I must say that this is the finest restaurant in London. Allow me to qualify this without any antipodean bias, given that Brett Graham is from Newcastle, Australia which is just up the road from where I live. The Ledbury is about friendly perfection; it is the finest restaurant in London.

After my meal at Bistro Chavot, or because of it I walked from Notting Hill Gate; thankfully the weather was cool but not raining as it had been for most of the week. It was a surprisingly short walk though a very nice part of London. Stopping briefly at Ottenlinghi I walked straight past the restaurant, and its large dark door. Must admit I was quite apprehensive as I pushed the large door open and stepped across the threshold in to the restaurants dining room. Plush is the word that comes into my mind. The tables were large and clothed white well spaced. The accoutrements were perfect, heavy cutlery, stunning glass and flat wear. The restaurant itself is surpassed by the food that it serves, and that food is a revelation.

My entree was a dish of mackeral. Im a great believer that it is the differences that provide the most joy. We in Australia consume very few oily fish, tuna being the most popular. In some sort of strange egalitarian way we view oily fish such as slimly mackerel as something you would feed to the cat, or use to catch a fish that you'd want to eat. Maybe its an association with the distancing ourselves from the food of the past, Im not sure, but in the hands of the right chef these fish are indeed a revelation. My first course was flamed grilled Mackerel with Mustard and Shiso. It was stunning the fish was perfectly cooked with a touch of flame on the skin giving it a serious contrast in texture and flavor. Salty and sweet, it was set off with the shiso and mustard giving a touch of heat and acidity. Stunning.

The table was cleared and crumbed down, wine poured. A dish of Heirloom tomatoes was presented. I have had similar dishes in other restaurants of this caliber and understand that they can be risky. The key is the tomato; it has to be ripe having the balance of sugar and acidity. If there is even a hint that the tomatoes are even a touch under ripe, or even if the tomatoes are too cold the dish will fall flat. These tomatoes were ripe, sweet and acidic presented with a rolled tuille of fresh curd and scattered with fresh herbs.

My next course was roasted grouse with red vegetables. I love the idea of wild caught or shot food, there seems to be some more natural to it compared to farmed food and sadly something that we don’t get enough of in Australia. The menu itself says that they cannot guarantee that there will be no buckshot in your dish. I decided to take the risk. This dish lives in my mind like all great dishes do. The meat was perfectly cooked, moist and gamey. The vegetables delicious and moorish.

I skipped dessert and was invited down into the under ground kitchen to meet the chef Brett, Graham. With mutual friends it was a pleasure to meet him and view, what is indeed a small, cavern like basement kitchen. The kitchen is the great paradox of the restaurant world and often beguiles the serenity of the dining room. After a chat about the meal, suppliers and general kitchen talk I left with some free range eggs, for my breakfast in the morning. I think that it would be safe to assume that I was one of the few guests to depart with half a dozen eggs.