The trio who opened Cloth Cornhill at the beginning of October had big shoes to fill. 269 years’ worth of well-worn shoes, to be exact.
Formerly known as Simpson’s Tavern, the distinctive building, tucked away in Ball Court in the City, first opened in 1757, earning itself a reputation as London's oldest chophouse and attracting the likes of Charles Dickens and William Thackeray for hearty laidback fare. It remained a rickety, old-school institution serving the Square Mile’s bankers and law professionals for more than two and a half centuries before closing in 2022.
Now, after a year of sensitive restoration works, the team behind Cloth in Farringdon – Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth and Tom Hurst – have rejuvenated the historic chophouse.
A moody, candle-lit cavern of nooks and cosy corners,much of the original character remains, from the wood-panelled walls and fireplaces to the high-backed seating booths (known as boxes) complete with brass rails once used for hanging coats and top hats.
The upstairs restaurant (which has already received glowing praise, including from Broadsheet’s own columnist Jimi Famurewa) is serving hearty sharing plates, a sprawling wine list and a rose-tinted reinterpretation of Victorian London hospitality.
Alongside sardine bites and devils on horseback, chef Hurst's modern British menu features a venison, bacon and bone marrow pie; Hereford ribeye with bone marrow and caper butter; and Barnsley chop with anchovy and rosemary butter. The Cornhill sausage, served with beer mustard, has been resurrected from a Simpson's recipe book dating back to the 1940s, discovered during the renovation.
Downstairs, it's also a classic drinking-hole – in an attempt to preserve (and elevate) the original Simpson’s Tavern. "We've very much been telling people it's a chophouse, but I think most people are assuming we're just a restaurant," Haynes tells Broadsheet. "We've had a few people who are just surprised to find out that there's also a pub."
The ground floor has been split between the standing-room-only Amy's Bar, which spills out into the courtyard, and the former grill room, with space for 40 seated guests. There are cask ales, beers, Guinness and a clutch of wines from the restaurant's hefty cellar (two of the three founders are wine importers), plus an array of bar snacks which can be ordered all day in tasting-menu style for £35.
Among the nibbles are welsh rarebit, coronation crab rosti and pig's head brioche, plus a sausage pie that Haynes says is similar to a sausage roll the size of a chocolate coin, only three times as thick. Throw in a porchetta sandwich and chips for another £20, and there’s no need for a reservation upstairs. "It's a lot of food for two people.”
The bar snacks have been flying out of the kitchen at such speed that the team has already had to rethink how they're served. The original plan was to send dishes up from the basement kitchen in a dumbwaiter, but the sheer volume of orders has rendered it impractical. Instead, staff are carrying plates up the stairs, dodging punters. “It's slightly hazardous,” Haynes laughs, thanks to “streams of drunken individuals looking for the toilets”.
Not that this is putting people off. The restaurant had already clocked up around 3,200 reservations for October and early November. Unsurprisingly, lunchtimes are picking up where the old Simpson's left off. “There are a lot of big, big boozy lunches going on,” says Haynes. “Lots of claret and lots of sausage.”
Old regulars are rocking back up, too. “Most of them have been super happy to have it back,” he says, although there has been the “occasional grumbling old boy” displeased that anything has changed at all.
For those who can't get a reservation, seven seats at the upstairs restaurant counter are kept available for walk-ins. But the team is hoping more people will take advantage of the pub without feeling the need to make an occasion of it. “We're slowly gathering locals and through word-of-mouth people are just coming for drinks and snacks,” says Haynes, “but there is lots more room.”
Cloth Cornhill
38½ Cornhill, EC3V 9DR.
Hours:
Mon to Fri 11am–11pm
