Simpson's In the Strand

Near the Savoy Hotel and Covent Garden, you'll find Simpson's in the Strand, a classic restaurant serving traditional British fare since 1828.

It's located at 100 Strand.

It started as a chess club and the interior is very formal.

Chateau Haut-Piquat--£66. This is a St. Emilion blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and was quite good.

We ordered the 3-course pre-theater dinner for £34 each.  One of the starters was a Sweetcorn Chowder with Hazelnuts and New Potatoes.

The Chowder was poured at the table.

Another option was the Scotch Egg with Burnt Apple Puree and Baby Watercress.

The last starter option was Poached Pear and Chicory Salad with Stilton, Walnuts and Roasted Pear Dressing.

The chowder was probably the best option.

We all chose the Roast Rib of Scottish Beef served from the Trolley for a £20 supplement.

The tradition of carving meat from the trolley began as a way to avoid disturbing the chess players during their game.

If you get a slice from the center, the roast was quite good. I unfortunately got one of the end pieces, which was well done and I like my meat rare. You couldn't specify which cut you got.

It was served with Yorkshire Pudding, Buttered Savoy Cabbage, Dripping Roast Potatoes, Gravy and Horseradish Sauce. The sides were all good. It was enough for 2 to share.

Dessert options included Sticky Toffee Pudding with Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Caramel Sauce. This was quite good and the better of the 2 dessert options.

The other dessert option was Apple & Blackberry Crumble Tart--Bramley Apple Compote, Blackberry Ripple Ice Cream, Spiced Oat Crumble. 

It was a lot of food and a better option would be to have 1 person order the Trolley Roast and the other order one of the other pre-fixe options. I would also recommend one person get 3 courses and the other get 2 courses, unless you're really hungry.

Service was not as good as I expected. It took a while for our first course to come out and it took some time for the desserts to be brought out. We were headed to the theater and had to rush through the dessert. The staff felt so bad, they only charged us for 2-courses which was £30. 

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