How Jeremy King Revived Simpson’s in the Strand, the Grand Dame of London Dining
In 2020, Simpson’s in the Strand, one of London’s most historic restaurants, shuttered its doors. The restaurant had existed on the Strand for nearly two centuries, initially opening in 1828 as the Grand Cigar Divan, before transforming into Simpson’s Tavern and Divan in 1848. For years, it was a center of chess in England, and it became known for its silver carving trolleys, which wound through the dining room to avoid disturbing the chess players. The Savoy Hotel acquired Simpson’s in 1898 and retained ownership until it abruptly closed during the pandemic. It was a sad demise, seemingly marking the end of a classic era of dining.
But on March 3, Simpson’s reopened. It felt almost miraculous to those on the outside, but its rebirth had been in the works for years. Restaurateur Jeremy King, known for shepherding London icons like The Wolseley and The Ivy, had been trying to get his hands on Simpson’s for years.
“Simpson’s has beguiled me ever since I saw it for the first time in the ‘80s,” King, 71, tells Observer. “It caught my eye, but I never dreamed I would ever be able to afford or acquire that sort of restaurant at the time. The possibility of taking over Simpson’s came through around 2000, but failed. And then I tried again in 2008 and 2015 and, to a degree, just before Covid.”
In 2022, King heard there might be a new possibility. Simpson’s hadn’t reopened after its closure during the pandemic, but the space was still there, so he made a bid to the Savoy. It took three years from the initial bid to the handover, but once all was said and done, King was still facing the challenge of restoring Simpson’s multi-room, multi-floor layout. The current building dates back to 1904, when the Strand was rebuilt, and he wanted to ensure its historic flourishes remained intact.
Unlike many of London’s popular dining spots, Simpson’s is rooted in old-school British tradition. Newer restaurants like Maison Francois and Brasserie Zédel have evoked that sensibility, but to find a grand dining room, you often have to look to classic hotels.
“It was a purpose-built restaurant, and there’s nothing like it left in London,” King says. “It is really unique. If we’d had to create the sort of restaurant it is from scratch, it would have been remarkably expensive. We rebuilt two of the rooms, but used a lot of what was already here. We even managed to keep the chandeliers.”
The biggest updates have been to elements like the kitchen and the air conditioning system, rather than what guests will notice. “I’ve tried to make it feel like it’s been lovingly maintained by the same family over the years,” King notes. “So you can feel the age, but at the same time it’s quite sharp. Most of the modernization has been behind the scenes.”
The most well-known room in Simpson’s is the Grand Divan, a wood-paneled dining room where carving trolleys arrive tableside (the room famously banned women until 1984). Upstairs, there’s a bar and private events space (British Vogue and GQ hosted a BAFTA party there in February). There’s also a second dining room, which will become a café-style restaurant called Romano’s. It’s named after Romano’s Restaurant, another famed eatery that existed on the Strand until 1941, when it was destroyed during World War II.
“It’s my tribute to Romano’s,” King says. “If it hadn’t been bombed during the war, I would certainly have been trying to acquire it as well. It was another grand dame restaurant in London.”
Over the years, the Grand Divan has gone through various manifestations. The color scheme has shifted, and the table layout has evolved, although the wood paneling and the chandeliers have remained. King decided to add more booths to the space, and they meld so seamlessly that returning customers can’t see the differences.
“Somebody I knew brought in a man who knew the restaurant very well,” King says. “And he pointed at one of the booths under the window, and said, ‘Between late ‘80s through into the turn of the century, I used to sit at that table at least twice a week.’ That booth never existed beyond three weeks ago. But, for me, that’s a triumph. People love a sense of belonging, and they love history and nostalgia and feeling part of something.”
As someone who dined at Simpson’s several times pre-pandemic, the revitalization is almost uncanny. Although the Grand Divan has a different table layout and the 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 its reopening, it was full of excitement and energy. Guests were young and old, many with a nostalgia for what it used to be. The service is still a work in progress (the servers, for example, were not always available or particularly attentive), but the vibe is true to prior form.
