 = Hibiscus ( restaurant ) = 
 
 Hibiscus is a London restaurant owned and run by French chef Claude Bosi . It was opened in 2000 in Ludlow , Shropshire , and won its first Michelin star within a year , and a second in the 2004 Guide . In July 2006 , Bosi and his wife Claire announced that they were to sell the location in Ludlow and move closer to London . The property was sold to Alan Murchison , and Bosi purchased a new site on Maddox Street in London . 
 Bosi uses molecular gastronomy to create some items on the menu in an effort to enhance their flavours , such as freeze @-@ drying cabbage to create a purée . The restaurant has received mixed reviews from critics , but has been listed in The World 's 50 Best Restaurants since 2010 , and was named by Egon Ronay as the best restaurant in the UK in 2005 . The Good Food Guide ranked Hibiscus as the eighth @-@ best restaurant in the UK in the 2013 edition . It has also been awarded five AA Rosettes . 
 In 2011 , Bosi started a new venture , the Fox & Grapes in Wimbledon . This new gastropub operates under the same philosophy as Hibiscus , and is a collaboration with brother Cedric and former sous chef at Hibiscus , Patrick Leano . 
 
 = = History = = 
 
 Claude Bosi and his wife Claire opened Hibiscus in Ludlow , Shropshire , in 2000 . The location had a 36 @-@ seat capacity , and was previously occupied by a three AA Rosette restaurant called the Oaks . 
 Bosi had previously been head chef and won a Michelin star at the Overton Grange restaurant , just outside the town . He had intended to open a restaurant in Warwickshire , but found the premises too expensive and purchased a 25 @-@ year lease on the former Oaks property in Ludlow for £ 40 @,@ 000 . Within a year Hibiscus won its first Michelin star , and at the same time Overton Grange was downgraded before going in to receivership . 
 Working under Bosi at Hibiscus was sous chef Glynn Purnell , who left Hibiscus in 2003 to become head chef at Jessica 's restaurant in Edgbaston . Hibiscus gained a second star in the 2004 Michelin Guide . 
 In July 2006 , Bosi and his wife Claire announced that they were intending to sell Hibiscus and open a new restaurant closer to London , or in the capital itself . Hibiscus closed in Ludlow in April 2007 , with Bosi selling the site to fellow chef Alan Murchison for £ 247 @,@ 500 , but retaining the Hibiscus name for himself . The restaurant was renamed " Le Becasse " ( sic ) , and underwent a £ 100 @,@ 000 makeover before being re @-@ opened under head chef Will Holland . In 2014 , Murchison 's company went into voluntary liquidation after running up debts of almost half a million pounds . 
 Bosi completed the deal in June 2007 for a new site at 29 Maddox Street in London . He intended for the new Hibiscus to be open by September , and to transfer over the style of cooking he had used in Ludlow , saying , " I 'm transferring Hibiscus , not starting a new restaurant . The idea is to continue and build on what I have been doing . " Purchasing and fitting out the London premises cost around £ 1 million . 
 Many of the staff from the Ludlow incarnation of Hibiscus agreed to move to London to continue working at the restaurant , including head chef Marcus McGuinness and sommelier Simon Freeman . Hibiscus re @-@ opened in October 2007 in its new location after following building works and planning delays . The interior of the London @-@ based restaurant was decorated in orange and shades of brown . The walls were covered in pale @-@ coloured wooden panels , and a chandelier designed as a series of globes hungs from the middle of the main dining room 's ceiling . 
 The handover on the first day was so tight that builders moved out at midday , and the first service was run at 7 pm that evening . The late opening resulted in the reviewers for the Michelin Guide having only a two @-@ week window in which to re @-@ assess the restaurant for the 2008 guide . Bosi admitted later that the restaurant was not yet up to scratch in those two weeks and agreed with the decision of Michelin to downgrade Hibiscus to a single star in the 2008 Guide . The restaurant was also given a " rising star " as one with potential to go up to two stars in the future . During the run up to Christmas , the stress of serving 550 covers a week in a new location with a modified menu resulted in three sous chefs resigning . 
 The two @-@ star award was restored a year later in the 2009 Michelin Guide , as had been predicted by a number of Bosi 's fellow chefs including Tom Aikens , Antonin Bonnet and Richard Corrigan . Sat Bains went a step further and said " I would love to see Claude Bosi regain his second star at Hibiscus and win his third in time . He ’ s probably the best chef I know . " 
 
 = = Menu = = 
 
 The menu is created by Bosi . He has been described as an innovator and his work has been compared to that of Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck . One of the new dishes Bosi introduced following his move to London was a two @-@ part pork dish . The first part was roasted suckling pig served with sea urchin , kohlrabi and a fondant of sweet potato . The second , inspired by his daughter , featured a sausage roll with a salad and a truffle dressing . Other dishes have included roast chicken with an onion fondue and licorice , and desserts include a chocolate tart served with basil ice cream . 
 Bosi uses molecular gastronomy techniques , such as in the process for making a Savoy cabbage purée , in which the cabbage is freeze dried into a powder and then reconstituted , but he prefers only to enhance the flavours of individual ingredients rather than changing those flavours by using unusual techniques . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 Jay Rayner reviewed the restaurant for The Observer after Hibiscus moved from Ludlow to London , his first time at the restaurant . While stating that elements of the meal were " very clever indeed " , such as foie gras ice cream and a sausage roll he described as a " colossus " , he described the desserts as a " disappointment " , calling an olive oil parfait a " gloopy mess " . Overall , he planned on returning to give Bosi another chance . 
 Zoe Williams also reviewed the restaurant shortly after it arrived in London , for The Daily Telegraph . She enjoyed her visit , and was impressed with the unusual combinations of foods that worked together saying " the sheer expertise of taking a food with a range of flavours , and knowing it 's in peak condition to meet four others ... it really is something " . 
 John Walsh also visited it , for The Independent , after the restaurant arrived in London , and gave the food four stars , and the ambience and service three stars ; Terry Durack reviewed it for the same paper , giving the restaurant 17 out of 20 . 
 Food critics from Time Out visited the restaurant in 2009 , and were " disappointed " compared to their previous visit . They thought that Bosi 's food combinations just did not work , but still said that some of his desserts were " faultless " . 
 Andy Hayler gave the restaurant a score of six out of ten on his scale during his November 2011 visit . The redeeming feature of his trip was a dish of venison , he thought , served with a confit of pear in mulled wine and Savoy cabbage with a red wine and smoked chocolate sauce , but he otherwise felt that the food was " over @-@ worked " and the service " peculiarly amateurish " . 
 
 = = = Ratings and awards = = = 
 
 In 2005 Hibiscus was one of three restaurants to be awarded three @-@ stars by the Egon Ronay Restaurant Guide , along with The Waterside Inn and Restaurant Tom Aikens , and was named Ronay 's Restaurant of the Year . 
 The restaurant made its first entry in the World 's 50 Best Restaurants in 2010 , ranked in 49th place and one of three British restaurants in the list ; the following year it moved up to 43rd . 
 The Good Food Guide ranked Hibiscus as the eighth @-@ best restaurant in the UK in its 2013 guide . 
 The restaurant has been given five AA Rosettes by The Automobile Association . 
 
 