Simpson's Tavern reopens as Cloth Cornhill in London
Four years after a rent dispute closed London's oldest chophouse, new owners reopen it under a different name — same panelling, same coat hooks.
Simpson's Tavern, the City of London chophouse that first served diners in 1757, has reopened as Cloth Cornhill, four years after a rent dispute shut its doors.
The tavern at 38½ Cornhill fell into arrears after the pandemic and closed in 2022. A City AM campaign raised more than £100,000 toward saving it, short of the £350,000 target, and in December 2022 the City of London granted it Asset of Community Value status, giving locals the right to bid before any sale.
The site reopened on 1 October under Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth and chef Tom Hurst, the team behind Cloth in Farringdon. Legal restrictions on the Simpson's name forced the rebrand, though the owners describe the relaunch as a restoration of 269 years of history rather than a replacement.
The name changed. The panelling, the coat hooks and the high-backed booths did not.
Cloth Cornhill keeps the panelling
The Grade II-listed building keeps its original wood panelling, bow windows, tiling and fireplaces. High-backed booths still carry the brass rails that let City clerks hang their coats and top hats. A ground-floor pub, Amy's Bar, seats roughly 40 standing; the restaurant upstairs holds 105 across two dining rooms, with a private room for 24 opening on 1 November.
The kitchen keeps the chophouse format: a Barnsley chop for two with anchovy and rosemary butter, a Dorset crab cocktail, grilled sole with potted shrimp, and Hereford beef served with bone marrow. A Cornhill sausage follows an all-pork recipe found in a 1940s cookbook during the refit, served with a sharp beer mustard.
It joins a City dining scene leaning back into the format, from this year's expanded Michelin Guide Great Britain list to a new head chef at Quality Chop House, another chophouse built on the same City lunch trade.
A weekday lunch set runs £24 for two courses or £29 for three. Drinks include a rotating vintage cocktail, the first a negroni built to a 1970s formula.
Critics file an early verdict
Early reviews have been positive. The restaurant platform Hot Dinners scored the relaunch 9.0 out of 10, its “exceptional” tier. In The London Standard, critic Josh Barrie called the revival “a touching job,” with “pretty good” food and an “enchanting” room.
Cloth Cornhill opens for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday, 11am to 11pm, closed at weekends — the same City-office rhythm that built Simpson's reputation in the first place.
