Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 12 and Version 1 of Simpson's Tavern, EC3V 9DR

Version 12 Version 1
== Line 0 == == Line 0 ==
Hidden away down a pedestrian alleyway <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/13324466713/ photo]</small>, this gem of a pub and restaurant dates from 1757. The building was originally two late-17th century houses that were turned into a chop-house and coffee shop, and the business has since mutated into its present form.
Hidden away down a pedestrian alley-way, this pub and restaurant dates from 1757 and is a gem. It consists of a small bar for vertical drinkers only as there's no room for any seating, and a small dining room. Upstairs there is a restaurant and down in the basement a wine bar. The building was originally two late-17th century houses that were turned into a chop-house and coffee shop, and the business has since mutated into its present form.
== Line 2 == == Line 2 ==
On the ground floor is a small bar, primarily for vertical drinkers as there's only room for a very small amount of seating, and a small dining room. Seating in the dining room is on hard, narrow benches with solid straight backs, six people to a table <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/31488428786/ photo]</small>, and there are maybe 40 covers crammed into a tiny space, so it's quite cosy and small groups may end up sharing a table. There's also a restaurant on the first floor and a wine bar in the basement.
[[DrHyde|I]] went there for lunch with my mother on a Wednesday shortly before Christmas 2010. It was busy and we hadn't booked, but they managed to squeeze us in to the dining room. Seating is on hard benches with solid straight backs, six to a table, and there are maybe 40 covers crammed into a tiny space, so it's quite cosy and small groups may end up sharing a table. The house beers, at least when we visited, were Bass and Harveys, and the Harveys was well-kept, if a little on the cool side of perfection.
== Line 4 == == Line 4 ==
As of May 2014, food is served noon-2:45pm on Mondays; and 8am-10:30am and noon-2:45pm on Tuesdays-Fridays. It's closed completely on weekends. The menu [http://www.simpsonstavern.co.uk/downloads/simpsonstavern_menu.pdf PDF] rotates through daily specials, and concentrates on traditional English food.
The [[http://www.simpsonstavern.co.uk/downloads/simpsonstavern_menu.pdf|menu]] rotates through daily specials, and concentrates on traditional English food. [[DrHyde|I]] had the roast duck with seasonal vegetables, which, it being winter, were roasted parsnip, carrot and apple, bubble n' squeak (there was also a choice of chips which the waitress clearly felt obliged to mention but would have sneered at anyone ordering them, and rightly so), and cauliflower cheese. Mum had the pork and leek pie. Both dishes were excellent. Particularly noteworthy were the pie crust, which eschewed the barbarous habit of puff pastry for something heavier and suety, and the cauliflower cheese which had a real cheesy tang to it instead of just being cream with a hint of a smidge of a passing mention of cheese. And not only is the food really good, it's well-priced too. Yes, it's a little more than you would pay for lunch at most pubs, but the quality is so much better that it's worth paying for.
== Line 6 == == Line 6 ==
[[DrHyde]] and parent visited for lunch on a Wednesday shortly before Christmas 2010. It was busy and we hadn't booked, but they managed to squeeze us in to the dining room. The real ales available were Bass and Harveys, and the Harveys was well-kept, if a little on the cool side of perfection. Service was very quick and friendly.
Service was very quick and friendly, and I strongly recommend this place.
== Line 8 == == Line 8 ==
[[DrHyde]] had the roast duck with seasonal vegetables, which, it being winter, were roasted parsnip, carrot and apple, bubble n' squeak (there was also an option of chips), and cauliflower cheese. Mum had the pork and leek pie. Both dishes were excellent. Particularly noteworthy were the pie crust, which eschewed the barbarous habit of puff pastry for something heavier and suety, and the cauliflower cheese which had a real cheesy tang to it instead of just being cream with a hint of a smidge of a passing mention of cheese.

[[Kake]],
[[bob]], and [[Ewan]] visited for breakfast in December 2016, as the first stop on our [[Category Waterloo And City Line Pub Crawl 2016|2016 Waterloo And City Line Pub Crawl]]. There were several other breakfasters in when we arrived shortly after 9am, but no problem finding us a table. No music was playing. Service was welcoming and attentive, with frequent topping-up of tea, coffee, and toast (all of which are unlimited, though tea and coffee are a separate charge on top of breakfast).

[[Kake]]'s smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (&pound;8.50) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/31410320291/ photo]</small> was pretty good. The eggs had a beautiful texture, though
I'd have preferred just a touch less salt. The smoked salmon was fine, and just the right quantity to balance the eggs. [[Ewan]]'s beans on toast (&pound;5) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/31525974385/ photo]</small> was perhaps a little basic, but then again this isn't a place that particularly markets itself to non-meat-eaters.

[[bob]] had the full English breakfast (&pound;12.50) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/31487913696/ photo]</small>. The sausage was good quality and quite large, and the bacon was also good quality. The eggs
were fine, but could have been runnier. I liked that they let me have both black and white pudding, instead of making me choose between them as the menu suggested, and I also liked that the toast came unbuttered, making it suitable for a lactose-intolerant person. I did feel it was perhaps a little small for the price, but the quality of the ingredients and the unlimited nature of the accompanying toast made up for it.

The handpumps on this visit were clipped for Marston's EPA, Fuller's London Pride, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Bass, and Sharp's Doom Bar. We however went for the more breakfasty options of a bloody mary (&pound;5) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/30716701913/ photo]</small> and Guinness (&pound;2.80/half). No service charge was added to the bill <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/31526745335/ photo]</small>.

