Cigalon is a French restaurant on Chancery Lane in London that can be hired for private parties, wedding receptions, business lunches, corporate dinners, hosted wine events and standing drinks receptions. The restaurant seats up to 72 guests, the Baranis bar downstairs takes up to 120, and a private dining room seats 8. The address is 115 Chancery Lane, close to the Strand and Covent Garden.
Seminars and company events
Cigalon is a fit for hosted business meals more than for day-long seminars. The official site lists business lunches and corporate dinners among the formats it offers, together with hosted wine events and standing drinks receptions. Full private hire of the restaurant seats up to 72 guests. Menus are arranged with the team around your requirements, and a group bookings and hire guide is available on request.
For a smaller board dinner or client meal, the private dining room seats up to 8 guests and is available on request throughout the week. Teams that want a drinks reception before dinner can also use Baranis, the cocktail and pastis bar downstairs, for all hires.
Weddings and receptions
The restaurant takes wedding reception bookings. The wedding page gives a figure of up to 64 guests for a seated wedding dinner in the restaurant, with room for up to 120 people in Baranis. The private dining room can be used as a spot where guests collect a drink on arrival and find their place at the table. The kitchen can prepare a fully bespoke menu for the day.
Wedding enquiries, including those for Baranis, go by email with your requirements and contact details. The team then replies with the details.
Rooms and capacities
The main dining room is a double-height room with a glass ceiling and an open kitchen built around a wood-fired Josper grill. The building is a former auction house. The site gives two seating figures for the restaurant, 68 for regular service and up to 72 for private hire, so confirm the exact number for your layout when you enquire.
Baranis sits on the lower floor of the same building. It is a Riviera-inspired cocktail bar with an indoor pétanque area, and it accommodates up to 120 guests for a wedding party. The private dining room is the smallest space, at 8 seats.
Catering
Food is provided in-house. The kitchen is led by Chef Julien Carlon and cooks seasonal French dishes inspired by Provence and the Mediterranean coast, with fresh pasta from Piedmont on the menu. The à la carte menu changes monthly. The wine list focuses on southern French and Corsican wines, and the restaurant runs a monthly wine dinner built around one producer.
For group events, the team works with you on a menu that suits the occasion, and it can write a fully bespoke menu for a wedding. A sample Christmas party menu is published on the site.
History and setting
The dining room occupies a former auction house on Chancery Lane. Cigalon opened in 2010 together with Baranis. It belongs to Gascon Connection, a group of restaurants run by chef Pascal Aussignac and his business partner Vincent Labeyrie. The name comes from the hero of Marcel Pagnol's 1935 film and is also the Provençal word for the cicada.
Getting there
Chancery Lane runs just off the Strand. The restaurant is a few minutes on foot from Chancery Lane, Covent Garden and St Paul's stations, and the theatres of Covent Garden are nearby.
