What: A new era for the Phipp Street site in London’s Shoreditch that was previously home to Leroy, which closed its doors last year and has now been reopened by some of that restaurant’s former team under the name Duchy. The name is a reference to the historical Duchy of Savoy, which acts as a loose culinary inspiration here. The Duchy of Savoy was a territorial entity with a rich and complex history, which occupied a huge area of south-east France and north-west Italy (Lyon across to Milan, Geneva down to Nice) for hundreds of years and was a possession of the House of Savoy.
Who: Duchy is being led by front of house pro Alex Grant and chef Simon Shand, who first met back in 2021 while both working at Leroy – Shand, notably, held a Michelin star for three consecutive years as executive chef at Leroy up until his departure in February 2024. The genesis of Duchy goes back to the pair’s early days at Leroy when they took a trip to San Sebastián and hatched a plan to one day open a restaurant together. Having spent much of 2024 looking for a site, Grant and Shand were presented with the opportunity to take on the Leroy site which, given the sentimental value, they describe as ‘a serendipitous, poetic end’ to their journey.
The food: In keeping with the restaurant’s inspiration, Duchy’s food offer combines Shand’s classical French training at the likes of Arbutus, Wild Honey and Frenchie with his passion for the game meats, pasta, and antipasti of northern Italy. It’s a diverse menu of sharing plates that’s underpinned by seasonal British produce, with Shand adding and taking off one or two dishes each day. Key options that feature on the sample menu include snacks of brown crab arancini; and anchovies with lardo on marjoram toast. Small plates range from vitello tonnato presented as a veal tartare with shoestring fries; to grilled British asparagus with sauce gribiche; smoked trout with spätzle and crème fraiche; a house-made diot sausage with wild garlic aligot; and a large sharing dish of Cornish pollock with morels, borlotti beans and lardo. While snacks hover at around the £5 mark, prices primarily range between £10 and £20 for the small plates with the bigger sharing dishes rising to £30.
To drink: Like the food, Duchy’s wine list focuses on regions that fall within the Duchy of Savoy, which include Savoie, Jura, Rhône, Provence, Valais, Vaud, Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont and Liguria. The list is expansive, though not necessarily expensive with prices pitched fairly across the board, and features both classic and natural styles, sweet wines, and cult bottles – some of which were left behind following the closure of Leroy. The wine list is complemented by a cocktail offering that features classics like martinis and spritzes, as well as two regional negronis: the negroni Savoyard with gin, vermouth and bitters from Chambery; and the negroni Savoiardo with gin, Antica Formula and Campari from Piedmont.
The vibe: At a glance, much of the look is retained from Leroy, including the open kitchen and wall of 200 records. However, the site has undergone a light refurbishment, led by Sasha Filskow of Inside Design, which gives it a fresher, more contemporary look. Many of the walls are covered with striking artwork, all of which is by Dan Feit, who Shand met in San Sebastián when the restaurant’s journey first began.
And another thing: In a further nod to the shared DNA between Leroy and Duchy, Grant and Shand have taken over Leroy’s old Instagram account with the handle now changed to duchy.restaurant.
18 Phipp Street, London EC2A 4NU // duchyrestaurant.com