Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London WC2: ‘A rollicking list of cosy British joys’ – restaurant review | Food
As we sit awaiting the beef rib trolley in the Grand Divan dining room at the whoppingly sized Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, we fizz with ideas of how to describe its wildly unfettered quaintness. “It’s all a bit Hogwarts, isn’t it?” I say to my friend Hugh. He’s been four times already, but then, Simpson’s is that kind of place: a handy-as-heck, posh canteen a short stroll from Covent Garden. There’s a twinkly, ye olde cocktail bar upstairs as well as Romano’s with its more European-style menu. But, for now, let’s concentrate on the Grand Divan. “It’s all very Samuel Pepys’ London,” Hugh says. “Or very ‘I’m a member of the British establishment meeting my former Eton fencing team for claret and rabbit with grain mustard’,” I reply as the dining hall, which has been used in various forms since 1828 (apparently even Dickens popped by at one point), fills to the brim pretty quickly on this Sunday lunchtime. Old school: Simpson’s-in-the-Strand’s rabbit terrine is served with apricot chutney and toasted brioche. The soundproofing is world class, meaning …
