Simpson’s Tavern

Great food, historical settings, excellent service. will make it a point to eat there if I'm back in town.

Very nice steak. Had rump, not the most expensive cut, but it was done very well. Seasoning was on point, chips were great, beer was nice and the atmosphere at lunch (2 pm ) was pretty solid. Great waiter. Dunno, pretty perfect really. Only downside was that although the benches look the part, ultimately they weren't very comfortable. Top marks though.

A very tasty portion of pie and mash in an entirely unpretentious manner. Not cheap but very good.

Very much a meat eater's paradise but then that's how they set out their stall so you can't complain at the lack of vegetarian options. Several excellent specials on the board today but get in early or they soon disappear. Desserts are very much of the school dinners type enjoyed by City gents. Prices are very reasonable for the location and associated clientele though vegetables tend to be extra unless a key part of the dish. Serving staff both friendly and entertaining.

The worst and most expensive roast beef dinner I have had, tough elastic beef, sloppy watery spinach, and god knows what they did to the roast poatoes, black brown and texture of boiled potatoes, a pint of flat warm lemonade from a big plastic bottle, the waitress kept repeating with a scowl that service was not included, I went with a friend after listening to someone famous reminisce about his childhood memories of this place, I understand that it is smack bang in the City of London and assumed that they did not like our appearance and thus the hostile reception and the terrible food. Will never return. This review was for my experience of this joint before it's closure, my original review at the time was not published by google for some reason.

Absolutely incredible. Went with my mum and had a great time. Staff are brilliant, food is riotously old school (pie then sponge pudding) and a venue that's got some real magic about it. Not for those who are keen on privacy as may be required to share tables.

My very favourite place in the City, a casual lunch venue with good simple food and wine. Dickinson seating arrangements and great service from experienced staff. Not Nouveau cuisine, but basic good quality wicked on a plate. Stewed cheese fantastic

Excellent hidden gem. Stopped off for a pint off the back of a review I saw on YouTube. Definitely worth a visit.

This is a fine example of an old-fashioned City institution, the chop house. A very odd mix of public school dining hall and old man's pub, this won't be everybody's cup of tea. The food is unexceptional but hearty - think a good lunch day at, say, a remote boarding school in Suffolk, and there are a number of idiosyncracies. If you ask for the stilton, you'll be presented with a whole cheese ( several previous [temporary] owners). And if you have a roast, the question may arise as to whether you'd like a sausage. This is a test; the correct answer is "Yes". So, don your old school or regimental tie, leave the good woman at home ( sorry, it is a bit of a blokey institution, although women aren't actually barred), and tuck in to a hearty repast that won't have changed much since 1855, accompanied by at least one bottle of claret.

Open on the current site since 1757, this is a very traditional eatery. If you book, you eat upstairs where you sit in wooden pews on fixed tables and a cockney waitress with a flea in her ear will take your order from a menu that changes daily. Sitting there, in the few short minutes you'll be waiting for your fare to be served up, you are aware of the ghosts of city gents and banker past who have gobbled down the same lunch that you are about to consume for over two centuries. My colleagues and I opted for the roast pork belly and the Welsh rarebit to start. Being a Thursday the mains of the day we selected were by steak and kidney pie for the chaps and roast beef for the ladies with spinach, bubble and squeek and roast potatoes on the side. The roast pork belly was marvelous served with a tasty crackling and mustard, the beef was cooked perfectly (red in the centre) and the home made pie was so generously apportioned that it would have sated the hunger of the entire population of Dickensian London. It's only open at lunch time on weekdays. Hot tip: If you just walk in and there are no free tables downstairs you may have to wait in the bar for a seat at a table, if you walk upstairs and say you haven't booked, they will probably be able to fit you in. http://www.simpsonstavern.co.uk I was in here again today and had the roast pork with stuffing which I had with spinach, cauliflower cheese and chips. The spinach deserves a particular mention, it's great. Four of us ate here today and together with a small drink each it all came to £58 for the lot.

