The Ledbury

The Undisputed King

Warm Pheasant’s Egg, Celeriac, Arbois, Dried Ham and Truffle

If you ask me which is the best restaurant in London, I would say The Ledbury without needing to think twice. The double Michelin starred restaurant by Executive chef Brett Graham is a dining temple and one of the hardest to book restaurants in the Capital, the food is modern French at a very refined level. The Ledbury was also newly crowned the best restaurant from The OpenTable's top 100 list, voted by the UK consumers. Returning for my 8th visit, I was so eager to see how the menu has developed and I was sure it would be something very special.

The Square

The great come back?

Marinated Scottish langoustine, hibiscus, citrus

If you are a serious foodie and lives in London, the chance is you will know about The Square, an iconic restaurant in the fine dining sector in the UK. Once owned by the double Michelin starred chef Philip Howard before it was sold to a fine dining restaurant group called MARC in 2016, it went through a sketchy patch with a replacement chef coming in leaving due to personal reason. However, it appears MARC is determined to regain The Square's formal glory and has appointed a new Executive chef from France and redesign the dining room completely to a more urban, dark and modern look and feel. New chef Clement Leroy earned a Michelin star for Auberge du Jeu de Paume back in France before taking on his new role at The Square.

Claude Bosi at Bibendum

Hibiscus MK2?

Claude Bosi at Bibendum

Claude Bosi is one of the most talented chefs in the UK, his cooking is all about daring to explore new flavours and challenging your mindset of what should and shouldn't work. Many chefs tried something similar but very few can pull it off, and Claude is one of them. I was gutted when his double Michelin starred Hibiscus was shut down last year as the restaurant offered some of the most exciting tastes you can find in London. Fortunately, he has returned to a new restaurant, taking over the top floor of Bibendum in South Kensington. Amazingly, the restaurant was only opened in Spring this year but already awarded 2 Michelin stars from the 2018 guide.

La Dame de Pic London

Pure class

Scottish Langoustine seared in shellfish butter with cucumber Kabosu, Granny Smith

This is my second visit to the 3 Michelin starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic's London restaurant inside the Four Season Hotel in Tower Hill. Having eaten its set lunch menu before it gained a Michelin star, I was impressed by its clean taste and creative element, and that was my reason to return for its tasting menu. As while set lunch menu offers a good indication of a restaurant's capability, usually the al la cate or tasting menu are a step above with use of top level and more expensive ingredients. What also caught my eye is almost every dish on the menu contain some element of alcohol, from gin, whisky to sake. Something that I think it can become a trend in the near future as top end premium spirit offers so much flavours.

The Clove Club

Edgy modern British dining

Burnt clementine granita

2017 has been a fantastic year for The Clove Club, long only it has retained its Michelin star status, it is now also the highest ranked UK restaurant in the "World 50 best restaurants" award from the influential trade media, Restaurant Magazine, ranked higher than the like of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and The Ledbury. Combing with its fashionable location in Shoreditch and the media hype, booking is high in demand and it becomes one of the very first UK restaurants to employ a new booking system which diners have to pay in advance in order to secure a booking. This can be annoying for some as sometimes things don't always go according to plan. However, the payment in advance rule only applies to dinner and you can book for lunch without the hassle.