Reminders of the past appear throughout. In the Grand Divan, the dishes are adorned with the Simpson’s logo, which has also been refreshed. King compares the logo to a Coke bottle. “If you look at the Coca-Cola bottle at the moment you think, ‘That must be the same Coca-Cola bottle they’ve had for years,” he says. “But it’s changed quite radically. We used the basic Simpson’s logo, and it feels the same.”
Before King signed the lease, the Savoy auctioned off some of the old décor, plates and glassware. A few of the silver trolleys were also sold; however, King managed to salvage seven of the original beef trolleys and merged their working parts into the four that now circulate through the room. The trolleys currently offer roast beef, but will soon feature other dishes as well.
“We’ll expand them to lamb,” King says. “I’m dying to do salmon coulibiac. People really enjoy the trolleys. We have four carvers, and one is someone we brought back who used to work here. The beef Wellington may come back at a later stage. We didn’t want to confuse people, so we’re staying with the regular beef for now, and then Wellington can come in.”
During breakfast, which the restaurant had stopped serving in 2017, the trolleys come around with condiments like brown sauce and marmalade. Overall, the menu is traditional English fare, with nods to prior Simpson’s offerings, like the roast beef. Starters include a very generous portion of prawn cocktail, doused with Marie Rose sauce, and venison tartare. There are oysters, hand-dived scallops and Waldorf salad—dishes that can be shared or eaten selfishly. The main dishes are simple but well-cooked, with options for vegetarians and pescatarians. King says the roast beef is exceptionally popular so far, as is the so-called tongue-in-cheek, featuring ox cheek and tongue served in peppercorn sauce.
“There are dishes that are very much part of the past, and they tend to be the simple dishes,” King says. “I worried that it might be a bit boring, but David Stevens, who is the executive chef, came back with one of the most exciting menus I’ve ever had. It’s very British: We’ve got puddings and pies every day, and dishes like boiled ham, which sounds not very exciting. But a great boiled ham with parsley is fantastic and is being well received. The sense of generosity is important. And we’ll keep developing it.”
Vestiges of Simpson’s past as a chess mecca remain. Chess pieces still adorn the entrance, and there are painted murals in the lobby that reflect the building’s history, including one of female chess champion Vera Menchik. King even displayed a few of the original chessboards. While King says chess isn’t a main feature of the restaurants or bars, he notes that “chess will get played.”
King has been part of some of London’s most famous restaurants. He and his former business partner, Chris Corbin, acquired Le Caprice in 1981 and reopened The Ivy in 1990, both of which became celebrity hotspots. They restored seafood restaurant J. Sheekey, originally opened in 1896, and launched European-inspired brasserie The Wolseley in 2003. He has been behind everything from Brasserie Zédel to The Beaumont, a luxury hotel in Mayfair. After the admittedly tumultuous dissolution of Corbin & King in 2022, he founded Jeremy King Restaurants, which now helms Arlington (a revitalization of Le Caprice), The Park and Simpson’s in the Strand.
Despite his impact, King says he isn’t ready to acknowledge his legacy. “I do get told it,” he admits. “But if I start to believe all the press and publicity, I’m more likely to drop the ball. I’m always trying to get better. The great enemy of restaurateurs is complacency and overconfidence. I don’t think I’ll fully enjoy it until after I’ve retired and probably not even then. Unless I’m in a position to look down or look up from somewhere post-death. Then I might go, ‘Maybe I did make a difference.’”
For now, Simpson’s is King’s primary focus. He’s been present for every service since it opened. Romano’s will likely join the Grand Divan by the end of the month, meaning around 250 guests could be dining in Simpson’s at a given time. Still, King, who cites The River Café and The Fat Badger as his favorite places to dine in London, may still have more ways of changing the city’s dining scene.
“I have no plans for anything new,” King admits, although he’s open if the right building comes up. “But my focus is to get Simpson’s running well. I think it’s the Jesuits who say, ‘Give me a child until they’re seven, and they’ll be set up for life.’ So give me a restaurant for seven months to lay down the DNA and the way of operating and how it should be.”
He adds, “I’m not one to blow my own trumpet, but the number of people saying that Simpson’s has gone into the best hands makes me proud. It also really puts the pressure on.”