Cigalon

Cigalon's background music of cheerfully chirping crickets brings an aural sense of Provençal to the shadowy law courts of Chancery Lane. Here you'll find elegant, well-conceived French food with an excellent, well-priced set menu. Executive chef Pascal Aussignac closely manages his restaurants - including prestigious Club Gascon and Le Cercle - he even designed Cigalon's interiors himself.

The decor is as evocative of Provençal as the menu; reeds hide a mirrored wall, which creates a sense of sitting on an open terrace; soft lavender-coloured booths scoop out secluded tables; and olive trees, dried fruit and forest shadows imprinted on the wall are rustic - yet the food is distinctly refined.

King prawn ceviche was served with upbeat basil granite and chilled melon soup that evoked a cool summer evening. Classic beef onglet certainly had the wow factor: hefty steak slices mixed through a crisp, vibrant green salad, served on a heavy platter. A meringue with delicate raspberry notes was served with apricots two ways - roasted, and turned into a slightly sharper lemon verbena and apricot sorbet. Selected wines come by the glass or carafe; the wine list is divided into Provence and Corsican wines, then 'the Rest of France' is given brief page space too.