In 2020, Simpson in the Strandone of London’s most historic restaurants, has closed its doors. The restaurant has been on the Strand for nearly two centuries, initially opening in 1828 as the Grand Cigar Divan, before turning into Simpson’s Tavern and Divan in 1848. For years, it was the center of chess in England, and became known for its silver-carved carts, which snaked through the dining room to avoid disturbing chess players. The Savoy acquired Simpson’s Hotel in 1898 and retained ownership until it closed suddenly during the epidemic. It was a sad ending, and seemed to mark the end of a classic dining era.
But on March 3, Simpson’s restaurant reopened. It seemed almost miraculous to those on the outside, but his rebirth had been in the making for years. Restaurateur Jeremy King, known for patronizing London icons such as The Wolseley and The Ivy, has been trying to get his hands on Simpson’s for years.
“The Simpsons series has fascinated me ever since I first saw it in the 1980s,” the 71-year-old King tells the Observer. “It caught my attention, but I never dreamed I would be able to buy or have this type of restaurant at that time. The possibility of acquiring Simpson came up around 2000, but it fell through. Then I tried again in 2008 and 2015, and to some extent, right before Covid.”
In 2022, King heard there might be a new possibility. Simpson’s had not reopened after closing during the pandemic, but the place was still there, so he made an offer to the Savoy Hotel. It took three years from initial rendering to delivery, but once all was said and done, King still faced the challenge of restoring Simpson’s multi-room, multi-storey design. The current building dates back to 1904, when the Strand was rebuilt, and he wanted to make sure its historic decorations remained intact.
Unlike many of London’s famous dining spots, Simpson’s is rooted in ancient British traditions. Newer restaurants like Maison Francois and Brasserie Zédel have aroused this sensibility, but to find a large dining room you often have to look to the classic hotels.
“It was a purpose-built restaurant, and there was nothing like it left in London,” says King. “It’s really unique. If we had to create this kind of restaurant from scratch, it would have been significantly more expensive. We rebuilt two of the rooms, but we used a lot of what was already here. We even managed to keep the chandeliers.”
The biggest updates were to items like the kitchen and air conditioning system, not what guests would notice. “I tried to make it look like it had been lovingly maintained by the same family over the years,” King says. “So you can feel the age, but at the same time it’s very sharp. Most of the updating has been behind the scenes.”
Simpson’s most famous room is the Grand Diwan, a wood-panelled dining room where carvings are performed Carts arrive next to the table (The chamber banned women until 1984.) Upstairs there is a bar and private event space (British Vogue magazine and GQ She hosted a BAFTA gala there in February). There is also a second dining room, which will become a café-style restaurant called Romano’s. It is named after Romano’s, another popular restaurant that existed in the Strand until 1941, when it was destroyed during World War II.
“It’s my tribute to Romano,” King says. “If it hadn’t been bombed during the war, I would definitely have tried to get it too. It was another great restaurant in London.”
Over the years, the Grand Diwan has undergone various guises. The color scheme has changed, and the table layout has evolved, although the wood paneling and chandeliers remain. King decided to add more booths to the venue, and they integrated seamlessly so that returning customers couldn’t see the differences.
“Someone I know brought in a guy who knows the restaurant really well,” King says. “From the late 1980s to the turn of the century, I would sit at that table at least twice a week,” he pointed to one of the booths under the window. “Three weeks ago, that booth was never there. But to me, this is a victory. People love the feeling of belonging, they love the history and the nostalgia and the feeling of being part of something.”
As someone who dined at Simpson’s several times before the pandemic, the revitalization is almost surreal. Although the Grand Divan’s table layout is different and Beef Wellington is currently missing from the menu, the experience of being in the room feels the same. When I dined recently, a second week after it reopened, it was full of excitement and energy. The guests were young and old, and many were nostalgic for what used to be. Service is still a work in progress (for example, servers weren’t always available or particularly attentive), but the ambiance is identical to the previous model.
