price was too expensive for a six-course degustation menu. It was definitely a great tasting experience, however, needs to offer more for such a price.

The wine list was great. There was an extensive variety of different parts of the world. Fortunately, the sommelier was very experienced and informed me in great detail.