#18 The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London (**)

On Thursday I took a half day from work to meet my old flatmate Fritha at the Ledbury. A few months back I told myself that I finally had to do The Ledbury since Masterchef had made me want to go several times over. Also during the August Riots last year, there was a lot of rumours on twitter about rioters attacked The Ledbury which seemed far fetched at the time but were actually true!.

The Ledbury is the second two star Michelin restaurant I've been to, following L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon which I have graced twice with my presence and both times been seduced by their dessert choice of a selection of five tarts (always order this, it is amazing). But anyway, yes The Ledbury. It's a lot smaller than I expected and is basically one big square room with big glass windows to make it very light and airy. As I had to book more than six weeks ahead, I would have expected it to be packed and noisy but it was perfect. It buzzed with other guests but nothing that distracted you and there were plenty of staff floating around.

The reason I picked lunch at the Ledbury was because they have a set menu of 3 courses for £35. Brett champions having a seasonal menu so I knew it would be a bit of surprise to what we would get. While perusing the menus we were given a delightful little canape. After a bottle of wine the night before, I wasn't much in the mood and was happy to see a decent beer selection on the menu that wasn't overpriced. Frith and I both selected the 500ml £6.50 Notting Hill Blonde by Moncada, a West London brewery that seems to have passed me by. The staff were very apologetic when they revealed they had only one bottle so we ended up sharing it which I was happy with. It was a foggy golden colour with a quite smooth taste, it didn't detract from our food at all.

We made our choices and were given a selection of three breads from a huge basket. We both chose this bread that was in the shape of a a small muffin or mushroom with a long stalk. I think it was malted caramel, but whatever it was, it was delicious. My only criticism would be they seemed to be a bit withholding with the bread but then maybe I'm used to Gauthier, their 7 amazing breads and their knack of offering it to you constantly.

Frith and I chose the same starter - a warm partridge salad:

We both declared this our favourite course. For the main I decided to be a bit adventurous and get the fish, which was a brill topped with black quinoa on a bed of crab with a broccoli stem! The fish and crab were stunning, fish was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. Also it was so pretty I didn't want to ruin it by eating it!

Then for dessert, we both had the mille-feuille with mango. Pastry was perfect and the vanilla icecream perfectly favoured.

The table beside us made me well jealous with their cheese plate and I delighted in watching the waiter explain all the different cheeses. They also got the passionfruit souffle which when served had the vanilla icecream dived into the middle by the server. This was enough to make Frith and I promise to return to try the a la carte menu one day.

My verdict on the Ledbury - I really enjoyed the food but there wasn't a lot to me that distinuished it from a one star restaurant. With L'Atelier, the service was completely above anywhere else I had been, with The Ledbury it may just have been because we didn't have the a la carte and missed the full experience. It's well worth the visit for lunch at any rate for £35, the only drawback being you'll have to think well in advance and have your credit card handy for your reservation.