Simpson's in the Strand joins the Michelin Guide

Simpson's in the Strand rejoins the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland, six months after restaurateur Jeremy King reopened London's oldest carvery on the Strand.

The addition came in the guide's September online update, which lists 22 new restaurants across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Inspectors visit throughout the year; stars and other distinctions are only confirmed at the annual ceremony, due in 2027. Michelin gives no reason beyond a visit for adding a name, so the listing itself is the only signal Simpson's gets for now.

Simpson's carving trolley returns

A silver trolley and a Michelin listing: continuity, not reinvention, is the story here.

Founded in 1828 and resident at 100 Strand since 1904, Simpson's closed in March 2020 when the pandemic shut London's dining rooms. King, best known for reviving The Wolseley and Brasserie Zédel, reopened the Grand Divan and its bars on 10 March 2026, with the upstairs Romano's following later that month.

The Grand Divan keeps the format that made Simpson's a fixture of Victorian London: a set roast carved tableside from a silver trolley by a Master Carver, alongside steak and kidney pudding and treacle sponge. Romano's runs a shorter, more contemporary menu upstairs, aimed at diners who want the address without the full ceremony.

Six months of service were enough to earn Simpson's in the Strand a place on the list, without a star attached.

Chez Rose and 20 more additions

The same update added Chez Rose, the Mayfair bistro chef Spencer Metzger opened in June with backing from Jason Atherton on the former Little Social site on Pollen Street. Metzger, a Ritz alumnus, built the menu around pâté en croûte, tournedos au poivre and crêpes Suzette rather than tasting-menu spectacle, and trade reviews have singled out the plainness of the cooking as the point.

Sushi Amamoto London, which took over the former Taku site in Mayfair under chef Jongho Park, also made the list, along with restaurants in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh that the guide has not detailed individually.

Two other September entries had already surfaced this week: Daniel Rogan's AO in Southampton and Andy Murray's Cradle at Cromlix in Dunblane, both added to the guide's online selection days earlier.

None of the 22 carries a star yet. That verdict waits for 2027, once a full year of dinner service has had time to prove the point.