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There is a high level of competition in Melbourne. Many, although of course not all, of the residents have a decent amount of money to spend so there are more than a few places to eat and drink. We were welcoming back a friend from a year in Australia so we wanted to go somewhere special. Leddy’s in the High Street seemed to fit the bill – or so we thought.
As we had a table of 11 we were asked to order starters and mains in advance. You would think that this would speed up the service but we waited around half an hour for our first courses and, having arrived at 7pm, it was at least 8.10pm by the time we got our mains.
But before I give my honest critique, let’s point out the good things. And, by the way, in my years of penning food reviews for Derbyshire Live, the number of poor write-ups I have filed has been extremely minimal, if not non-existent. I always try to find the positives, from takeaways near the old Debenhams to fine dining at The Pepperpot in London Road.
The waiting staff were friendly and, while the food did take a long time to arrive, drinks were served promptly. The restaurant was clean and felt spacious despite it being a rather small venue. The loos were spic and span and classy. The menus were designed well and the crockery was high-end. Parking was easy owing to the large and free car park a 30-second walk away.
But my starter, the langoustine with Isle of Wight tomatoes, buttermilk and burnt alliums (a plant similar to onions), was overcooked. This would be a theme that would carry over into the mains. It was a somewhat tasty dish with a rich, savoury flavour, but at £14 I could not help but feel that it was too small and could have been cooked with more care.
Then on to the main. I had the mussels with pork broth, pickled chilli seaweed and samphire with kombu (seaweed) fries. The chips were actually very good. But the sauce was far too thin and the seafood had been cooked for too long. The price was £22, with an optional supplement for pork belly, which I did not have. In my experience mussels are cheap to buy and I must admit feeling slightly ripped off by the price of the dish.
One of my friends had the stuffed chicken thigh with apricots, grilled salad and caramelised sweetcorn cream. She described it to me as a “car crash”. The chicken looked particularly unappetising – burnt on the outside and somehow undercooked in the middle. With a price tag of £23, one would surely expect better.
Other dishes on the current menu include aged sirloin with Jersey royals and smoked bone marrow for £35 and grilled courgette ribbons with miso cabbage, wild garlic, potato terrine and lemon aioli for £21. Desserts on offer range from £7 for a strawberry sorbet (with the option of adding a vodka shot for £4) to a mini cheese board featuring Welsh blue for £11. The drinks menu also featured a range of shots, which we found a little jarring when compared to the atmosphere of the restaurant.
As we split the bill between us, coming in at around £50 per person for two courses with a tip, I couldn’t help but feel a little ripped off. When you see a menu with these sorts of prices, you believe that the high cost will be rewarded with exceptional cooking. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I am not one of those writers who delights in dragging down businesses, but I must be honest in my criticism. As my teachers used to say in a red scrawl: “Must try harder.”
