Simpsons Tavern

We reserved online for a lunch date for our 25th anniversary while visiting from Stratford, Canada. It had been recommended to us by my spouse's aunt as they used to go there when working in the Bank District. We wanted old world charm and we definitely got it. Everything from the brass top hat rails to the wooden benches. The food was not your nouvelle cuisine, but old fashioned homemade fare that wasn't over-spicy or salted. Our waiter was a hoot and he even gave us a special english dish and flowers for our anniversary. The highlight was the steamy spotted dick with creamy custard sauce. We can't wait to go back and will tell all our Canadian friends travelling there to go there!!
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D. & S. Bulbrook
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

What a load of rubbish!

Food was warm, waiters unattentive and food was a complete rip off. How can you order a roast turkey and have to order your own roast pots and veg! The coke was flat and my friends beer flat too! There was no apologies or discount either!

Dont waste your money!
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Gina Barry
0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 11, 2009

We went to this Venue for a work xmas lunch. Ordering the Turkey dinner £8.50 we were told we had pay extra for Roast Potatoes and Veg. They forget one of the potatoes and although this was taken off of the bill I don't see how this could happen! The meal was cold including all the veg. Whilst ordering the deserts we asked for them to be hot unlike the dinner. Our comment was completely ignored by the waiter and no apology was given Don't go here!!! The beer was flat and so was the coca cola. No southern comfort either!!!! Enough said
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Carmen Jackson
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, December 11, 2009

We arrived at 12:10pm on a friday lunchtime having made a reservation via the internet for 12:00pm for 6 persons. On arrival (three of us initially as were coming from different areas of the city) we were greeted with "just in time, we were just about to cancel your reservation !"....WTF !?

We sat down at our allotted 'bench' and ordered some beer while we waited for our compatriots to arrive....two pints of Harveys and a pint of Becks. A couple of minutes of later, two pints of Becks and a pint of Harvey's appeared ! No matter, mistakes happen and it was soon rectified. We started to reveiw the menu while we waited for our fellow diners to arrive....but were soon being hassled as to 'what was happenning with our table...we're turning business away guys (there was a table of 6 behind us completely empty, a table of 3 to our left completely empty, and a couple of other tables at 50% occupancy!) ?'. We felt rushed and so chivied up our colleagues as we felt were on the clock. By about 12:20pm the fourth of our number had arrived, and a fifth was approximately 5 minutes away.

One of our party left for the toilet while the new arrival waited to have his beer order taken. On returning from the gents, the report came back that 'they were discussing our table again....what's going on with that table...they booked for 6'. A minute or so later another member of staff came over to us and asked again 'what is happenning with the table ?'. We replied that were currently 4 with a 5th on his way...but this didn't seem to hold sway with the younger staff member and so we were asked to move to another table. At this point we decided enoughh was enough. Friday lunchtime for our group is a 2 to 3 hour affair with anything up to 8 or 10 people arriving over the course of the break. We registered our displeasure, paid our drinks bill and left for the much more amiable Jamaica Wine Bar just round the corner.

To be honest, in all my time eating and drinking in the City, i have never received such shoddy service or been made to feel so unwelcome as i was in Simpsons Tavern. Neither i nor my colleagues will ever set foot in the place again and we will make sure that all our friends and colleagues are fully briefed on what to expect should they dare to venture into this hole.
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Dissastisfied of London
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 06, 2009

On the basis of a couple of previous visits a few years ago, I remembered Simpsons as having a pleasant atmosphere of days (or centuries) gone by, but just passable food. However on this occasion the food was a very good example of British cooking done well. I had potted prawns with toast to start which were delicious, served with butter and herbs, and followed that up with a really good beef and ale pie, which was huge and unlike so many other pies had lots of meat in it. The mashed potato was also excellent. Everyone else in my group of six seemed to enjoy their meals as well, although the only disappointment was the dessert - I've had thought a place like this would have a good choice of hot, sweet, sticky British puddings, but it was either jam sponge or Bakewell tart and the sponge was really poor - a dollop of jam on top of some uninspired suet pudding. The service was friendly and prompt - in fact I've never encountered the fabled rude service here. And it still has a great atmosphere - it feels like a real British steak house, which you can imagine served pretty much the same food in the same setting two hundred years ago.

Overall a really nice meal and not bad value, although you do have to watch out for the fact that no potatoes or vegetables are included in the price of the main courses, so those are extra.
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Nick
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Food is very nice but the pricing is a bit naughty. For example you choose beef stroganoff then you have to pay separately for the rice that goes with it. How else is one going to eat a stroganoff, ON ITS OWN? Drinks are priced quite high (£1.50 for a MEDIUM glass of lemonade) and then they finish off by putting 15% service on top (even though the bill stated SERVICE NOT INCLUDED). Last time I ate there I ended up with a £40 bill for 1 mixed grill, 2 glasses of lemonade, 1 beef stroganoff with rice & carrots (my wife asked for 3 or 4 baby carrots with the stroganoff but was brought an entire side order and charged for it appropriately). Good for City types who will put the meal on expenses but for the rest of us who pay out of our own pockets, steer clear.

Great British fare at rip-off city prices.
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mark mensah
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, February 17, 2009