The Ledbury

The Comeback Kid of Ledbury Road

4.5 of 5

Restaurants die in London all the time. The Ledbury died, got up, dusted itself off and came back with three Michelin stars. Brett Graham opened the original on Ledbury Road in 2005, and after a two year hiatus the doors opened again onto a redesigned dining room and an in-house fungarium, a word I had to look up and now cannot stop saying.

Graham is an Australian who came to London on the strength of a young chef award and stayed to cook the English countryside better than most of the English. The meat is a big part of the story. The kitchen sources deer, Jersey cattle and Iberian pigs from his own farm, which means the plate has a pedigree you can almost follow with a finger. Tom Spenceley runs the kitchen day to day. The dining room seats about forty five, so nobody gets lost in it, and the service has the calm of people who know they have already won.

This is a trip worth planning. Book ahead, since tables go quickly, and consider the weekend lunch for the light. Dinner runs Tuesday to Saturday in the early evening. Come hungry and dressed for it, but you do not need a tie to be taken seriously. The mushrooms, the venison and the people who care about both are the whole reason this place exists.

Order this: Whatever game Brett Graham is cooking this season, Anything from the in-house fungarium, The tasting menu, with time to spare
The damage: $$$$
Go: A Friday or Saturday lunch, when the room is flooded with daylight
Find it: 127 Ledbury Road, London W11 2AQ