Reminders of the past pop up all the time. In the Grand Diwan, the dishes are decorated with the Simpson logo, which has also been updated. King compares the logo to a Coca-Cola bottle. “If you looked at a Coca-Cola bottle at that moment, you would think, ‘This must be the same Coca-Cola bottle they had years ago,'” he says. “But it’s changed dramatically. We’ve used the basic Simpson logo, and it looks the same.”
Before King signed the lease, the Savoy auctioned off some of the old decor, dishes and glassware. A few silver wagons were also sold. However, King was able to salvage seven of the original beef carts and incorporate their working parts into the four that now rotate across the room. The carts currently serve roast beef, but will soon have other dishes as well.
“We’ll expand it to include pregnancy,” says King. “I’m dying to do the salmon Coulibiac. People are really enjoying the gigs. We have four carvers, and one of them is someone we brought in who used to work here. The beef Wellington might come back at a later stage. We didn’t want to confuse people, so we’re sticking with regular beef for now, and then the Wellington could come.”
During breakfast, which the restaurant stopped serving in 2017, carts come loaded with condiments like brown sauce and jam. Overall, the menu is traditional English fare, with nods to previous Simpsons offerings, such as roast beef. Appetizers include a very generous portion of prawn cocktail topped with Marie Rose sauce and venison tartare. There are oysters, hand-dipped scallops and Waldorf salad – dishes that can be shared or eaten selfishly. Main dishes are simple but well cooked, with options for vegetarians and vegans. King says the roast beef is very popular so far, as is the so-called tongue-in-cheek, which features ox cheek and tongue served in a pepper sauce.
“There are dishes that are very much in the past, and they tend to be simple dishes,” says King. “I was worried it would be a bit boring, but David Stevens, who is the executive chef, has come back with one of the most exciting menus I’ve ever had. It’s very British: we have puddings and pies every day, and dishes like boiled pork, which doesn’t sound very exciting. But the wonderful boiled pork with parsley is wonderful and well received. The feeling of generosity is important. We will continue to develop it.”
Remnants of Simpson’s past as a chess master still remain. Chess pieces still adorn the entrance, and there are painted murals in the lobby reflecting the building’s history, including one of chess champion Vera Menchik. King even displayed a few of the original chess boards. While King says chess is not a main feature in restaurants or bars, he notes that “chess will be played.”
King has been part of some of London’s most famous restaurants. He and his former business partner, Chris Corbin, took over Le Caprice in 1981 and reopened The Ivy in 1990, both of which became fixtures for celebrities. They restored the seafood restaurant J. Sheekey, originally opened in 1896, and launched the European-inspired restaurant The Wolseley in 2003. It’s been behind everything from Brasserie Zédel to The Beaumont, a luxury hotel in Mayfair. After dissolving Corbin & King in 2022, he founded Jeremy King Restaurants, which he now operates Arlington (Activate Le Caprice), The garden Simpson in the Strand.
Despite his influence, King says he is not ready to acknowledge his legacy. “I’ve been told that,” he admits. “But if I start believing all the media and propaganda, I’ll probably drop the ball. I’m always trying to get better. The biggest enemy of restaurateurs is complacency and overconfidence. I don’t think I’ll fully enjoy it until after I’m retired, and maybe not even then. Unless I’m in a position to look down or look up from somewhere after death. Then I might say, ‘Maybe I made a difference.'”
For now, Simpson is King’s primary focus. He has been present at every service since its opening. Romano’s will likely join the Grand Diwan by the end of the month, meaning about 250 guests could be dining at Simpson at a given time. However, the king, who is martyred River Café and Fat badger As his favorite places to eat in London, they may still have more ways to go to change the city’s dining scene.
“I don’t have plans for anything new,” King admits, though he’s open to if the right building comes up. “But my focus is on making Simpson do well. I think it’s the Jesuits who say: ‘Give me a child until he’s seven, and he’ll be ready for life.’ So they gave me a restaurant for seven months to put the DNA and the way it worked and how it should be.”
“I’m not one to blow my own trumpet, but the number of people saying that The Simpsons Company is in good hands makes me proud. It really adds pressure,” he adds.