The Chancery

Having been a regular customer at the charming St John Street branch “The Clerkenwell” for the past five years I was delighted when owner Zak Jones opened a more upmarket, small intimate fine dining restaurant in and around Chancery Lane.

Since opening this restaurant I have been an avid fan and have dined in the ground floor restaurant and also the bar lounge area.

Both rooms offer a different feel, but both rooms offer the same standard of service and above all wonderful food. In my opinion The Chancery is a hidden gem.

The Chancery have since 2004 kept me entertained and delighted me with a regular changing menu offering extreme value for money. The food has never let me down, the service has remained top notch and the overall atmosphere and ambience is absolutely wonderful.

This is a small restaurant that is set to challenge some of the big boys! I have seen the restaurant grow in size and confidence over the years and feel it is now firmly placed on the map.

I am also delighted by the fact that they have opened there doors on a Saturday night - If only they were open on Sundays! I wish The Chancery the very best of luck in what looks set to be an acclaimed restaurant. If only they were open on Sundays!
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 14, 2010

I booked a table at The Chancery in Novemeber last year and, to be honest, it's one of the best places i've ever eaten at. I'm massively critical of food and have been to some of the best restaurants in London, but this is still my favourite. Amazing "all-in" price for the food (which they could easily charge more for...), great service and good wine.

The menu has changed with the seasons but if the lamb and coco beans dish comes back on its just amazing. Chocolate fondant was perfect and not "cakey".

Ignore reviews about this "basement" section of the restaurant. We were given the whole area for just the two of us and I didn't notice a single bell ringing or any shouting. It's a lovely seating area.
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Matt
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, May 31, 2010

The Chancery is one of the most consistent restaurants in the area. The way they combine flavours has to be admired. The smoked salmon with goats cheese and beetroot was delicious as was the pork main i had as a main. Even though the restaurant was rammed, the service was still slick but friendly. I'd definitely recommend.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I was really looking forward to dining at The Chancery with my wife but unfortunately the whole evening was all but ruined by the poor service and some all-important details. In no specific order then, the reasons we are never going to return to this restaurant:

1) We were seated in the basement. Yes, the basement, right next to the toilets and the rather loud kitchen. Shouts of "service!" were regularly heard throughout the meal. Downstairs there is room for four tables and the poor unfortunates who find themselves there will experience none of the ambience that those in the main restaurant upstairs get to enjoy.

2) The service was poor. This is because, we surmised, we were in the damn cellar! Frequently we had menus in our laps for ten to fifteen minutes before anybody deigned to take our order.

3) After the mains (more of which later) a rather pungent smell of what seemed to be rotten eggs pervaded the basement 'dining area'. The fact that we were sitting next to the wine vault and that a pipe had burst down there further added to the feeling that we were an after-thought. We had to ask to be moved upstairs as the offer was not forthcoming from staff. We were moved upstairs and told to leave our drinks etc downstairs and they would be brought up for us. Were they brought up? Nope. I went downstairs and got them myself after waiting upstairs sans refreshments. Poor in the extreme.

4) The bar-boy downstairs spilled wine on my wife. Nuff said.

The manager was very apologetic and took the desserts off the bill but the whole point of visiting 'nice' restaurants is for the occasion as well as the food. For most people dining in fine restaurants is a treat rather than the norm and so you come to expect the whole package to be good. It wasn't here by any means.

The food itself was good with a couple of mis-steps. The game and wild mushroom terrine was good as was the foie gras and chicken liver parfait, although, as in most restaurants, you never get enough bread with these kind of dishes. My pork tasting main was very nice - the pork belly was incredibly tasty but the loin was overcooked and a little tough. My wife's duck was also overcooked and not as succulent as you might expect in an establishment such as this. The desserts were very good indeed and the high point of the food - the chocolate fondant was very very rich and cooked perfectly and the dulche de leche cheesecake was delicious. The taste of the desserts however was soured by the really disappointing evening as a whole.

Don't expect good service here. The food may be pretty good (although we've cooked better duck ourselves) but the organisation is just terrible. If you still wish to dine here then specify a table upstairs away from the kitchen, the toilets and, most importantly, the sewage.
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Nick, London
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, March 17, 2010