Sunday was my birthday. My 50th birthday. I am not entirely happy with it. Fifty is old and I didn't particularly want to celebrate it. I'd rather it simply went away.
However, my wife organised four of us to go to Simpson's in the Strand for lunch.
I am increasing nervous of the new wave of restaurants with their wilted, foraged greens such as we have in our restaurant at home. For me the lure of traditional, historic and elegant places takes precedence. There are some glorious names out there evoking memories of a long gone era. It may be snobbery but I'd much rather dine at the top than anything else. And Sunday it was Simpsons.
The food, as expected, was glorious. What else can you have but the exquisite roast beef carved at your table? The wine waiter was incredibly attentive when he realised we were also going to drink. Our first magnum was delicious.
But two irritating points emerged. The first was the 'discretionary service charge' of 12.5 per cent which I have mentioned before. It may be discretionary but it is written in indelible ink. Try getting around it. The staff don't fight clean.
The second thing I am discovering is that the more you pay, the posher the place is, the less likely anyone uses a measure of any kind.
My first drink, a Bloody Mary, was elegantly freepoured. At £9 a drink you've virtually paid for half the bottle of Tanqueray so a measure seems a little unnecessary. But on glancing around I noticed nothing was measured. Are they too posh to measure? I've noticed it in the Savoy, the Royal Opera House, the Globe and at Simpsons. They all seem to freepour their drinks with no obvious reference to any legal sizes.
Knowing the malevolence of the Trading Standards Officers I am surprised. Surely it cannot be one rule for the rich, another for the poor?
But even these petty details cannot detract from the grandeur of dining in grand surrounds. So few do it well these days. It's a welcome break from the hustle bustle of the pub.