Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London WC2: ‘A rollicking list of cosy British joys’ – restaurant review

Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London WC2: ‘Feels like an ancient Oxbridge feasting hall.’ Photograph: Amy Heycock/The Guardian

As we sit awaiting the beef rib trolley in the Grand Divan dining room at the whoppingly sized Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, we fizz with ideas of how to describe its wildly unfettered quaintness. “It’s all a bit Hogwarts, isn’t it?” I say to my friend Hugh.

He’s been four times already, but then, Simpson’s is that kind of place: a handy-as-heck, posh canteen a short stroll from Covent Garden. There’s a twinkly, ye olde cocktail bar upstairs as well as Romano’s with its more European-style menu. But, for now, let’s concentrate on the Grand Divan. “It’s all very Samuel Pepys’ London,” Hugh says.