Duchy, London Ec2: ‘the Small Plates Concept, Once So Edgy, Shows No Sign Of Relenting’ – Restaurant Review | Grace Dent On Restaurants

I felt a compulsion to spell to Duchy, successful eastbound London, because I had dined astatine its predecessor, Leroy, successful 2018, arsenic good arsenic its genesis, Ellory, successful 2015. These 3 different restaurants stock DNA. Yes, 10 years person passed, but very small successful nan pared-back, pan-European anchovies-on-a-plate-for-£12 eating segment has moved on.

No-frills decor, bare-brick walls, earnest mini plates, unit pinch connection moustaches contempt it not being remotely adjacent Movember. We each cognize nan drill for specified places. There will beryllium those exemplary anchovies connected immoderate benignant of crostini, asparagus because it’s successful season, immoderate beans, possibly green, possibly white, fancy French food and a tart of nan time for afters. While Ellory merged into Leroy via a move from London Fields to Shoreditch, Leroy has go Duchy, it seems, via a elemental alteration of nan motion supra nan door. Front-of-house Alex Grant and cook Simon Shand met astatine Leroy and person now made this edifice their own. In popular euphony terms, visiting Duchy is for illustration going to spot Bucks Fizz astatine Butlin’s and nan only remaining personnel is David Van Day, and you’re beautiful judge he was really successful Dollar, but hey, it’s fine, whatever, because they’re now cranking done Making Your Mind Up anyway.

Duchy’s return connected vitello tonnato features nutrient presented tartare-style and shoestring fries that look a spot for illustration a rösti.

Still, intelligibly this “things connected plates, served sporadically” conception isn’t broken, and Duchy don’t request to hole it, because by 5pm connected a Tuesday night, this new/old edifice is filling up nicely, and by nan clip we time off 2 hours later, it’s perfectly heaving.

The UK edifice world is patently obscurity adjacent nan extremity of its “three ravioli dressed successful oliva lipid and a scattering of podded peas” era, of “Hey, guys, tin I commencement you disconnected pinch immoderate comté gougères” and “Yes, we are playing Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense”. There has, admittedly, been a surge of “authentic French” restaurants successful nan superior precocious – 74 Duke, French Society, Marjorie’s, Joséphine – wherever beret-wearing British restaurateurs look to beryllium draping onions astir their necks and serving up hearty soups, souffles, trotters and Paris-Brests, and very bully they are, too. But this point that Ellory, past Leroy and now Duchy does, and which was erstwhile truthful edgy, shows nary motion of relenting.

‘A highlight’: Duchy’s Italian level beans pinch gorgonzola, loquats and ‘pleasing’ almonds.

Two anchovies connected 2 crostini dotted pinch marjoram leaves get for £5, followed by a heap of alternatively soft, chunkily trim panisse – polenta fries – enrobed successful a heavy grating of meule des Alpes from Savoie. A vitello tonnato pinch nan veal served tartare-style is topped pinch what are reportedly shoestring fries, but person tangled into what looks for illustration a deep-fried murphy rösti. A item is simply a vessel of al dente Italian level beans served acold successful immoderate type of vinaigrette, and pinch nan pleasing summation of caller almonds, blobs of alternatively pungent gorgonzola and a fewer slices of loquat. Surely loquats are conscionable kumquats pinch aspirations of grandeur, you mightiness beryllium thinking. Well, you would beryllium very wrong: loquats are bigger, much for illustration a crisp pear successful flavour and wholly suitable for matching pinch a stinky, oozy Italian food and immoderate crunchy veg.

A vessel of caller spaghetti pinch sage is arsenic memorable arsenic nan chorus of Britain’s last Eurovision entry, and I americium genuinely puzzled by what appears to beryllium Duchy’s signature dish: immoderate very damp smoked trout connected a vessel of vivid greenish spätzle that person been cooked until mushy.

Duchy’s ‘delicious’ poulet au vin jaune.

Thank heavens for nan last main course, then, poulet au vin jaune, served connected a silky buttery pomme purée pinch a scattering of outstanding morels. Delicious, though location is ever a moment, erstwhile I person been fooled again into sharing a sheet of chickenhearted and mash, that I think, “Surely sharing mash and gravy is nan type of point you should only request to do successful a nationalist emergency and you’re huddling astir a brazier pinch different survivors. Why americium I paying £28 for this pleasure?”

But, arsenic I say, we are excessively acold down this way to backmost retired now; those ceramic walls that make conversations bounce astir deafeningly, nan portion of perfectly good apricot tart pinch creme fraiche for afters, nan £130 measure without drinks for an adequate, perfectly of-its-ilk, London small-plates dinner. Stop Making Sense is reaching its last way arsenic we salary up, and I’m not wholly judge if nan nutrient world ever genuinely started making sense.

• Duchy 18 Phipp Street, London EC2, 07874 310612. Open Tues-Sat, luncheon noon-2pm, meal 5.30-9.45pm. From astir £40 a caput à la carte, positive drinks and service