Post number five, 'The Ledbury'

Something tells me Notting Hill is no longer the bastion of cutting edge urban coolness that it used to be. It seems to be a much more established area, more grown up and serious than before, or is that just me? 

I remember my visits to W11 years back and it all seemed a bit edgier, '192' on Kensington Park Road, those late bars and tricky named restaurants on All Saints road, mad, but good memories. In any case it is hard to ignore the significant shift towards the east of our great city in terms of new and 'happening' restaurants, bars, clubs and more. 


Still whatever Notting Hill is in 2010 there is no doubting it is still a major force of an area. There are more high level boutiques than ever before and it has some serious restaurants too. Last Saturday I visited 'The Ledbury' for the first time and unfortunately I left rather unimpressed;


We were greeted very nicely by what seemed like a red carpet of waiters and waitresses all nodding and extolling pleasantries at us. The rooms exudes class and quality and it all looked the part, first impressions were very good. The menu looked interesting and my decision was made pretty quickly;

Ravioli with hens egg (they do love eggs these boys) potato puree and white truffle shavings to start was, I would say, just OK. The egg was perfect as was the Ravioli but the potato puree was rather bland which effected the enjoyment of the dish. The truffle shavings a wee bit light on quantity too.


For main course the popular choice was the pressed suckling pig which came with salsify, nuggets of confit belly, a carrot puree and a tad of over salted mushroom (at least I think that's what it was). Fundamentally it was all a bit too one dimensional. The centre piece of pressed pork was excellent, crispy and succulent but it lacked support and ideed balance around it, the puree was not cleverly flavoured,  the dish was just too dry. Ham was mentioned on the menu as part of the dish, unless it was in incredible disguise there was no sign of it on the plate.


For dessert we all chose some cheese, the chariot was grand. Mini loaves of bread were then delivered, too much bread by far. The small offering of biscuits/crackers were poor.


Ironically the most memorable parts of the meal were the 'Amuse Bouches'. Lovely little Foie Gras laden beetroot macaroons to start, a brilliant pot of Tuna, fishy tomtoey eggs and creme fraiche after our first course, then finally after the cheese, a delicious baby beaker of Panacotta with berry coulis.

The wine we selected of their excellent list was a Meursault, unfortunately the first bottle was too warm. The wine waiter explained, after we queried it's temperature, that they had a problem with their fridges, one would have expected to have been advised of that as we ordered, or as it was poured.


Service was generally not up to scratch, we had to wait too long for our plates to be cleared after our main course and despite the nice lady making a big point at the beginning of the meal, about anyone in our party having allergys, they proceeded to deliver my nut allergenic friend nutty bread and walnuts all over his cheese. A break down in their system there. To be fair this was deducted from the bill and profuse apologies were offered.


That bill was one hundred and forty pounds a head. The Ledbury experience was significantly let down by the main course and elements of the service. I have had some great meals at other two michelin star establishments in London, namely Gavroche and Hibiscus and this particular night did not compare well. In fact it didn't measure up well against some lunches or dinners I have had at one star London establishments. 

The Ledbury clearly can be an excellent restaurant, I have only read good things. Maybe it was a very uncommon off night, it can happen, but I tend to feel you generally only get one chance to seduce a diner at this very high, demanding level. Sadly, I suspect that chance has gone with the four people in our party on saturday.





Two point five out of five stars




The Ledbury
127 Ledbury Road
W11 2AQ


0207 797 9090

Post number four, 'The Canton Arms'

Stockwell is a funny old place. I lived there in the mid nineties when I first left the safety of East Sheen, it proved a post code too far and have been heading back west ever since.

Over the years there has been little reason to return in terms of food and drink establishments apart from the draw of that brilliant little east african/indian jewell 'Hotstuff'. I have taken refuge there many times after well watered days at the Oval.

Anyway there is now another reason to return to SW8, The Canton Arms. It is a grand old lady of a 'boozer' situated on a corner site of South Lambeth Road. Broadly speaking it's heart belongs to that wonderful Great Queen Street, Anchor and Hope 'sect' but its is definitely more of a boozer than the latter. The night I was there there were was interesting music seeping through the speakers and a television was on showing football.

There are familiar A&H, GQSt facets to the place, the 'blood clot' walls, parts of the menu, but there are subtle differences and movements forward notably the bar snacks(happily 'sans' scotch eggs) dominated by Toasties'. We tried both the Haggis and the pace setting Foie Gras toastie, the Haggis with brown sauce having the edge for me, totally delicious and fairly priced at three pounds. 'Toasties' are a truly great bar snack offering, never has the thought of purchasing a Breville crossed my mind, until now.

For our main meal we moved through to the dining area at the back of the pub. It really is a grand space, I can see why the owners chose the site, it is a slightly off beat location but this is more than compensated for by the ornate, original interior.

The menu is compact at the moment and I guess in time this will grow. No matter there are plenty of attractions; Leeks Gribiche, Bayonne Ham and Mussels to start were all heartily devoured, the perfectly room temperature leeks with very fresh egg and tarragon herbed sauce the pick. 

Main courses of cassoulet, rabbit stew and slow roasted belly pork with fennel and green sauce arrived looking the part. My rabbit stew was excellent, spanish in style and nicely piquant with the chorizo and peppers, ably supported with swollen pillows of joy(butterbeans). I tried the cassoulet, it was slightly lacking moisture but tasted perfect. The pork belly was perhaps missing crispier skin but according to its owner it tasted delicious. It's early days for the place.

Desserts eaten by my fellow diners were chocolate pots, for myself Creme Fraiche Tart with stewed rhubarb which was brilliant. The soft creamy sweetness of the tart with the gentle gnaar of the rhubarb worked so well, and looked so pretty.

I didn't really study the wine offering, everyone kept to pints of Ale of which there are four relatively obscure brews to choose from.

The bill, incorporating lots of pints, toasties, starters, main courses and desserts was about forty pounds a head including service. Not bad at all. 

Due to it's location The Canton Arms will be allowed to grow organically. I can see it drawing punters from miles around in the evenings and at weekends, maybe midweek lunchtimes will be more challenging due to the location. That said the 'Toastie' tip will certainly help draw in some casual drinking and eating throughout the day.

I found the place thoroughly charming. It is clearly a movement on from it's contemporaries in the respect that it is trying to remain a proper pub, genuinely mixing drinkers with eaters. Because of the space they have and the clever people behind it I have no doubt it will be a roaring success.

Four, no sod it, five out of five stars.