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Simpson's-in-the-Strand, Menu
Simpson's is one of the few London restaurants offering only the finest quality British ingredients cooked to perfection in classic British style. The restaurant's speciality of roast Scottish beef on the bone has been aged for 28 days for maximum flavour, and is carved at guests' tables from antique silver domed trolleys - a practice that began over 150 years ago and for which Simpson's is world renowned. The Grand Divan also offers roast lamb from the trolley.
The à la carte menu features fish, including Dover Sole and potted Morecombe Bay shrimps, Simpson's pies and vegetarian options. The restaurant specialises in game in season.
Simpson's Master Cook, Gerry Rae, is delighted to champion the cause of real British puddings with his classic treacle sponge and custard ranking as one of his signature dishes.
Simpson's-in-the Strand History
In 1828, Samuel Reiss opened the Grand Cigar Divan on the site of the Fountain Tavern, which had been the home of the famous literary association, the Kit Kat Club. The establishment soon developed as a coffee house, where gentlemen smoked cigars with their coffee, browsed over the daily journals and newspapers, indulged in lengthy conversations about the politics of the day and played chess, sitting on comfortable divans or sofas.
Regular visitors would pay one guinea a year for the use of the facilities and cups of coffee. The daily entrance fee for others was 6d (2½p) or 1/6d (7½p) with coffee and a cigar.
Chess matches were played against other coffee houses in the town, with top-hatted runners carrying the news of each move. The Grand Cigar Divan soon became recognized as the Home of Chess in this country. Today, one of Simpson's original chess sets is displayed in the Bishop's Room.
In 1848, the noted caterer John Simpson joined Mr. Reiss. Together they enlarged the building and renamed it Simpson's Grand Divan Tavern.
Thanks to the quality of the food, wines and beers introduced by John Simpson, the restaurant became a firm favorite with London's epicureans and it attracted many famous patrons including William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli and Charles Dickens. John Simpson introduced the practice of wheeling large joints of meat on silver dinner trolleys to each table and carving them in front of guests - a custom that is still upheld today. Shortly before his death in 1864, John Simpson sold the restaurant to Edmund William Cathie who was a great connoisseur of wines and cigars.
Cathie employed British Master Cook, Thomas Davey, who was perhaps the first of the kitchen autocrats. He insisted that everything in the restaurant be British. He even went so far as to remove the word 'menu' and replace with 'Bill of Fare'.
In 1898 Richard D'Oyly Carte of the Savoy Group acquired Simpson's. It was closed in 1903 for redevelopment, when the Strand was widened, and reopened in 1904 under the name it bears today, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, Grand Divan Tavern.
Throughout the 20th century, Simpson's has upheld the traditions it holds dear. As we continue into the 21st century, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is proud to serve as caretaker for the years to come.
For room reservations and general information, visit the Savoy, A Fairmont Hotel website. |