So, apparently fine dining is dead, white linen table cloths are out and Skechers with a matching tight waistcoat are still in. What a load rubbish is what I say to that. The last thing I want is a grubby wooden table, someone clearly in the 40/50’s dressing like a twelve-year-old and quite frankly, anyone who thinks it’s cool to squash up next to me on my table to take my order should be sacked immediately. believe it or not, these really are all past (and recent) experiences I’ve had. When I made my way over to The Chancery in Holborn however, none of this happened. These guys know what fine dining is, how to do right and thankfully, know how to dress. The only downside is the dining room is in desperate need of a makeover.
The Chancery opened in 2004 and as of late 2014 has appointed a new head chef in its kitchen, Graham Long. Graham has a stellar CV and has worked for with the likes of Mark Sargeant and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. All that training with top chefs over the years has certainly paid off, because the food here at The Chancery is really rather spectacular. We started our meal here with a glass of chilled Krug Champagne – something I haven’t had in some time and completely forgot about its mind-blowing viscosity and buttery richness. We opted for the tasting menu too and it kicked off with a beautiful heirloom tomato salad with creamed mozzarella, dried black olive and basil. An incredibly fresh and vibrant dish with had a nice sweet and sour tang to it – a great way to get the mouth salivating.
The one thing I love about the food here at The Chancery, is the precision that goes into creating each course and each having their own personality, with a slight asian influence coming through – something Graham’s picked up along his travels. An absolutely stunning dish of thinly sliced raw hand dived scallops, cucumber jelly, avocado cream, sesame filo and shiso dressing. Every mouthful was bursting with flavour, lots of textures were playing around with each other and the shiso dressing really brought everything together with its ever so slightly menthe flavour. Then out came the dish that always wins me over – foie gras. Here it was cooked to perfection and soft to the forks touch. Paired with flavours of blood orange, sherry jelly, sunflower seed and bitter leaves. Personally I thought the leaves added nothing – apart from getting in my way. Otherwise, this zesty and rich dish which was almost faultless.
Service throughout our meal was immaculate, our waiter was professional (not wearing converse shoes) and the perfect host. The wine menu here is rather excellent too – in fact it’s huge and they have a large selection of premium wines by the glass, using that rather handy Coravin wine fresh system. Dishes continued to wow us and with what turned out to be my highlight of the meal. Smoked Cornish haddock with Jersey royals, peas, bacon and watercress. Perhaps the smoking of the fish was a little ambitious, but personally I loved it that way, especially against the creamy tart sauce and meaty flavours from the bacon. Herb crusted new season lamb on comparison came served with crispy tongue and belly, roasted aubergine and a red pepper with cumin salsa style mix. In short the dish was phenomenal, full to the brim of flavours which I wouldn’t usually think of pairing together, but in fact I couldn’t find a single fault. If you come here – make sure you eat this.
By this point during the meal I was both a little tipsy and had to loosen the waistline because we’d got through a lot of food. The one thing they certainly don’t do here, is hold back on portion sizes – they’re very generous. Desserts still continued on a high, although one dish was enjoyed a lot more than the other. The charred pineapple with pink grapefruit parfait and honey jelly was a perfectly good dish but actually I felt its flavours (which sounded rather intense) were a little more subdued than I’d hoped. You may have noticed a deterioration in photos too, but I’ve a good excuse – it got dark outside. Last dish to arrive from our tasting menu was a chocolate caramel and peanut tart with yoghurt sorbet and malted nuts. After taking one mouthful of this insanely good square of chocolate cake, I’d only one thing to ask myself – is this the best dessert I’ve eaten this year so far? I think it may well be. Rich, indulgent, perfectly balanced – it doesn’t get much better than this.
The Chancery in Holborn was a lovely surprise and one which I’d happily return back to. Prices here are on the expensive side and in some cases of a one/two Michelin pricing point, which is ambitious – but the tasting menu at £68 however is much more competitive. When it comes to fine dining, these guys know exactly what they’re doing in terms of wine choices, service and food – but I can see The Chancery struggling in the near future if the dining room decor doesn’t sort itself out. It’s not that it’s hideous or necessarily bad – it’s just tired and old. Pristine white glossing, ultra modern light grey walls and a bit of copper – this place could be excellent because the food is already here, waiting for a room to showcase it off. The Chancery is a hidden gem.
8/10
