Simpson’s in the Strand review: to improve is to change

The venerable

The venerable old London institution has
had an update – so is it still up to scratch?

Review

Simpson’s’ bright
new interior by designer Robert Angell

If you ever went to the old Simpson’s, the first thing you will
notice when you arrive at the new is that the renovation work is
subtle. The team behind the redesign were smart enough to realise
that old world glamour was never the problem but rather that like
the Sistine Chapel, even the greatest achievements in interior
decoration need a lick of paint every now and again.

The revamped restaurant feels like a fresher version of what
came before. Upstairs, Knight’s Bar retains its private club
atmosphere, but it is more Soho House than Garrick – an inclusive
non-gendered space, rather than a blazers-and-ties gentlemen-only
establishment.

This is not to say it can’t still do the old things well. My
Negroni is an ageing Italian charmer, served over a large block of
ice, while my dinner companion’s Simpson’s Old Tom is a botanical
delight that draws on a recipe dating back to the
mid-18th century.

Determined not to stand still, Knight’s Bar has a new summer
food menu inspired by produce from the allotments of Britain.
Bartender Harry Brereton’s drinks list complements these culinary
offerings, and like the kitchen menu, will change with the
seasons.

Downstairs, the main dining hall is where the cleverness of the
refurb is most evident. Out have gone the frumpy dining sets, which
have been replaced with bright red leather chairs, including cosy
booths lining one side of the room. 

The revamped layout alone is a huge improvement, creating a
welcome new sense of spaciousness. Diners have been given more
elbow room and the ceiling has been repainted (albeit in a
distressed tea-stained colour, to maintain something of the olde
worlde feel of the place).

The new art on the walls also nods to the restaurant’s 19th
century history as a chess venue, with illustrations of octopuses,
windmills and forks. The significance of these may be lost on some
diners, but players of the so-called game of kings will recognise
them as chess moves. A classy touch.

The food

The venerable old
restaurant’s menu has been overhauled by William
Hemming

As Jay Rayner points out, the menu – or as Simpson’s still has
it, the “Bill of Fare” – has changed, with a newfound lightness of
touch.

Gone is the heavy stodge, which under the guidance of new head
chef William Hemming has become lighter, perhaps (whisper it) even
a bit Continental.

Rather than throwing the old menu out altogether, Hemming, who
spent his formative years at Berlin’s Ritz Carlton, has also found
clever ways to update traditional dishes. 

“Take a very old-school dish such as ham hock with Savoy cabbage
and pease pudding,” Hemming told Country Life magazine. “We’re serving it
as a salad, with the ham turned into a terrine that’s broken up and
pease-pudding beignets – we add a raising agent and deep-fry the
mixture to create these light, fluffy dumplings. And the leaves
will be chargrilled.”

Lightness of touch is also evident in the pigeon starter, which
features cubes of slow-roasted pumpkin and a curiously luminous
green parsley sponge. What could have been a heavy plate is light
as a pigeon’s feather. Equally good is the chicken liver parfait,
with pear and apple chutney. 

Tradition makes a return with what comes next: the arrival of
Simpson’s’ famed carving trolley. Could any meat lover say no to a
roast delivered to their table on a silver trolley? The concept
wasn’t broke and Hemming didn’t try to fix it. 

That said, what is actually on the trolley has been updated – a
rose-coloured slab of melt-in-your-mouth Welsh lamb, which I went
for, or if you prefer, a 28-day dry-aged roast rib of Scottish
beef.

The lamb comes with potato gratin, English beans and mint gravy,
while the beef is joined by fluffy Yorkshires, beef-fat roasted
potatoes, gravy and horseradish sauce. Both very good – and the
flourish of tableside service will surely be as welcome in a
hundred years’ time as it has been over the past
hundred-plus. 

To finish, my friend had the Simpson’s trifle: a huge goblet of
berry compote, brioche and gooey clotted cream. Tempting, but I
opted for the chocolate knickerbocker, with dark chocolate ice
cream and a white chocolate sorbet (because when has one type of
chocolate ever been enough?), served on a soft hazelnut brownie and
drizzled with toffee sauce.

So does Simpson’s deliver the way it once did? Well, yes and no.
Some things have changed and some things are very different. But as
one of this restaurant’s most famous patrons, Winston Churchill,
once said: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change
often.” 

Long may Simpson’s in the Strand continue to change; long may it
remain the same.

Simpson’s in the Strand, 100 Strand, London WC2R
0EW; simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk