Reimagining one of London’s most historic and finest restaurants.
The Savoy has announced that Simpson’s-in-the Strand will be closing for restoration from Monday 17 April 2017. Robert Angell Design International will be heading up the redesign of the Strand entrance and the Grand Divan of Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, revitalising this famous traditional British restaurant and allowing it to reclaim its status as one of the best in London.
Heritage will fuse with modern London life to create the place in the Strand to meet, eat and socialise. Restored ceilings, chandeliers, and soft lush furnishings will revitalise the Grand Divan dining room and give the feel of a comfortable stately home that harks back to the opulence of the Edwardian era. Guests will dine on an entirely new menu of traditional British fare with a contemporary twist; however long-standing patrons will recognise the original carving trolleys from 1848 from which the famed roast beef will still be served, tableside, as a nod to tradition.
New to Simpson’s-in-the-Strand will be a selection of luxury signature products in the restored tiled entranceway and available for guests to buy. Within the Grand Divan, wine displays will feature a new and impressive beverage programme on offer to diners, and an extensive selection of British cheeses will be on display.
Simpson’s-in-the-Strand originally opened as a chess club and coffee house – The Grand Cigar Divan – and soon become known as the ‘home of chess’. The need for food service that wouldn’t disturb the chess games in progress inspired the tradition of placing large joints of meat on silver-domed trolleys and wheeling them to guests’ tables, a practice that has continued in Simpson’s to this day and will continue to do so after reopening. One of the earliest Master Cooks insisted that everything in the restaurant be British and the Simpson’s of today remains a proud exponent of the best of British food. Famous regulars include Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes), Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. The Grand Divan has featured as the setting of many a famous production, most recently in an episode of Downton Abbey.
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