[[DrHyde]]'s verdict: Not only is the food really good, it's well-priced too. Yes, it's a little more than you would pay for lunch at most pubs, but the quality is so much better that it's worth paying for. I strongly recommend this place.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: I like the unlimited tea and toast aspect of things very much, and I would come back if I wanted a leisurely breakfast in the City. It's a shame the seats are so uncomfortable, though; my leg went to sleep at one point.

Accessibility: At least one step up to get into the ground-floor dining room and bar. The restaurant, wine bar, and
toilets involve steep staircases. Wheelchair users will probably not be able to easily negotiate the ground floor passages as they are narrow and twisty, and in any case the interior is very cramped.

See also:
* [http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubreviews/64492/ Pubs Galore comments]
* [http://www.thecriticalcouple.com/the-food-blog/simpsons-tavern-do-you-want-a-sausage-with-
that Critical Couple review]
* [http://www.travelswithbeer.com/2010/06/26/simpsons-tavern-london/ Travels With Beer review]
* [https://whatpub.com/pubs/ELC/14913/ WhatPub entry]

<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Category Waterloo And City Line Pub Crawl 2016|
the 2016 Waterloo And City Line Pub Crawl]], December 2016. Opening hours and food times obtained from a member of staff, May 2014.</div>
address='Ball Court, 38 1/2 Cornhill'
category='Architecturally Interesting Pubs,Breakfast,English Food,Featured Article,Pubs,Real Ale,Waterloo And City Line Pub Crawl 2016'
edit_type='Minor tidying'
Accessibility: the dining room and bar are on the ground floor, the restaurant and wine bar involve steep staircases. I didn't check whether there were any steps internally or accessibility of the toilets. Wheelchair users will probably not be able to easily negotiate the ground floor passages as they are narrow and twisty, and in any case the interior is so cramped that they would be in the way. No doubt staff would try to accomodate them, but it would be very awkward.
address='Ball Court, 38½ Cornhill'
category='Architecturally Interesting Pubs,English Food,Pubs,Real Ale'
edit_type='Normal edit'
== Line 35 == == Line 13 ==
formatted_website_text=' class="external">simpsonstavern.co.uk'
host='2001:8b0:ca94:869f:bcb4:509:3de3:3725'
hours_text='11:30am-4pm Mon; 8am-10:30am, 11:30am-4pm Tue-Fri; closed Sat-Sun'
latitude='51.512536'
locale='City,EC3'
longitude='-0.084403'
major_change='0'
map_link='http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=532912&Y=181083&A=Y&Z=110'
node_image='https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5573026058_c4d3562ebb_m.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Kake'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5573026058/'
opening_hours_text='11:30am-4pm Mon; 8am
-10:30am, 11:30am-4pm Tue-Fri; closed Sat-Sun'
os_x
='532912'
os_y='181083'
formatted_website_text='http://www.simpsonst...'
host='195.149.50.60'
hours_text=''
locale='City'
major_change='1'
map_link='http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=simpsons+tavern&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=simpsons+tavern&hnear=London&cid=0,0,1884377062344536818&ei=OgQJTaZNhLeEB9q_ibYP&oi=local_result&ved=0CCYQnwIwAQ&ll=51.513355,-0.086112&spn=0.000992,0.001684&z=19&iwloc=A'
opening_hours_text=''
== Line 52 == == Line 22 ==
summary='Good City pub with excellent food.'
summary='Good City pub with excellent food'

Hidden away down a pedestrian alley-way, this pub and restaurant dates from 1757 and is a gem. It consists of a small bar for vertical drinkers only as there's no room for any seating, and a small dining room. Upstairs there is a restaurant and down in the basement a wine bar. The building was originally two late-17th century houses that were turned into a chop-house and coffee shop, and the business has since mutated into its present form.

I went there for lunch with my mother on a Wednesday shortly before Christmas 2010. It was busy and we hadn't booked, but they managed to squeeze us in to the dining room. Seating is on hard benches with solid straight backs, six to a table, and there are maybe 40 covers crammed into a tiny space, so it's quite cosy and small groups may end up sharing a table. The house beers, at least when we visited, were Bass and Harveys, and the Harveys was well-kept, if a little on the cool side of perfection.

The menu rotates through daily specials, and concentrates on traditional English food. I had the roast duck with seasonal vegetables, which, it being winter, were roasted parsnip, carrot and apple, bubble n' squeak (there was also a choice of chips which the waitress clearly felt obliged to mention but would have sneered at anyone ordering them, and rightly so), and cauliflower cheese. Mum had the pork and leek pie. Both dishes were excellent. Particularly noteworthy were the pie crust, which eschewed the barbarous habit of puff pastry for something heavier and suety, and the cauliflower cheese which had a real cheesy tang to it instead of just being cream with a hint of a smidge of a passing mention of cheese. And not only is the food really good, it's well-priced too. Yes, it's a little more than you would pay for lunch at most pubs, but the quality is so much better that it's worth paying for.

Service was very quick and friendly, and I strongly recommend this place.

Accessibility: the dining room and bar are on the ground floor, the restaurant and wine bar involve steep staircases. I didn't check whether there were any steps internally or accessibility of the toilets. Wheelchair users will probably not be able to easily negotiate the ground floor passages as they are narrow and twisty, and in any case the interior is so cramped that they would be in the way. No doubt staff would try to accomodate them, but it would be very awkward.


List all versions