London’s classic dining renaissance

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1:29David Ellis: As exciting as a new restaurant opening is, there is nothing like visiting an old favourite. And now is the time, as classic dining is having a renaissance in London. So, what to go for? An old institution? Or will it be a new classic? Hi, and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. I'm Tamara Kormornick. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up. London's classic dining renaissance.

2:05David Ellis: Restauranteur Jeremy King has taken on one of his most ambitious projects yet to transform the 200-year-old Simpsons on the Strand into a new and improved multi-venue haunt. This opening is indicative of a new trend for London for, well, the old. In this episode, I speak to The Standard's going-out editor and restaurant critic, David Ellis, about classic dining's unlikely comeback. Of course, we speak about the best of London's established restaurants, as well as places that have got a modern twist on classics.

2:43David Ellis: Hi David, welcome back to The Standard Podcast.

2:46Tamara Kormornick: Thank you for having me, nice to be back.

2:48David Ellis: So you have done an incredible feature on classic London restaurants for the standard. And I thought it was interesting that you started your piece with a study by psychologist Jim Cohn about the calming effect that the physical presence of those closest to us has on stress levels. So when I was reading it, I was thinking about the habit of stress eating. but um should we be stress dining instead so what dr cohen says uh he developed this theory

3:22Tamara Kormornick: called social baseline theory the theory goes that and he he monitored the the brain's reaction to it that basically if you're on your own all the time and having and you're in isolation it affects your mental health obviously but also your physical health hugely because your brain is controlling obviously everything goes on in your body and it can't do that if it's stressed and in effect if you spend too much time in isolation you're wearing your brain out um so i won't go too much into it i don't have a scientific background but i read this thing and i was absolutely flabbergasted so actually rather than stress dining the point is if you aren't dining out with people you will become more stressed i think the short of it is we're pack animals and we need people.

4:05Tamara Kormornick: So in my piece, I say, go to lunch, it might just save your life.

4:11David Ellis: So restauranteur Jeremy King's latest project, the takeover of Simpsons on Strand, is not relying on any gimmicks or trends to reel patrons in and is instead offering classic finery. London has lost some classic establishments like Gavroche, for Bendham and Lyles over the past few years. Do you think Simpsons can survive under Jeremy King? Because it has been closed for six years. It's due to reopen the end of the month. How long do you think its life will be?

4:42Tamara Kormornick: It is a huge operation and people don't use restaurants in the way that they used to. So my tie to Simpsons, which I'm very fond of it, is that when my father was in the civil service, he used to hold huge parties for all the doctors across the country would come down because that's what he did but he wasn't a party organizer but um point being is that people used to have events all the time and so they would rent out these huge great rooms and then just that would pay for the restaurants to survive that doesn't happen anymore companies don't have money to be saying right we're going to have 500 people in this room 500 people in that room and so something as big as Simpsons will possibly struggle.

5:25Tamara Kormornick: However, if there's one person who can make that operation work, it's Jeremy King. And so he's approached it quite cleverly. So the Grand Divan, which is the most famous room, and that's the room where there used to be chess competitions, and that's the room that people like P.G. Woodhouse would go in. He's keeping that much as it was. They've still got the silver carving trolleys going around they serve a very classic bill of fare there's no menu that's too bloody french and they're serving english food uh throughout but what he's also done is there used to be a bar downstairs called the knight's bar um he's turned that into something that i think's called nelly's that's got leopard print on there and it feels very much like an old jazz club and then he's got this huge room which used to be the ladies room um because once upon of time and we are going back a long long time Simpsons didn't permit women into the Grand Divan and so that what was the ladies room is now called Romano's named for a historical figure who used to work at Simpsons and that's much more of a low-key brasserie with a French Italian influence there so he's built this huge building but he's also offering four distinct things now they could tie into each other you could start a Simpsons bar go to the Grand Divan end up in early to leave at three in the morning and that's probably his perfect customer but equally people might want to say they're going to simpsons but they don't necessarily want to pay the full amount to eat in the grand divan which is not unfairly priced but it's still a reasonably expensive restaurant so they might go to romana's which is a lot cheaper but you still get that grand sense of history and because of that because it's multifaceted as an operation yes that means it's an incredibly expensive thing to run but it also means you are appealing to a very broad demographic because the person who goes out at 1am for a martini is probably not the same person who goes in for breakfast and has kippers and porridge and stuff.

7:25Tamara Kormornick: I do personally think it is a tough thing for him to be taking on but he will tell you himself that he is a risk taker when he thinks the risk is going to pay off. He famously used to gamble when he was a young man. he thinks about what he's getting into and I wouldn't think that he'd take on something like this unless he thought that he had 5, 10, 15 years in it maybe longer and in fact because of the way that it's been refurbished to me that suggests he's setting it up for another 100 years of operation obviously with respect to Mr King he's not going to be around in 100 years but that's the kind of operation that I think he's tried to create a legacy piece

8:09David Ellis: Well, we should all watch this space. So David, your piece spotlights classic restaurants, new classics, old classics. But before writing the piece, were you getting the sense that fusion restaurants serving deconstructed food on small plates just isn't cool anymore? And is classic or kind of more European style dining in?

