This weekend The Ledbury was named the UK’s favourite restaurant in a vote in the Observer Food Monthly supplement. It’s by no means the first accolade for this 2 Michelin Star modern French restaurant in Notting Hill, helmed by the well known Australian chef Brett Graham. As well as the latest honour in the OFM awards, the Ledbury is also ranked tenth in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, has a five star rating in Time Out and the number one Zagat ranking amongst London restaurants.
Harden’s restaurant guide describes the food at The Ledbury as “genius” and scores the food as a one, service as a one and ambience as a two. Jay Rayner interviewed Graham as part of the Observer Awards edition and described the Ledbury’s food as “a menu of earthy British ingredients, treated with respect and imagination rather than processed to within an inch of their lives”. He also presented the restaurant as a constant work in progress, constantly changing to remain fresh – something demonstrated by the recent arrival of former Fat Duck creative head Jocky Petrie.
The people at the Ledbury pride themselves on not being too stuffy or pretentious and making the restaurant feel like somewhere people can relax, enjoy themselves and want to return to regularly. The front of house staff are told their job is not to follow rules and regulations but to adjust to everybody’s needs. This leads to a more relaxed and unstuffy environment and should also lend itself to the staff being really helpful for less able customers.
One of the great legends of The Ledbury is of an occasion during the 2011 riots in which the staff really went the extra mile to look after their customers. When about fifteen looters turned up unannounced at the restaurant and started to break windows and mug people in the restaurant, the staff fought back. The story goes that, realising that trouble had kicked off in the dining room, the kitchen staff came out wielding knives and rolling pins to protect their customers. It’s unclear if this is exactly what actually happened, but there is clear evidence that rioters did attack the restaurant and it became one of the defining stories of the riots. Such bravery and commitment only makes The Ledbury more endearing.
We adore the The Ledbury and gave them a maximum 3 BBS Ticks as well as honouring them at our own BBS Awards last year. The access is very good – step free entrance via a ramp and a fully equipped disabled toilet behind reception. When we last went, the chocolate souffle dunked with honeycomb was worth the trip itself!
