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The famous Simpson’s Tavern – an 18th century London institution – is set to re-open next year.
After over 250 years in business, the Grade II-listed restaurant closed in 2022 after a rent dispute. However, the team behind nearby restaurant and wine bar Cloth have taken over and will be relaunching the venue under the new name of Cloth Cornhill.
The building, which opened in 1757, can be found in the historic Ball Court, off Cornhill, in the City of London. Speaking to the Times, Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth and Tom Hurst of Cloth stated that the new restaurant will promise the same ‘debaucherous wine-fuelled lunches and dinners’ as the old Simpson’s Tavern was famous for.
They added that ‘the old Simpson’s spirit will remain’ despite the name change, and the menu will include ‘chops, steaks and a couple of nods to Simpson’s tradition’. It is thought that the name has had to change for legal reasons.
London’s oldest chophouse, Simpson’s Tavern was known for its atmospheric wood-panelled dining room and old-timey menu, serving up old-school English grub like steak-and-kidney pudding, pork chops and something called ‘stewed cheese’. It also has possibly London’s quaintest address: 38½ Cornhill. Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys were regular visitors to the tavern, and it’s so historical that women were only admitted into the restaurant from 1916.
Simpson’s Tavern is not to be confused with another classic London restaurant (and another fave of Dickens) which is also set to re-open soon, Simpson’s In The Strand.
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