If you’re looking for a Michelin-starred restaurant in London that doesn’t require taking out a second mortgage, The Ninth is definitely one to know about. At the time we visited, their set menu was £39 for two courses or £45 for three, making it one of the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants in London.

Just a note: the menu has changed since our visit, so some of the dishes we had are no longer on the menu, although a few have stuck around.

We started with a complimentary little plate of truffle-fried balls. They were tiny, but honestly, that worked, the truffle flavour was strong, so you got a proper hit of it without it becoming too much. Small, crispy and delicious.

I also couldn’t resist ordering one of the snacks: the mackerel focaccia. Firstly, it looked SO good, and thankfully it tasted just as good. The focaccia was delicious and the mackerel worked really well with it. Definitely one I’d order again.

I went for the mullet and fennel spaghetti with lemon and trout roe to start, and this was probably my favourite savoury dish of the meal. The pasta was really lemony and fresh, but without the fennel becoming overpowering. It was one of those dishes that sounds quite simple but was really well balanced. Kai had the smoked sea trout with horseradish dressing, furikake and pickled radishes. It was good, almost sashimi like in texture, with the horseradish and pickled radish giving it a nice sharpness. But between the two starters, mine was definitely the winner.

For mains, I chose the crispy primavera risotto with mushroom ragu and marinated courgette. Now, the crispy risotto is something The Ninth is known for and seems to appear in different forms on their menu, so I was excited to try it but honestly… it just wasn’t really for me.

I don’t think it was badly made at all, and I can completely understand why it’s a signature dish. It was more that the combination just wasn’t something I personally enjoyed that much. Sometimes a dish can be objectively good but just not your thing and this was definitely one of those. Kai’s grilled seabream with baby gem, bottarga, capers, berries and aioli, on the other hand, was much more up my street. The seabream was lovely and the different flavours worked really well together. If I were choosing again, I’d definitely go for this. In addition to this we did get some sides. We got some cabbage which which I believe had some sort of miso seasoning, it was sweet but savoury and we really loved it and found the taste super interesting. We also got some layered and fried potatoes. They were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. The sides definitely won us both over!

For dessert, I chose the pain perdu with tonka bean ice cream, and this was SO good. The pain perdu had almost a crème brûlée like quality to it while the tonka bean ice cream was creamy and really complemented it. Kai went for the poached white peach with fresh almonds and yoghurt, which was also genuinely delicious and, in true couple fashion, we ended up swapping halfway through because…

…we both preferred the other person’s dessert.

They were both really good, but I think Kai’s peach dessert just edged it for me, while Kai preferred the pain perdu.

Overall, The Ninth is a really good option if you want to experience Michelin-starred food without the usual Michelin-starred prices. The £39/£45 set menu we had made it particularly good value, although snacks are an additional cost.

There were definitely some standout dishes for us the mullet and fennel spaghetti and the desserts were my personal highlights while the crispy risotto was probably the only dish that didn’t really do it for me.

The Verdict:

8/10 A nice way to try Michelin level food and with the ever changing menu we would definitely go again to try something else!