Inside the comeback of London’s 200-year-old restaurant

King reflects, “I’m a great believer in the quote which comes from Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard – ‘For things to remain the same, everything has to change.’ So you don’t change the spirit or the ethos or maybe the basic look, but it’s how it’s done.”

Alongside The Grand Divan, there’s Romano’s upstairs (named after a previous competitor to the Simpsons, which was bombed in World War II), the classic Simpson’s Bar, and, sequestered down a staircase, Nellie’s Tavern. “Nellie’s came about because of my fondness for the theatre,” King says. “There are fewer and fewer places for people to go after the theatre, particularly the practitioners.” Nellie’s aims to become an unofficial West End clubhouse with a very late licence where you might sip Peach Melbas or scotch and sodas. “It’s a completely different thing from what I’ve done before,” King says.

King is no stranger to relaunching and ultimately looking after spaces which have earned a place in the hearts of the London restaurant world. “When I opened Arlington, I did feel emotional because the number of people coming through the door who were emotional themselves. I watched people with tears running down their faces because it meant so much to them over the years.”

Restaurants, says King, can be the background for any number of things. First dates. Divorces. Interviews. Seductions. “Restaurants are part of our daily life and our family histories, our personal histories are created there,” he says wisely.

“Simpsons, to my surprise, has been fundamental to a lot of family history,” he continues. “When people come in, I like to think that their hearts will lift and their imagination take flight because they’re being transported back. The best restaurants, I feel, are the catalysts for what we want to make of them.”