Three young restaurateurs have revived a 265-year-old City of London institution, blending historic traditions with a modern British dining concept.
Cloth Cornhill has opened its doors at the former site of Simpson’s Tavern, London’s oldest chophouse, following a £1.3m restoration project that brought the historic restaurant back to life after four years of closure.
Restaurateurs Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth and Tom Hurst took over the lease in October 2025, aiming to preserve the building’s character while introducing the approach that helped establish their first restaurant, Cloth Fair, as a critically acclaimed destination.
Founded in 1757, Simpson’s Tavern served City of London workers, visitors and regulars for more than two and a half centuries. It closed in 2022 after failing to reach an agreement with its landlord over rent payments.
The building, located near the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, has a long history of serving traditional British food. Its former clientele included 19th-century writers Charles Dickens and William Thackeray. Women were not permitted to dine there until 1916.
A complex restoration project
Restoring the five-storey, 4,500-square-foot property proved more challenging than the new owners initially expected. Work uncovered structural problems, damp, outdated ventilation and extensive damage behind the walls. The team also found food left behind by the previous tenants.
The renovation budget reached £1.3m, with some costs significantly exceeding initial estimates. Restoring the restaurant’s historic mahogany banquettes alone was expected to cost more than £400,000. The owners negotiated down structural work costs from £1.1m to £750,000 by adjusting parts of the renovation plan.
The project also required balancing modern safety and operational requirements with the restrictions associated with a listed building. The owners retained key historic features while redesigning the kitchen and upgrading essential systems.
Traditional British food with a modern approach
The new restaurant combines the chophouse tradition of generous portions with the team’s contemporary approach to British cooking. Its menu includes steaks and chops, alongside dishes such as venison, bacon and prune pie, roast turbot with crab bisque, and a 750g Barnsley chop.
The bar menu features sausage pie, Welsh rarebit and pig’s head brioche, while a three-course set menu is available for £29 from Monday to Thursday. A Friday steak-and-chips menu is offered at the same price.
The restaurateurs also intend to retain elements of Simpson’s Tavern’s culinary heritage. An old recipe book discovered during the clearance helped inspire a new sausage dish served with beer mustard.
Their first venture, Cloth Fair in Farringdon, opened in 2024 and received critical acclaim for its modern British cooking, generous portions and wine selection. Cloth Cornhill builds on that experience while taking on the additional challenge of preserving a historic venue.
The restaurant attracted around 3,000 people to its waiting list before opening. For its owners, however, the longer-term ambition goes beyond a successful launch: they hope to ensure that the building remains a place for dining and hospitality for generations to come.
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