Perhaps the most important things to say about the Water House restaurant, which has just opened in Shoreditch, east London, are that its food is good, the service is friendly and it offers excellent value for money. The restaurant is comfortable and has a view out on to the Regent’s Canal, even if this is not its most beautiful stretch, and the bar and open kitchen are easy on the eye.

All of this is crucial because the unlikely partners behind the Water House are aiming higher. Their ambitious goals, in addition to creating a restaurant that does as little harm to the environment as possible, are to regenerate a run-down part of London; to train local people for gainful employment; and to make a reasonable return for the regeneration trust that has backed them. Everyone involved has realised from the beginning that none of these ambitions, however worthy, will be achieved if the food and wine on offer are not good enough. Happily, they are.