Simpson's-in-the-Strand - Early Development

Early Development

An earlier building on the site was the Fountain Tavern, home to the celebrated literary group the Kit-Cat Club, but this was replaced by Samuel Reiss's Grand Cigar Divan which opened in 1828. The establishment soon developed as a coffee house, where gentlemen smoked cigars with their coffee, browsed over the daily journals and newspapers, indulged in lengthy conversations about the politics of the day and played chess, sitting on comfortable divans or sofas. Regular visitors would pay one guinea a year for the use of the facilities and cups of coffee. The daily entrance fee for others was 6d (2½p), or 1/6d (7½p) with coffee and a cigar.

Chess matches were played against other coffee houses in the town, with top-hatted runners carrying the news of each move. The Grand Cigar Divan soon became recognised as the home of chess in England. Today, one of Simpson's original chess sets is displayed in the Bishop's Room.

In 1848, Reiss joined forces with the caterer John Simpson (1808 or 09–1864) to expand the premises, renaming it "Simpson's Grand Divan Tavern". It was soon established as one of the top London restaurants, becoming a popular attraction with patrons including Charles Dickens, William Ewart Gladstone, and Benjamin Disraeli. Simpson introduced the practice of wheeling large joints of meat on silver dinner trolleys to each table and carving them in front of guests – a custom that still prevails today. The establishment flourished: in the 1851 census, the Cigar Divan's premises were home to the tavern keeper, the manager, and 21 staff. The restaurant was, according to the Baedeker guide for 1866, a "large well-appointed establishment".

Shortly before his death in 1864, John Simpson sold the restaurant to Edmund William Cathie, and in 1865 the business was floated as a limited company. A prospectus was issued for "Simpson's (Ltd)" with capital of £100,000 (£7,356,788 as of 2012), to purchase and extend the Divan Tavern. The prospectus stressed the great increase in trade caused by the opening of Charing Cross station nearby, and that Cathie would remain as manager. He employed the British Master Cook, Thomas Davey, who rose through the ranks to head his kitchens. Davey insisted on the thorough and consistent Britishness of Simpson's. He even replaced the word "menu" with "Bill of Fare".

In 1898 Richard D'Oyly Carte, proprietor of the Savoy Hotel, acquired Simpson's. Carte died in 1901, and his son Rupert D'Oyly Carte took over the business from 1903, in which year Simpsons was closed for redevelopment. All the old furniture and fittings were sold off, including the largest solid mahogany table in existence, 265 chairs, and 60 other mahogany dining tables. The restaurant reopened in 1904 under the name it bears today, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, Grand Divan Tavern.