1757! How's that for being around a long time? Came here just for the experience and had a great time, some nice beer and good food. Ask for the stewed cheese, it's like Welsh Rarebit, cheese over bread, and very filling! Enjoy!

Remember that scene from Oliver Twist when young Oliver all doe eyed and s**t wanting some more gruel looks up at Bumble the Beadle character and asks "..Please sir I want some more..." To which Bumble sinisterly sneers in reply...MORE...YOU WANT MOOOOORRREE!!!........makes me think English people are f***ing tough and even cruel sometimes (that's why I like em' btw) All of this was just to set the scene for what has got to be one of my favorite old school fry up joints in The City. ...Been there for age's...I even like it when the smoke starts to fill the room from the grill ....yorkshire pudding, brown ale, battered fish....all the primary food groups of British cuisine are represented here (cheeky for sure) ...may not be for everyone..but just right for this yank on frequent biz to "Blighty" A grade

City institution hidden away on a side alley near the Royal Exchange. Great mix of people from city workers, tourists and pensioners ! Food is simple English fare. Too tip is to always order "with" - as in with a sausage on the side. Pork belly for starter is delicious. And you can't go wrong with the steak and kidney pie. Recommend getting chips and bubble and squeak with it! Service is attentive and good.

This place is one of the last Edwardian eating houses left in The City. Tucked away at the end of an alley, just off Cornhill, in the shadow of the Bank of England. Tables are in rows and cubicles with wooden benches and the waitresses seat different groups alongside each other on the same tables, filling the tables up as they arrive. You won't be eating alone here! The food is traditional English: Steak and Kidney Pie, Pork Chops, Lamb Chops, Liver & Bacon, etc. and there is also a set daily specials menu - all served with an extra sausage. This is comfort eating at its most calorific and very tasty. The clientele is mainly City workers, to whom Simpsons is quite well-known - with lots of chat and noise and people milling about drinking pints. It's probably too well hidden for tourists to find but definitely worth a visit if you are visiting.

Authentic British fare in a lively friendly tavern. Communal seating. Limited but excellent menu. Everyone and I mean everyone at lunch has either a pint, a glass of wine or a cocktail. Loved it.

Just a perfect afternoon at a real English pub! Lunch offerings were all traditional fare. Cottage pies, ploughmans and guinness were perfect. Service was gentle and warm! The Friday afternoon regulars were so welcoming. We couldn't have asked for a better way to introduce my sons to an English Pub.

This place was off a little side street. Not the normal place i would go to. Ambiance was great. Waiters very attentive and quick. I had the Cottage Pie, sausage and cauliflower with cheese. Simply amazing!! Sausages in London are much better than stateside in Florida. I would have taken more with me i could have. Looking forward to going back.

Wow. I though I knew this part of London, but I had never stumbled upon this 'traditional English eaterie' until invited by some work colleagues. We turned up late without a booking, got a table in the basement and within minutes had our beer, pie and mash and fish and chips. It would be no exaggeration to say the place has probably not changed in the last 200 years. Absolutely amazing. And shut in the evenings.

Traditional City eaterie. Daily specials provided by long-serving staff. Try the steak and kidney pie with bubble and squeak (add a sausage if you're really hungry). Be prepared to wait and share a booth/table and the waitresses prefer a cash tip!

Average food but plenty of it in a shared booth. Would have scored higher but was slightly taken aback to be told that the tip we had left was not enough! Was slightly confused as I thought tiping was optional.

One of my favorite London restaurants. Simpson's Tavern is like a club - once you start going there they remember you, you have your own waitress and, if you become a real regular, you even find out about the annual Christmas party - lots of afternoon singing and drinking. This is old school fare, served old school style. From starters to the big wheel of Stilton and port after. Love it. And if you eat downstairs, as I always do, you will be seated with others you can meet some very interesting people. Many's the time I started at lunch and ended up closing the place, then joined my new friends at a nearby pub such as the Jamaica Wine House until the early evening.