From The Strand to Chiswick

Saturday, April 04th , 2026

Simpsons On The Strand has been a much anticipated opening, or rather a reopening, of the historic café and restaurant. Jeremey King has applied his usual eye for detail to the site, helped by a large dollop of investment. The large site now looks utterly gorgeous, including two lovely bars. The food was pleasant rather than inspiring, and objectively it was quite expensive for what it was. However, it is hard not to like the place. 

The Kitchen in Chiswick is a place I was curious to try, partly because it was the site of the late lamented Hedone, a much beloved restaurant to me. Sadly The Kitchen was very ordinary, a smartly decorated pan Asian place where money and thought has been spent on the décor but not so much on the kitchen. The food is mostly Japanese, cooked by Brazilian kitchen staff who seem to have only a passing acquaintance with how Japanese food should look or taste. Ah well.