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There’s a particular Shoreditch experience that regulars will recognise: you turn a corner you know well, and the premises that was there last year is something entirely different now. On Phipp Street, the site that was Leroy’s is now Duchy. I went to Leroy’s when it was there and if I’m honest, I found it a bit austere — probably overpriced, and a little clinical for my taste but Duchy restaurant and wine bar is a different vibe.

Interestingly, quite a number of the staff have crossed over from Leroy’s, so there’s a thread of continuity, but the atmosphere is a different proposition altogether. There’s a balance every restaurant chasing that Shoreditch edge tries to strike — cool enough to have a bit of bite, but warm enough that you actually want to come back again. I think Duchy gets it right, and a lot of that comes down to having a real personality on the door. General Manager Kieran looks every bit the part — head to toe tattoos, every inch the Shoreditch cool — but the warmth of his Irish welcome cuts straight through it. It’s a great combination.

On a warm summer evening with the large windows opening out onto the street, you get the Shoreditch hum drifting in rather than intruding. Some restaurants are tucked away and you almost get the feeling you’re missing out on atmosphere. Duchy sits on the corner of a low-traffic, pedestrian-busy stretch, so you get atmosphere and a bit of people-watching too.

Kieran is joined on the floor by his long-term partner T. She knows her wines and the provenance of the food served, and is generous with her time despite being busy as the place filled up quickly. Someone said to me recently that you need to be genuinely knowledgeable to be that casual about something — and that’s the balance Duchy strikes. Speaking of wines, the list is extensive, even including some of the old stock from Leroy’s vast cellar. Champagnes start at £70 and travel to £500. If, like me, you’re a Pinot Noir fan, Duchy has a tantalising selection, including a lovely pink ‘Comme l’Agneau’ 2023, Vigne Mouton, Bourgogne, for £70.

Before our wine, we started with a glass of the ‘Flûte Enchantée’ NV, Vignoble Guillaume, Franche-Comté — a sparkling wine rather than Champagne proper, cold, delicious and crisp, perfect for the hot Shoreditch evening.

For starters, I had the beef tartare. I’m not a fan of raw egg yolk sitting on top, but there was no need to worry — it came as a light, delicious emulsion instead, more like a savoury mayonnaise than a yolk you have to manage yourself. It arrived with homemade crackers, which were delicious, but I have to give a special mention to the additional bread and butter we ordered — I didn’t get to ask where it came from, and I regret that, because it was glorious.

My plus one is vegan, and we hadn’t warned the kitchen in advance, but they handled it without any fuss, and her vegetarian risotto held up well. I had the stone bass, one of my favourite fish to order out. The accompanying vegetables were cooked al dente — verging on a touch more bite than we’d usually go for, though it may well have been deliberate. The flavours were all there and singing.

Dessert was a light and creamy panna cotta with Italian cherries, and it was genuinely lovely — simple, well balanced, with a rather surprising extra serving of toasted hazelnuts, which I munched through while sipping my post-prandial coffee. The specials on the board didn’t grab us until it was time for cocktails: Duchy’s Genepi Espresso Martini — genepi, caffè liqueur, espresso — is a staple, but my plus one opted for the special martini of the day, made with vermouth. She’s no novice, and won’t mind me saying she has a fair amount of martini experience to draw on! She called it one of the best she’s ever had. I believe Ciaran makes them himself, so hats off to him as he’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Duchy.

The magic ingredients:

50ml or any gin or vodka of your choice

12.5ml of Vault coastal vermouth

12.5ml of Vault meadow vermouth

Stir for 30 seconds

Strain and garnish with a lemon twist

What Duchy gets right is the combination of Shoreditch’s cool, slightly worn-in energy, paired with a genuine warmth that doesn’t feel forced. It’s the kind of restaurant and wine bar you want in a neighbourhood like this — good food, an easy atmosphere, and people running it who clearly know and love what they’re doing.

I’d go back in a heartbeat, to slowly work my way through the Pinot Noir list — for research purposes only, you understand.