8:32Tamara Kormornick: I think there will always be small plates restaurants out there that open up and appeal to people. But I think the era of them having a monopoly over everything that everyone does is kind of gone. There's still room for I just want a glass of natty wine and, you know, three slices of tarifo for 15 quid. But I definitely think that there is a move towards classic fine dining with proper service. And I think it also encourages different behaviours in the diner. If you get there and your coat is taken and when you give your name on the booking, they refer to you as whatever. Then when you sit down, you might be more likely to have a glass of champagne, start the meal or a martini, whatever.

9:18Tamara Kormornick: And so it actually works both ways. The restaurant has engendered spenny behaviour in you. you're willing to do it because you don't go out very often and then everyone has a better time.

9:30David Ellis: We'll take a quick break. Coming up, David delves into old and new classic restaurant recommendations and shares where to find his favourite traditional dishes.

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11:10David Ellis: Welcome back. Let's get back to my chat with David.

11:17David Ellis: so these in quotes proper restaurants with proper tablecloths and proper service

11:25Tamara Kormornick: where would you recommend going um it's funny that you start with proper because i went to a restaurant that i won't be rude about but then afterwards i went to lascargo with a friend of mine so that we could debrief the lunch that we just had because we both a little bit baffled and we turned up at Lascargo in Soho and sat down and we just went, oh, proper restaurant. And it is old fashioned, but it's also moved with the times. The food is brilliant. They make a good drink and they make you feel so welcome that we just absolutely settled into it. And funnily enough, on the table next to us, there was a chap who probably had about three large brandies, but then asked for another arm and yak.

12:04Tamara Kormornick: And I thought, brilliant, it's four o 'clock in the afternoon on a Wednesday. It's five o 'clock somewhere. Well, exactly, but also good for you. like and good for the restaurant for making people feel that uh as lovely as that um other personal favorites that are very old school uh would be ognisko the polish restaurant um i love

12:20David Ellis: ognisko yeah i think the reason i love it is just because it's fun yeah but it's beautiful um you get a real sense of you know you're in a kind of prestigious place but everyone is having fun the vodka list is wild

12:38Tamara Kormornick: and the martinis are insane they are possibly top three maybe top two for me in London the other place that I always recommend for people that's old school is the Ritz because if you were thinking you might go once in your life and the Ritz is that sort of restaurant if you saved and saved and saved and went and you ended up spending hypothetically £700,£800,£1 ,000 on this meal, not per person, you really have to be doing damage on the wine list, but you could do that between two or three of you without trying that hard there. And you'd saved maybe a year, two years to do that. You wouldn't be disappointed when you got there.

13:19Tamara Kormornick: The room is so ridiculous and ornate and beautiful. Your waiters are in black tie. So that never disappoints because if you're expecting it to be the meal of your life, It very may well be. And that's really special because quite often we go to Michelin-star restaurants and they're brilliant, but they don't feel that different. And then so it doesn't feel that special, but you get the bill and it's 200, 300 quid. And you think, oh, see, if I'd just not gone out for this.

13:46David Ellis: Special prices.

13:48Tamara Kormornick: Yeah, exactly. And if I hadn't gone out for that, then. And I like Randall and Orban in Soho. I think it's a very overlooked restaurant. It's been there 30 years, so it's nowhere near as old as some of these. But it's an old butcher's shop. They've got the Victorian tiles. People are shucking oysters by the door. I don't love that they play club music quite loudly, but that's just a personal thing. But service is great. Wine list is good. They have a great lobster bisque at 10.50. So it's also, it's really good value there. And they do a fruit de mere per person if you want it. So you don't have to persuade someone else into eating it.

14:22Tamara Kormornick: So I think Randall Norbin's brilliant.

14:24David Ellis: That is a solid recommendation.

14:26Tamara Kormornick: Yeah, I haven't done it for a while, but I used to if I was walking Soho at lunchtime, I'd always, for an interview or something I'd always call in to Randall Norbin have a glass of wine, have a bisque, have some breads the one to mention that's completely different to all of these except for its age and its classic status is Ippellici, the East End Caf it's been there since 1900 it's very beautiful inside, you're getting a proper East End experience, possibly it almost feels like a theatre performance but it is the grandchildren of the original owners, it's famous for its fry up but you can also go there and have a sandwich at lunch or a lasagna and you can have a glass of wine.

15:02Tamara Kormornick: So you can do the old school long lunch thing. It's just you won't get a linen tablecloth. But no, if they put it in there, they'd ruin it.

15:10David Ellis: So let's move on to the newer twists on classic. So if you like the classics, but you want something lower key or something that feels more modern, which restaurants would you recommend?

15:25Tamara Kormornick: There's tons. There's an interesting point I just want to make about the piece, which is, we're talking about long established institutions and then the new classics, places that are more recent, but I think that they'll be there forever. There's also, unfortunately for the restaurants that don't get listed, there's kind of a middle ground of places that are a little bit too old to be new, but they're not old enough to be an institution. So I would just want to shout out some of those, which is places...

15:48David Ellis: The unsung heroes.

