Jonesy's review of The Ledbury

I had an evening meal here soon after they received their first Michelin-star, and I was most impressed by the calibre of cooking on offer; in my opinion they produce superior dishes to many other one-star Michelin joints. I returned a year later to sample the set lunch menu with my fellow gourmets from The Arbuturian, and we were greatly impressed.

The food engineered by Aussie chef Brett Graham is inventive, playful and very well constructed. All the flavours work well together, and often provide a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Presentation is very artful too. The set lunch menu is tremendous value at a mere £24.50 for three courses, and portions were very generous. Service here is relaxed yet attentive, and not at all stuffy. The decor is typically modern chic.

The amuse bouche arrived in the form of a beetroot meringue filled with pureed fois gras. The meringue disintegrated in the mouth and led to a wonderfully rich fois gras experience. A great start to a promising meal.

For a starter, I had an interesting smoked celeriac and middle pork dish. The waitress brought us the celeriac on a wooden board to demonstrate how the vegetable had been entombed in a bread-like mould and then smoked with hay, before being sliced and plated up. It was nice to be informed about this complex procedure, and the flavours really spoke for themselves when we got to sample the dish.

For a main, I had beef shin with a Jerusalem artichoke puree and wild mushrooms. The beef was rich and intense, a most warming and tasty dish. My companion opted for the roasted turbot, which he reported to taste as sublime as it looked.

For dessert we chose their cheeseboard, though I recall their desserts being of a very high quality and wish we’d gone for puddings instead.

In summary, this is still an excellent venue and I would recommend it for both lunch and dinner, and with a set lunch menu at such a low price, you have no excuse not to try this place!

Just watch out for the parking wardens if you’re driving. There are meters along Talbot Road and usually plenty of spaces during the day.