City institution Simpson’s Tavern reborn as British restaurant
Simpson’s Tavern, the City’s oldest chophouse which closed in 2022, is to reopen later this year as a modern British restaurant.
Cloth Cornhill will open on 1 October on the site of the former pub, which first opened in 1757 and was a favourite drinking haunt of Charles Dickens and William Thackeray.
A new era for Simpson’s Tavern
Morning Wire campaigned to save Simpson’s Tavern after the venue fell into rent arrears following the pandemic. A City institution for over 250 years, over £100,000 was raised from public donations, but the pub needed £350,000 to survive.
Owners Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth and Tom Hurst have spent the past year restoring the Grade II listed venue ahead of its relaunch.
Much of the original detailing, including wood panelled walls, bow windows, tiling and fireplaces remain. Also still in place are the high-backed wooden seating booths that became synonymous with the venue. These booths still retain their brass rails designed for hanging top hats and overcoats.
Photos and books recovered from the venue are now displayed as features of the new refit.
Chops, steaks, day boat fish
Cloth Cornhill will open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday. There is the traditional pub space on the ground floor and the “old grill room” which has 40 covers for diners. The main restaurant is on the first floor.
Chops, steaks and day boat fish will mirror the modern British approach championed by the trio at their original Cloth restaurant in Farringdon, which opened in April 2024.
One dish of note is the Cornhill sausage with beer mustard, which was created from an old recipe book of Simpson’s classic dishes dating from the 1940s, discovered during the refit.
On the menu will be smoked haddock with potato and leek gratin, bacon and bone marrow pie, grilled lemon sole with potted shrimp and Hereford sirloin.
A lunchtime set menu will be priced at £24 for two courses and £29 for three.
The cocktail list features a regularly changing vintage cocktail, the first of which will be a negroni with aged Campari, gin and vermouth following a recipe from the 1970s.
The trio say: “We’ve worked extremely hard over the past year, preserving all 269 years of this beloved institution’s history, whilst pouring new life into it – and we can’t wait to show everyone the restored space in all its glory. We’ll be bringing our signature Cloth style of modern service, seasonal produce, and of course, a standout wine list to these historic rooms. The City has long missed the hubbub of Ball Court and we feel extremely privileged to bring it back to life.”
In December 2022 Canada granted Simpson’s Tavern Asset of the Community status, which partially protected the building’s legacy. The status meant that the building could not be sold to commercial buyers without giving the local community the opportunity to buy it first.
Canada Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward said: “Simpson’s Tavern is a City institution frequented by generations of workers and residents who have enjoyed its good food, drink and convivial atmosphere.
“Its long history and deeply rooted status at the heart of the community means that it clearly meets the criteria for designation as an Asset of Community Value, something which must now be taken into account in any decision over its future.”
Giles Coren, the Times’ food critic, told Morning Wire at the time of the closure that it would be a “monstrous shame” to lose Simpson’s Tavern.
Coren said with “the effect of the pandemic and energy prices wreaking havoc on the entire industry” it was “hard to pick your sob stories” but that Simpson’s Tavern remained an icon.
“There are so few places like this left – it’s part of the lifeblood of the City.”
For more information go to Cloth’s Instagram (the website for Cloth Cornhill is not yet live).