15:49Tamara Kormornick: Yeah, places like Bocca di Lupo, which is just a brilliant, brilliant Italian restaurant. There's also Sabor, Nieves' place, which has been there. I think it's like 2018 it opens. So it's not new and it's not old, but it's brilliant. And I think Sabor will be here for a long, long time. And places like Casa Crute and Bermondsey, that's been there a while, but it's not been there forever. And that's a brilliant restaurant. I feel like it is an institution already, even though it's not that old. And so that should go on forever. And 40 Dean Street in Soho on Dean Street, funnily enough, 16 years old this year.

16:22Tamara Kormornick: And it just has every night it's packed because it's pretty reasonably priced. the food's good um and people go there again and again and again but of the new classic places that are recent that i think people will go to forever and hopefully will last um probably i mean i think the dorian is the safest bet alongside the devonshire um it has such a huge following already um it's kind of the river cafe of notting hill they're pretty good to the locals who eat there regularly they'll recognise the names on the bookings and then they'll shove off someone else to make room for them. I think the Dover is going to be around forever.

17:01Tamara Kormornick: It's so romantic and sultry and seductive.

17:05David Ellis: It's so cool there.

17:07Tamara Kormornick: Yeah, it makes you feel cooler than you are and it makes you feel better looking than you are. Great lighting. Yeah, those are the two best things a restaurant can do. Great cocktails.

17:17David Ellis: Oh, there's a drink there called the Rosa. Oh yeah? It is beautiful.

17:22Tamara Kormornick: It's named, well I won't say it's named after but it is named after Rosa who used to work at the Groucho as far as I'm aware. But yes. Which makes sense why the drink's so good. And then, yeah, the Devonshire is mentioned. The Devonshire was sort of designed to feel as if it had already been there for 80 years. And it kind of does. I mean it's immaculate so I don't mean it's shabby but people come in, you hear American voices being like, this place is really famous. It's been here ages, right? It's like, no, it opened November 23. But because of that feeling that they've put in there, it's very easy to imagine that in 20, 30 years, I might just still be going there, maybe pre-theatre, pop upstairs for the same set menu, have a Guinness in the back room, do all the things that the devs established.

18:11Tamara Kormornick: That will be around for a long time.

18:14David Ellis: So to wrap up our conversation, I want to ask you about your top classic dishes in London and where to find them.

18:25Tamara Kormornick: If I won the lottery, I would spend every single Friday lunchtime in Wilton's having a double baked cheese souffle and a bottle of Merceau.

18:36David Ellis: I think you'd have a heart attack.

18:37Tamara Kormornick: I wouldn't care. I cycled so much to go to the gym all the time. I'd only do it so I can eat things like that. for those of you who can't see David

18:47David Ellis: he does not look like somebody who eats out all the time

18:51Tamara Kormornick: well thank you I think but yes never trust a skinny critic as they don't say but yeah no it's such a good dish I love it so much and it is very classic and I love it even more because you can't get it at Gavroche anymore since Gavroche sadly closed so I'd definitely do that I love the Tête de Vaux at Bouchon Racine It's a very classic French dish and it's just sticky and anxious, which is sort of a word I detest, but nevertheless it is. So I always have that there.

19:25David Ellis: What about something sweet?

19:27Tamara Kormornick: Oh, gosh. Bread and butter pudding at the Devonshire. All the sticky toffee pudding. Interestingly, I don't normally eat pudding, which helps explain why I don't look like a...

19:40David Ellis: Why you don't look like a sticky toffee pudding. Yeah, exactly.

19:44Tamara Kormornick: and I but there I'll always have a put and I'll have one of those two because they are just the best executions of that pudding I've ever had in my life well more actually um they're going to do it at Sally Arbe's new restaurant which hasn't opened yet called Teal but at Rules which is sort of London's oldest restaurant that's another conversation for another time they do well to rare bit as a savory oh and I love a savory because I don't really go for sweet unless it's the dev um you know if you've had a break after the main yeah of course i can do cheese on toast and they do they do it really really well there um and i'm looking forward to seeing that at sally arby's teal um which speaks to what you're saying earlier yeah classic dining is back

20:27David Ellis: well david if you win the lottery i'll know exactly where to find you yeah just when i

20:32Tamara Kormornick: haven't filed my copy you just get the editor to ring wilton's on a friday um that's what i used to do with an old editor of that I used to work for at the standard if they couldn't find him they just ring the pub next door incredible well thanks so much for coming back on the podcast thanks for having me cheers

20:56David Ellis: and that's the standard for all the latest news head to standard.co.uk if you're new here hit follow and give us a rating. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at podcasts at standard.co.uk. We'll be back here tomorrow morning. See you then.

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22:00David Ellis: Shop now at FromRebel.com. Youth mental health is a complex challenge that requires comprehensive solutions. We must strengthen after-school programs. We must make digital literacy tools available in our schools. We must work with mental health professionals to support children. And we must empower mentors, educators, and parents to keep kids happy. Learn more about our commitment to finding lasting solutions at empowerourfuturecoalition.com slash solutions. Paid for by the coalition to empower our future. Pro athletes don't spend their time meal prepping. They eat smart, train hard, and recover fast.

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