First Look: Jeremy King’s Simpson’s in the Strand opens its doors

Meanwhile, the 135-cover Romano’s offers informal dining on the first floor, acting as an all-day Grand Café. It takes its name after a bohemian restaurant at 400 Strand, where the atmosphere was described as having been “highly charged with greasepaint”, and serves a selection of British seasonal favourites.

The 44-cover Simpson’s Bar is a destination cocktail venue open until midnight, paying particular attention to British gins, vodkas, whiskies and sparkling wines, while the 58-cover Nellie’s stays open “long past midnight” and has been fitted out with a life-size portrait of opera diva, Dame Nellie Melba.

Finally, the Assembly Room operates as a private event space that can host 135 standing or 110 seated, complete with high ceilings, large windows and Regency styling.

Simpson’s in the Strand is led by general manager Michael Johnston, previously general manager at Brasserie Zedel, and group executive chef David Stevens, formerly the Wolseley Group executive chef.

King said: “It is now well over 40 years since I fell in love with Simpson’s in the Strand and over 20 years since I first became excited at the prospect of running it.

“Simpson’s is the last of the ‘Grande Dame’ restaurants that still retains its original décor and features, and the opportunity to restore it to its former glory is the apotheosis of my career. We have cherished the history of this magnificent institution as we brought it fully into the 21st century.” 

In 1848, Mr Reiss, one of the first founders of Simpson’s, was joined by Mr Simpson, a caterer, to rebuild and relaunch his former coffee and chess house as Simpson’s Tavern and Divan, where the tradition of silver meat trolleys began.

In 1898, the restaurant was sold to Richard D’Oyly Carte, managing director of the Savoy, and in 1904 Simpson’s reopened in today’s location following an extensive rebuild.

Over the years, the institution has attracted the likes of Charles Dickens, PG Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle, EM Forster, Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock and Audrey Hepburn.

It also became a site of pilgrimage for the top chess players of the century, all of whom played at Simpson’s at some stage. These included Wilhelm Steinitz, Paul Morphy, Emanuel Lasker, Johannes Zukertort and Siegbert Tarrasch.

In 1974, it became one of the first restaurants in the UK to win a Michelin star, and in 1984, it allowed women to dine at the Grand Divan on street-level, rather than being confined to the upstairs Ladies’ Dining Room.

Simpson’s in the Strand forms part of the ever-growing Jeremy King Restaurants, which was launched in 2023 by the esteemed restaurateur behind the Wolseley.

King was ousted from his restaurant group Corbin & King in 2022 after a battle for control with Thai hotel group Minor International, which has since rebranded the business as the Wolseley Hospitality Group.

In March 2024, King opened Arlington on the St James’s site where he ran Le Caprice, his first restaurant with business partner Chris Corbin, and in June, he opened the Park, a modern, all-day ‘Grand Café’ in the Park Modern building in Bayswater.

King received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Cateys.