Test Driving Cloth Cornhill, honouring the legacy of Simpson's Tavern while taking it to the next level

The courtyard outside Cloth Cornhill, complete with the classic Simpsons signage. A prime "vertical drinking" site.

What can you tell us about Cloth Cornhill?

This is the second restaurant from the people behind the original Cloth in Smithfield (now called Cloth Fair to help avoid confusion). While there are some similarities to the original - modern British cooking and opening in a historic building - this new opening has very much been defined by its location. 

And where's that?

It's opened in the building that was once Simpson's Tavern (in fact, they still have the name on the door as you can see above). Referred to as the "oldest chophouse in London", it was able to trace its origins back to 1757. Its time as Simpson's eventually ended in some acrimony, as the past leaseholders were evicted due to rent problems caused by the pandemic. For a time, there was concern about just what the future of the building would be and whether a part of London's restaurant heritage would be lost forever. 

But now Cloth has taken it over and relaunched the pub and dining room after a long refurbishment. It soon becomes clear that while this might be something of a new direction for what was once Simpson's, it's actually very much a continuation of the building's rich history. 

But where exactly is it?

It's closest to Bank tube station, but although it's called Cloth Cornhill, it's not actually on Cornhill itself. Instead, you need to look for this sign on the street:

Look out for this sign - that's right beside the alleyway you need to walk down.

That's your trigger to turn into a tiny alleyway, barely wide enough for one person, which leads to a courtyard (see the photo at the top of the page). And yes, while it may still say Simpson's, this is Cloth Cornhill. 

It was a pub in its previous life; is that still the case?

Whenever we put up a video about a pub on Instagram, if there's any dining whatsoever, people cannot stop themselves from commenting "that's not a pub". But it seems very clear to us that Cloth Cornhill is still very much a pub downstairs and a restaurant upstairs. 

Downstairs, when you make your way through the crowds drinking outside (we were in straight after work on a Thursday, i.e. the busiest night), you'll find the main pub in two parts. There's a part which has seating and is more of a saloon bar:

This is the main pub downstairs - it's walk-in only and mainly for drinking (but there are pub snacks). 

And then there's the standing-room-only part of the pub, probably the most famous aspect from its time as Simpson's:

The classic standing pub at Simpson's, for when you're up for some vertical drinking but don't fancy the weather outside. 

Either of those rooms is the place to be if you've come in for a drink (and the Guinness was very good on our visit). There is a small bar food menu in the pub too, but it's very much about snacks, with options like oysters, chips and pepper mayo, Welsh rarebit, or a porchetta sandwich, a sausage that calls back to its days as Simpson's and nothing over £12 on the menu. So while you can get some great food down there, it's grab-and-go type stuff, not a sit-down meal. 

That said, if you are just popping in for a snack (or having a drink in the pub before dining), we'd strongly recommend these:

Coronation crab rosti (£8) - which is a pair of mini rostis with a dollop of coronation crab on top. Pretty much a perfect pub snack. 

Pig's head brioche (£8) - A perfectly formed brioche filled with a piggy mixture. Again - fantastic. 

And the restaurant is upstairs?

Yes, head up the staircase, and you'll find the main dining room:

This is one of the dining rooms upstairs, retaining the original chop house booths. 

This is actually one of two dining rooms up here, all decked out in classic chophouse decor (if you've been to Quality Chop House, you'll see some similarities). It's all primarily booth-based dining, although there's some new counter dining space up here too.

We particularly loved the trio of seats for two by the window (you can just about see a couple of them above). Instead of facing each other, you're actually sat with your back to the window, looking into the room. I don't know what it is about those seats, but we loved them. 

How about the food?

The menu here is once again led by chef Tom Hurst, the chef who ran the kitchen at the original Cloth and who has previously been at Brawn, The Marksman, Levan and more. He's following the same modern British approach that he started in Smithfield, while adding more chops and steaks to the menu to fit in with the history of the space. 

You can begin with snacks, and while there are some that are shared with the pub downstairs, like the sausage, there are a few unique to the restaurant that you'll want to try:

Devils on horseback with black pudding and brown sauce (£9, normally for three)

Maldon rock oysters with apple and lovage (£5 each)

After that, it's a standard three-course affair and here's what we went for:

Duck liver and foie parfait with pickled quince and onion brioche (£18) - still thinking about that brioche...

Smoked haddock, mussel and leek gratin (£18) - a lovely, rich dish that's almost huge enough to be a main course. One that's probably better to share.

Hereford sirloin with bone marrow and caper butter (£38) - steaks were great at the original Cloth, and it's the same here, particularly with an incredibly rich sauce. We've also had far, far smaller steaks elsewhere for more money.

Grilled lemon sole with potted shrimp and sea beet (£32) - not only perfectly cooked, but hats off to the sauce chef.  

A special mention for the mash (£7.50), which seems like it's about 75% butter (correct ratio, obvs).

Baked caramel custard & mirabelle plum (£11) - a great tart, but it just needed a tiny bit more time to set.

Mascarpone ice cream with roasted figs, port and olive oil (£11)

Anything else to highlight?

There's an excellent set lunch deal here, coming in at three courses for £29, which is a really good option for a mid-week City lunch. 

What about drink?

Downstairs in the pub, the main drink of choice is a pint, of course, and Guinness is certainly the pint of choice for many people there, inside and out. Thankfully they manage to pour an excellent pint.

But Cloth has always been known for their wine, as owners Ben Butterworth and Joe Haynes are also wine importers and you'll certainly find their wine on the list. Talking to the sommelier, the list is a work in progress at the moment, as they learn what the preferred tastes of the locals are (so far, folk seem very keen on Bordeaux and Burgundy). It's still a sizeable list and if you're in the restaurant, getting a bit of advice is certainly a good idea. Bottles, meanwhile, start at £39 (175ml glass for £11), which is pretty good these days, with the list stretching well past £1000 if you're a City worker who's feeling a bit flush. 

The Guinness was great (good value at £7), but there's a good selection of wine available in the pub too. 

Overall thoughts

The original Cloth in Smithfield was a great restaurant, and if anyone was going to take over Simpson's, this team were clearly the right choice. Downstairs they've retained it as a proper, old-school pub, with a decent wine list, while upstairs mixes the building's classic old-school charm with an excellent modern British menu.

It all brings to mind another chop house, namely Quality Chop House, where a new crowd took over a classic restaurant and managed to both reinvent the menu while staying true to its heritage. Taking over such an institution, Cloth Cornhill had a steep hill to climb, but they've seemingly done it with ease. We'll certainly be back.