Chamberlains Restaurant

Spread over three floors, Chamberlains is an up-tempo seafood restaurant set amid the revamped Victorian Leadenhall Market. A front terrace and huge windows take in all the action outside, while inside service fairly zips along for City-suit power lunches. The lively ground floor comes with a mezzanine balcony, there's a more formal room upstairs, and a 'chill-out' bar (separate menu) hides in the vaulted basement. Long-established Billingsgate fishmongers Chamberlain and Thelwell are behind the venture, so fish and seafood come ocean fresh, with dishes simply cooked without frills. Lobster omelette, for example, or whole Dover sole (grilled or pan-fried) to halibut fillet served with red onion compôte, duck hash and chestnut velouté. It's not all fish, with a few meat options available, and, as a local market trader might say, it don't come cheap.