Announced in late 2025 and originally expected to launch this summer on the former site of Simpson’s Tavern in The City - one of the capital’s oldest restaurants - Cloth Cornhill will now open in early October.
Like its older sibling, a 15-minute walk to the west, the restaurant will trade on weekdays only, serving lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday.
The ground floor will operate primarily as a pub, comprising the standing-room-only Amy’s Bar, which will spill out into Ball Court, and the former grill room, with space for 40 seated guests.
It will serve beers, cask ales and a shortened version of the restaurant’s wine list alongside bar snacks and changing blackboard specials.
The first-floor restaurant will occupy two dining rooms, with most guests seated in the restored wood-screened boxes. A small bar will provide a further eight counter seats.
Overseen by Hurst, the menu will include devils on horseback dressed with smoked chillies, capers and parsley; smoked haddock, potato and leek gratin; venison, bacon and bone marrow pie; grilled lemon sole with potted shrimp and sea beet; and a Barnsley chop for two with anchovy and rosemary butter.
Desserts will include warm chocolate pudding with hazelnut ice cream, while a rarebit custard tart will be offered as a savoury course.
A Cornhill sausage has also been recreated using a Simpson’s recipe book from the 1940s discovered during the year-long renovation of the Grade II-listed space.
Cloth’s two-course £24 and three-course £29 lunchtime prix fixe menu will be available from Monday to Thursday.
Friday lunch will feature a £29 steak special comprising steak, chips, salad and pudding.
The wine list will lean particularly towards Bordeaux, the Rhône and Champagne, with Haynes and Butterworth - both wine importers by trade - sourcing older vintages, large formats and rare bottles from private cellars and auctions.
A selection of vintage port and Madeira dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries will reference Simpson’s Tavern’s long history.
Two new private dining rooms have been created: an eight-to-12-cover vaulted room on the lower-ground floor and an eight-to-14-cover room adjoining the first-floor restaurant.
Owing to legal complications, the Simpson’s Tavern name cannot be used.
Haynes, Butterworth and Hurst launched Cloth at 44 Cloth Fair in 2024.