The most humble box, with the grandest history

[99call]

So I think most tourists to London make a B-line to Davidoff, JJ-fox etc. but  Simpsons-on-The Strand may have the richest history involving cigars (pre-churchill). 

This old dirty box, harks back to some of the grandest cigar pedigree in the UK.   101-102 The Strand in London seems to have past throught many different guises.  Coffee house, Grand Cigar Divan, Chess club, Nirvana of Sunday Roasts. 

I believe its been closed for a while, but if in London......especially on a Sunday, Get yourself to Simpsons on the Strand and absorb the wealth of history.     If however you're really lucky, you'll find yourself in somewhere like Yorkshire,  Lancashire or Wales for a real Sunday roast

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson's-in-the-Strand

 

[El Presidente]

Love the history. On my list for next time in London 

That beef roast looks spot on as well!

[99call]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

Love the history. On my list for next time in London 

That beef roast looks spot on as well!

Make sure you don't get stiffed on all the trimmings.  I remember going for a Sunday roast in London once, and being presented with a single roast potato in a huge white bowl......I thought someone had spiked my drink. Simpsons looks like the real deal however.  fresh grated horseradish with the beef is a nice touch

[ha_banos]

I had no idea this place existed. I'll certainly check it out next year. An excellent curiosity.

 

London being London it'll be packed all the time😶

[RDB]

I did a carving course here once: great fun. The kitchens are cool too. Huge ovens roasting whole sides of beef, and the biggest stockpots I’ve ever seen, swallowing rack after rack of roasted bones.
 

Sadly the restaurant has been closed since the Covid pandemic. I believe it is part of the Savoy Hotel, so should eventually reopen. They say ‘in 2024’… just so long as it’s by 2028, which will be their 200th year anniversary.

[99call]

47 minutes ago, RDB said:

I did a carving course here once: great fun. The kitchens are cool too. Huge ovens roasting whole sides of beef, and the biggest stockpots I’ve ever seen, swallowing rack after rack of roasted bones.
 

Sadly the restaurant has been closed since the Covid pandemic. I believe it is part of the Savoy Hotel, so should eventually reopen. They say ‘in 2024’… just so long as it’s by 2028, which will be their 200th year anniversary.

Here's a great illustration of the spinning roasts they did, with the huge baths of dripping fat.   So funny that we've gone full circle in cooking that that fancy restuarant's are selling an Argentinian style of open fire cooking, when in actual fact it was how things were done in the UK, for decades