Cigalon: Provençal food in London

Cigalon was the first Provençal restaurant I've been to and I enjoyed the food there; I can certainly see why it has had some good reviews. Located in Chancery Lane, London, it features a modern and cosy interior - perfect for a dinner after work with the girlfriend.

We tried out Cigalon's three-course set menu for £20, which included a champagne cocktail. Not bad value, but would this be at the expense of quality and portion size? No - the food was pretty good.

First there was a selection of breads and tapenade (like an olive spread). This was the first time I've come across tapenade and - I won't lie - I did have to look it up to find the name! It's certainly a nice change from the usual butter or olive oil & vinegar.

Tapenade.

For the starter, I ordered Tripes 'Bastiasises', a dish consisting of tripe (obviously), gnocchi and olives in a tomato sauce. This was a really well-seasoned dish and there was not a single bland flavour, while the tripe was not overly chewy.

Tripes 'Bastiasises'.

The girlfriend ordered the guinea fowl for her mains. All the flavours complemented each other well and she particularly enjoyed the crispy topping of the Provençal tomatoes.

Roasted Guinea Fowl Breast & Tomatoes Provençal. 

I had the asparagus and ricotta risotto. The risotto had a good bite and there was a decent amount of asparagus in it. It was rich but not too rich.

Asparagus & Ricotta Risotto.

For dessert, we both ordered the chocolate moelleux, blackcurrant & violet sorbet. Individually, each part of the dessert had strong flavours but things worked well together. The chocolate moelleux was very rich, but this was tempered by the sour sorbet and the vanilla-like sauce.

Chocolate Moelleux, Blackcurrant & Violet Sorbet. 

The restaurant has a rather understated exterior and is located in a part of the street that's easy to miss. However, inside it was bustling with people, mostly I'm assuming enjoying their meals. Service was good too and we had a very friendly waiter. It's worth a visit.

Champagne cocktail.

Nearest Tube: Chancery Lane or Temple

The Chancery: modern European food in the City

The Chancery is a modern European restaurant tucked away in Cursitor Street - a small side street near Chancery Lane, London.

As with many other areas of the City on a weekend (which is when I visited), Cursitor Street and the surrounding streets can become quiet. This is maybe why there's a 'Saturday night' toptable deal offering 50 per cent off The Chancery's 'limited a la carte' three-course set menu, normally priced at £39.50 and which I took full advantage of.

Menu - pick an item from each course.

I started off with the helianthus artichoke velouté - or soup in layman's terms. I wasn't even 100 per cent sure what I had ordered but I had no regrets; it was a great start and the soup was flavoursome and with a nice consistency. The parmesan also gave a nice crispy contrast to the soup. This was the type of dish I would happily have again.

Helianthus artichoke velouté, parmesan crisp and truffle oil.

The next course was perhaps the dish of the evening. Pork fillet is my favourite part of a pig - usually moist, tender and full of flavour - and at The Chancery it did not disappoint. The BBQ cheek was also good and fell apart easily, as expected. I'm usually not a fan of creamed vegetables but this seemed to work well with the contrasting flavour of the meat on this occasion - and crucially was not too creamy.

There was also popcorn on this dish. I'm not convinced it added (or took away) anything from the dish from a taste point of view, but I guess it makes it look a bit different!

Roast pork fillet, BBQ cheek, heritage carrots, and creamed savoy.

Onto dessert, I usually avoid poached pear (a personal preference). But the lure of cinnamon ice cream and a crumble sucked me in. I hadn't expected crumble on top of a pear and this made it quite interesting from both a taste and visual point of view.

However, I would have preferred a bit more ice cream (which tasted very nice and full of cinnamon), plus it had also melted a bit more than I would have liked.

Baked pear, cinnamon ice cream, hazelnut crumble.

I need to also give a special mention to the peanut butter chocolate tart. Being a peanut butter fan, I very nearly ordered this; it's not everyday you find this on the menu. My fellow diner said it was very rich!

Peanut butter chocolate tart, peanut brittle and crème fraiche ice cream.

What do you think? If you like what you see, check out their toptable page for the latest offers.

Closest Tube: Chancery Lane