Weekly Review: Leroy (NOW CLOSED)

Go to this Shoreditch masterpiece for the quick set-lunch. Linger over the amazing wine list.

UPDATE 19 November 2024: Leroy has announced its permanent closure. So sorry to lose it.

Quick hit: Stylish spot with stunning, inexpensive 2- or 3- course set lunch menu and an outstanding wine list. Can be quick enough to get you back to the office in an hour or leave you space to linger.

Details: Booking advised. Shoreditch. ££ (for lunch. More at dinner.)
https://www.leroyshoreditch.com
More on Instagram and from the Michelin Guide.
Find it on Google Maps. 18 Phipp St, London EC2A 4NU.

The full picture: I’m not cool enough for lunch at a hip place in Shoreditch. And Leroy is very Shoreditch. It’s all exposed brick and concrete floors with oak chairs and tables, and not a table cloth in sight. There’s a tremendous vinyl collection along one wall.

The concept is right on trend, too. The brainchild of Sommelier Ed Thaw and Chef Simon Shand, the menu changes more or less every day.

But lunch is the crucial secret.

2 courses for about £25 (depending on the menu). Add dessert for a few quid more. And the food is fantastic. The day we visited, I was so blown away by the delectable game bird, I neglected to note whether it was pheasant, grouse, or wood pigeon. I can promise you that it wouldn’t matter. Mine was perfectly cooked, brilliantly sauced, and artfully presented.

If lunch is the secret, the wine list is the gleaming champion’s trophy. Given the decor and the general sense of on-trend, I expected the wine list to be full of skin-contact funk. There are numerous of that if you’re craving it, but there is also a substantial selection of fantastic and affordable wines from all over the world. If classic French is your thing, there’s plenty. But there’s also Savagnin from the Jura and top flight Reisling from Alsace if you’re feeling trendy, and great choices from Spain and Greece. My advice: Put yourself in Ed’s hands. He’s created a great list, and you won’t regret any choice.

There’s no doubt, Leroy is an affordable lunch-time gem where you’d be happy to take your trendiest friends, colleagues, and clients. I can’t wait to get back.

If you’ve got a restaurant you think I ought to try, please let me know. Or feel free to get in touch if you have a question or need a recommendation.

And if you’ve been to Leroy, please contribute your own reflections in the Comments.