The Clerkenwell

HP ( 30s, Female, United Kingdom )

There are some great deals on at the moment and £19.50 for three courses from the a la carte menu at The Clerkenwell DIninrg Room is excellent value. The restaurant itself was cosy and packed on Saturday night, populated by couples and friends/family groups. The menu is modern and varied with a heavy emphasis on fish and a reasonable choice for vegetarians. All the dishes were beautifully presented, well portioned and extremely good; the pork belly was outstanding, succulent and extremely tender. We found the desserts a little limiting as there wasn't really a lighter option and we made the mistake of ordering the ‘tart of the day’ alongside the chocolate fondant; the former was more of a mousse-like chocolate torte and completely overwhelming. We were very impressed by all the little culinary touches (amuse bouche, plentiful bread and petit fours) which are often extra at other establishments when eating on a ‘deal’. Overall, it was a lovely meal and we shall definitely return. Be warned about the staff though; although gracious and attentive, they were little too conspicuous for the majority of the evening (i.e. constant glass refilling and loitering by the table) and then had completely disappeared by the time we wanted to pay the bill!