An offshoot of the celebrated Clerkenwell Dining Room, The Chancery, tucked away amid the silver vaults of Chancery Lane, is worth seeking out for its serious, no-nonsense cuisine that reveals unexpected treasures of its own.

The Venue
The Clerkenwell Dining Room has had a good reputation for a long time. It could be that its sister restaurant near the Inns of Court for the past five years or so is even better than the mothership. It’s small, modern and exceedingly elegant in its monotone decor, but the food is far from monotonous. Service is impeccable and undertaken by staff who seem to care about what they are doing.

The Atmosphere
Lunchtime is quite a noisy affair although the buzz is not annoying for it just proves that an almost full restaurant of diners are enjoying themselves. You might be expecting a quiet lunch but then who wants want a meal where you can hear a pin or a plate drop? No, these are indications of good food and drink being savoured in pleasant company.

The Food
At dinner on Monday to Friday there’s an express menu at under £20 for three courses or you can have a 25 per cent discount on the regular menu which is £34 for three courses. The menu offers a good mix of meats and seafood; the rare seared tuna sliced in little roundels makes a delicious first course with a lovely, colourful salad of red peppers, haricot beans and quail’s eggs. The potage of monkfish and oysters is packed with the flavours of the sea with the excellent seafood nestling among noodles flavoured with herb oil. While you await your first course, an extra amuse bouche on the house of spiced bean soup makes an ideal appetiser.

Main courses comprise of seared salmon, with a crisp coat revealing the soft, pliable flesh within, and rump of lamb, delicately carved into small tender slices of the meat, roasted to a perfect pinkness and served on a bed of tagliatelle with sweet pea and mint emulsion – an imaginative way of serving lamb which can be problematic if it is not tender or is too fatty. Desserts of plum parfait and prune custard tart keeps the meal exciting until the very end. Coffee and petit fours are included too in the set price.

The Drink
A good selection of wines at a wide range of prices, from £5.50 a glass and £16 a bottle to £120 for the Dom perignon, if you’re in a really good spending mood. Go for the Australian choices with the outlandish names: the Spitting Spider Field Blend 2006 (£17.50) and the red Duckbill Shiraz 2004 (£21) both drink exceedingly well.

The Last Word
Judging by its popularity The Chancery is doing just what its customers want, by offering fine but not fussy food at a fair price in a seriously congenial atmosphere. It may be hidden in a back street but it’s worth seeking out.

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