In my view, southwest London is one of the best choices for staying as a visitor. You are near to many attractions but away from the hustle and bustle of the West End. The Halkin’s location is especially favorable. It is set on a quiet street of handsome Georgian properties in the heart of residential Belgravia. Your are here five minutes away from the Hyde Park and from the Hyde Park Corner tube station. It is amazing how the scene changes when going from the tube’s exit to the hotel, from buzzing city center to quiet, residential surroundings! And imagine it is easy to walk past without even noticing it because it is such a discreet place, more to it in the next section. A funny detail, where The Halkin is now was once a car park!

Ambiance/Service

When it comes to service, it is always present when needed but otherwise unobtrusive. Upon arrival, you are treated to a scented hot towel and are invited to a drink of your choice in the bar or your room, complete with some tasty nibbles, a nice touch. When we arrived at the Halkin, we were welcomed as returning guests. Everybody around including the concierge was informed that we are regulars. Also several times during our stay the hotel director, who was new to this position, asked after our wellbeing.

Facilities

The fifth-floor Belgravia Suite we had is especially charming, it has a ship like feeling featuring a high, barrel-vaulted ceiling. There is a spacious lounge area and a huge bathroom and all comes with plenty of natural light.

A particularly nice asset is the rear garden, which can be accessed upon request. There is a small fitness room but no spa. However, you can use the one at the nearby sister hotel of COMO Metropolitan.

On site you also find a renowned Michelin starred restaurant named Ametsa with Arzak Instruction. It is an offshoot of the famous three stars restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian/Spain offering Basque cuisine. As we did not dine here, I cannot comment on this. However, we had breakfast included in our arrangement and this was always a feast for all the senses. There is no buffet, everything is served by kind and attentive staff. After some cereals, berries or whatever you can choose from an array of hot items, my favorite dish was broken eggs and Iberico ham, delicious! You could also help yourself from a basket with freshly baked bread and pastries. It is easily one of the best breakfasts I have ever had.

Pricing

In terms of rates, staying at the Halkin is certainly not inexpensive, it is after all lodging in the luxury segment. But considering the hotel classification, the facilities including their condition, the spacious rooms and the favorable location, prices for accommodations here are fair. The rates for a double room range between £ 417 and £ 476, the ones for a suite are from £ 557 to £ 776 according to the season.

When you stay at The Halkin you can reach Texture in a bit more than 20 minutes by foot or about 10 minutes by bus (bus station is just around the corner).

Food concept

Sampled dishes

Out of the main courses, a memorable dish was the organic Icelandic lamb. Here the tender saddle and the succulent shoulder were paired and made together with the mild calcot onions and the aromatic heritage carrots a tasty creation.

When it came to desserts, three out of four people of our table opted for the chef’s signature dessert, Icelandic skyr. And we were fully satisfied with it! We got skyr (similar to Greek yoghurt) as mousse and ice cream, flavored with vanilla and combined with rye bread crumbs and Wye Valley blueberries, an irresistible composition!

Service/Pricing

 

Date of visit: July 2017

General

For those who are not familiar with the Ledbury, it is one of the top restaurants in the United Kingdom. The chef, Brett Graham, is an Australian and opened this eatery in 2005 in west London when he was only 25 years old. The Ledbury has been voted the UK’s best restaurant several times, it holds 2 Michelin stars and has been featured in San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants (now it is on position 27). In my humble opinion, the third star with Michelin is only a question of time.

Location/Ambiance

The Ledbury is located at the edge of Notting Hill. What began as a neighborhood restaurant is now a destination restaurant. When we arrived at the Ledbury on a Sunday night, it was packed to the last seat. We got a very warm welcome and were lead to our table, which was one of the few not yet occupied. The dining spot is contemporary styled and mid-sized (55 seats). There is also a small outdoor area, which was not in use on our visit. Almost instantly I felt at ease, which is rare in such places. The ambiance was somehow laid-back although being in one of London’s most feted restaurants. As we had booked the restaurant for a special occasion, we found an anniversary card on the table, a nice touch!

