The restaurant’s chef, Australia Brett Graham, becomes the third this century to hold the top position, after Gordon Ramsay (2000-07) and Marcus Wareing (2008-11).
The annual survey of diners, conducted in collaboration with Remy Martin, charts the most popular restaurants in the capital over a series of categories.
However despite Harden’s claims, co-editor Richard Harden admits the result is based on an assumption after the restaurant topped the over £85 category above both Le Gavroche and Marcus Wareing.
He told BigHospitality: “We haven’t looked at the figures but we assumed the top restaurant in London would be an expensive one. There’s always the danger of a curry house coming out top.
“There’s no evidence to suggest The Ledbury does have the best overall food in London, we have assumed so because it is expensive.”
Best London restaurant?
The guide’s introduction however claims the best restaurant in London, by ‘the traditional haute cuisine definition’ is Le Gavroche, with The Ledbury in second place and The Ritz third.
“Which is London’s best restaurant?” the guide reads. “It’s getting more and more difficult to say, because the old certainties are breaking down. But let’s stick with the traditional ‘haute cuisine’ definition. On that basis, the safest choice is the oldest – Le Gavroche is London’s original grand restaurant of the modern era, and it remains the very best place to eat in the centre of town.
“The second best restaurant – The Ledbury – is interesting precisely because it’s everything that the Gavroche is not. The chef is Antipodean, not of French descent. It is in Notting Hill, not Mayfair. The style is svelte and modern, not the very essence of classicism. The Ledbury, in short, is a worthy champion of the newer style that has begun to transform London’s restaurant scene of late.
“For our third choice, though, we go back in time to The Ritz. It has always been famous for its Louis XVI-style interior but improving food is beginning to make this a destination for any sort of celebration, not just for romance.”
Other awards
In addition, diners voted Chez Bruce as Londoners’ Favourite Restaurant for the seventh year running, while Clos Maggiore toppled Poule au Pot as the Most Romantic Restaurant.
The Wolseley retained its position as the Best for Breakfast and Best for Business, while the Anchor & Hope was given the title of Best Pub Food.
Harden’s lists the most overpriced restaurant as the Oxo Tower, and the venue serving the most disappointing cooking as Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s.
The Harden’s 2011 London Restaurants Guide top listed venues are:
Best Food (£85+)
1 The Ledbury
2 Le Gavroche
3 One-O-One
4 The Square
5 Marcus Wareing
Top gastronomic experience
1 Marcus Wareing At The Berkeley
2 Le Gavroche
3 The Ledbury
4 Chez Bruce
5 Dinner
6 La Trompette
7= The Square
7= Pied à Terre
9 Viajante
10 Gordon Ramsay
Favourite
1 Chez Bruce
2 The Wolseley
3 Le Caprice
4 Galvin Bistrot de Luxe
5 The Ledbury
6 La Trompette
7 Le Gavroche
8 Marcus Wareing At The Berkeley
9 J.Sheekey
10 Trinity
Best for business
1 The Wolseley
2 The Don
3 The Square
4 Bleeding Heart
5 Galvin La Chapelle
6 Coq d’Argent
7 L’Anima
8= Galvin Bistrot de Luxe
8= Scott’s
10 The Ivy
Best for romance
1 Clos Maggiore
2 La Poule au Pot
3 Andrew Edmunds
4 Bleeding Heart
5 Chez Bruce
6 Galvin at Windows
7 Le Caprice
8 Le Gavroche
9 The Ledbury
10 Oxo Tower (Rest’)
Best breakfast/brunch
1 The Wolseley
2 Roast
3 Smiths (Ground Floor)
4 Cecconi’s
5 Automat
6 Simpsons-in-the-Strand
7 Caravan
8 The Goring Hotel
9 Providores (Tapa Room)
10 Tom’s Kitchen
Best bar/pub food
1 The Anchor & Hope
2 Harwood Arms
3 Bull & Last
4 Canton Arms
5 The Orange
6 The Gun
7 The Anglesea Arms
8 The Thomas Cubitt
9 The Eagle
10 The Pantechnicon
Most disappointing cooking
1 Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s
2 Oxo Tower (Rest’)
3 The Ivy
4 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley
5 Gordon Ramsay
6 Les Deux Salons
7 The Wolseley
8= Skylon
8= Hibiscus
8= maze
Most overpriced restaurant
1 Oxo Tower
2 Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s
3 Gordon Ramsay
4 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley
5 The River Café
6 Hakkasan
7 Alain Ducasse
8= maze
8= Le Gavroche
10 Nobu