BY KELLY BESWICK
There are lunches that simply fill a hole, and then there are lunches that leave you feeling that life is rather wonderful. My visit to Duchy in Shoreditch was firmly in the latter camp. It was a glorious, sunny autumn day in late September and I was meeting an old friend I hadn’t seen for some time, so my spirits were already buoyant. Within minutes of walking through Duchy’s doors, however, they were soaring through the roof.
Perhaps it was the super-friendly welcome, the buzzy atmosphere or the fact that, on a Thursday lunchtime, the restaurant was absolutely packed. Most of the diners were regulars, co-owner Alex Grant told us, which says plenty about the place’s appeal.
Duchy occupies the same 40-cover Phipp Street site that was previously home to the much-acclaimed Leroy, which was run by Alex and fellow co-owner and chef Simon Shand. When Leroy closed, the pair decided to give the space a new life, bringing many familiar faces from the old team with them. Duchy has now been open for more than a year and, judging by the packed room, it has very much found its feet.
The restaurant takes its name and culinary inspiration from the historic Duchy of Savoy, a territory spanning parts of what are now France and Italy, and that French-Italian influence runs deliciously through the wine and food menu. The room itself is warm and inviting, with a long marble-topped bar and counter, books and empty bottles behind it, pale wooden floors and huge floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the space with light. It manages to feel both contemporary and wonderfully cosy.
We began with a welcoming glass of Champagne while perusing the £32 three-course set lunch menu, which changes weekly. We couldn’t resist adding a few extras, starting with crostini of Calabrian anchovies, salted butter and marjoram. The little fish were plump, flavoursome and a world away from the cheap, salty, oil-sodden anchovies that can so often disappoint. They sat on a slab of butter so thick it left teeth marks – or tandsmør, as the Danes rather brilliantly call it, which translates as tooth butter.
Then came the Comté gougères with walnut ketchup. The cheesy little balls were golden and crisp outside, beautifully gooey within, but the real star was that walnut ketchup. Tangy, rich and ridiculously moreish, I would happily have taken a jar home. They should bottle it and sell it; I swear they’d make a fortune.
Saucisson sec with Senia Tondo olive oil and cornichons provided another winning combination, the rich, fatty meat perfectly offset by the mouth-puckering pickles. And then there was the brown crab rarebit, which took cheese on toast and sent it into the stratosphere. We were warmly looked after by Duchy’s wine manager, Maddie, so happily left the wine in her capable hands. She chose a crisp, fruity white to accompany our starters and, unsurprisingly, nailed it.
For my main course, I chose flat iron steak with peppercorn sauce and shoestring fries. The beef was melt-in-the-mouth tender, packed with flavour and beautifully velvety, while the peppercorn sauce punched well above its weight. My friend opted for the pumpkin taglioni with sage and Parmesan, beautifully presented with the pasta coiled around a spoon before being perched on a vibrant pumpkin purée. I didn’t taste it, but judging by the expression on my friend’s face, it was every bit as good as it looked.
Maddie brought me a glass of red to accompany my steak, while my friend stuck with the white. It was another match made in heaven.
We really should have stopped there. We didn’t. Greengage plum and hazelnut tarte fine with Chantilly disappeared in indecent haste, followed by Meules des Alpes, apricot and crackers – a Savoie cooked-curd cheese, a little like Comté but sweeter.
By now we were gloriously sated, so we stepped back into the autumn sunshine, already plotting our return. Duchy isn’t simply riding on the coattails of Leroy; it feels like a confident new chapter, with the same warmth, hospitality and attention to detail, but an identity all of its own.
duchyrestaurant.co.uk
Duchy, 18 Phipp Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 4NU
@duchy.restaurant
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