Service

As just mentioned before, you feel comfortable in the casual elegant dining room, and this is mainly thanks to the staff’s attitude. Instead of being pompous or arrogant as it is still the case in places like these now and then, the employees are unpretentious yet relaxed. Service was immaculate from the very first minute to the last one. There is not the smallest thing that gave reason to complaints. Darren McHugh, the general manager, who oversees the service and escorted us through the culinary journey, deserves a special mention. He explained all the courses to us, informative yet entertaining in his distinctive way. We were deeply impressed by the flawless service we met here, which was by the way also extremely well paced!

Pricing

When it comes to prices, this is of course not the place to make a bargain! However, I found the meal fairly priced given the elaborate cuisine, the immaculate service and last but not least the restaurant’s reputation. While there is only the tasting menu available on Friday to Sunday (6 courses £ 125, 8 courses £ 145), it is possible to put together a 4-course menu for £ 120 out of an array of dishes at your disposal the rest of the week. Also there are enough reasonably priced wines available, which is rare at such acclaimed restaurants. All in all, prices are okay for this level of quality.

Food

Brett Graham’s cuisine has clearly roots in the classic French one. During more than ten years at the Ledbury he developed it to a modern British cuisine. It is based around fabulous local products whenever possible, often wild English game. I hear that the chef has just opened a deer park to supply the restaurant with venison.

What I especially liked is that the chef does not use too many different ingredients but focuses mainly on a solitary ingredient in order to push it as far as possible. In addition, the portions are big enough that you can really savor the dish. He also leaves away unnecessary show or artwork on the plates, but concentrates on the essentials.

Menu: The Tasting Menu with 8 Courses

 

 

Amuse Bouche: Guinea Fowl Puff, Seaweed Cracker & Venison Dumpling

First Starter: Chantilly of Oyster – Tartare of Sea Bream & Frozen English Wasabi

Bread & Butter

This was the moment when bread was served together with goat butter. Freshly baked sourdough bread in slices were put on the table. It was fabulous and I had to be careful not to eat too much of it. This was a difficult thing to do because it was simply too good!

Second Starter: Candy Beetroot – Baked in Clay, Caviar Salt & Smoked Eel

Third Starter: Warm Pheasant’s Egg – Celeriac, Arbois, Dried Ham & Truffle

Fourth Starter: Roast Scallops – Fennel & Elderflower Wine

Fifth Starter: Hen of the Woods – Potato Emulsion & Rosemary

Main: Duck – Cherries, Red Leaves & Vegetables

Pre-Dessert: Passionfruit Curd – Sauternes & Olive Oil

Dessert: Brown Sugar Tart – Stem Ginger Ice Cream

Extra-Dessert: Chocolate Variation

Since it was our wedding anniversary, they brought us an extra-dessert for sharing amongst the four of us. It was a delice of chocolate. Worth mentioning is certainly the guinness ice cream, which balanced out the richness of chocolate. This was a great way to end a truly memorable dinner!

Overall

The culinary experience at the Ledbury has in any case to be classified as one of the best meals I have ever had. The restaurant, run by Australian chef Brett Graham, is one of London’s hottest fine dining venues and one of the toughest reservations to get in Britain’s capital. The chef knows how to create flavor compositions that linger long in the memory; I vividly remember the warm pheasant’s egg combined with celeriac, dried ham, arbois and truffle, an unbelievably interesting flavor sensation! A special credit deserves the fact that the chef uses British products whenever possible, especially deer and sometimes even hunted by Brett Graham himself.

The service under the aegis of Darren McHugh cannot be praised highly enough. He and his team are able to create a relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere where diners feel at ease. The staff made it possible that my family and I could enjoy our fabulous gastronomical journey to the fullest! 

Date of visit: July 2017