Signature dishes include lemon ice box pie, fried oysters with brie (described in New Orleans Cuisine: Fourteen Signature Dishes and Their Histories as "irresistible"), smoked soft-shell crab,[1] and smoked duck.

[2] Its original incarnation was that of a po' boy restaurant and bar, the typical variety of the era.

[2] In 1983[2] the Clancy couple, themselves having borne no heir, sold the restaurant to a group of New Orleans businessmen led by Billy Slatten, Bryan Wagner, and the late judge, Marcel Livaudais.

[2] It was one of the original Louisiana Creole cuisine bistros that sprung up in the 1980s, now the pre-eminent restaurant style in New Orleans.

[3] In 1987, Clancy's was acquired by longtime employee Brad Holingsworth, who has retained the restaurant's status, and has added an extensive wine cellar.