No date yet to reopen the City of London’s historic Simpsons Tavern

The ongoing closure of the much loved Simpsons Tavern in the City of London still seems to have no end in sight, with an ongoing court case in the dispute still to be heard.

Simpsons Tavern has been open in its narrow alley location since 1757 and was famous for its unfussy food and much more, its determined retention of 19th-century dining, with communal tables shared by diners. Those age-old tables are from the underwriting room of Lloyds and were soaked in its ink and now the Claret from generations of Brokers, underwriters, and agents.

Like most restaurants, Simpsons was forced to close during the pandemic lockdown and had said previously that it was seeking to negotiate a settlement on rent that the landlord was still demanding to be paid in full. While many landlords had been fair in treating long-standing tenants hit by the lockdown, this landlord used their rights when a debt was due to reclaim the building and lock the doors, forcing the restaurant to close just ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Since then, they’ve been stuck in a legal dispute with the landlord. The landlord is suing for the debt, while Simpsons has counter-sued over the closure of their restaurant.

To preserve the building as a public restaurant, it was granted Asset of Community Value (ACV) in December 2022, but that simply gives a buyer a first right to buy the lease if it comes up for sale. In an update posted by the local Ward, it turns out that this cannot be triggered because the landlord has not put the lease up for sale while there’s the ongoing legal dispute.

The matter is further complicated by the landlord’s claims that they never planned to close the restaurant and only wanted to evict the current tenants. However, the tenants claim ownership of the Simpsons Tavern trademark, so if they weren’t able to return, then the replacement restaurant would have to trade under a different name.

In the meantime, the Secretary of the Simpson’s Tavern Preservation Society, Cllr Peter Dunphy, is working with the City of London’s Planning Department in seeking access to the site to ensure that the closure, and some recent damage to the bay windows does not lead to the material deterioration of the historic building.