Restaurateur Jeremy King on losing his restaurants, reopening Simpson’s – and Princess Diana’s favourite table. By Louise Flind

Will Simpson’s in the Strand – your latest restaurant – be your swansong?

It’s the apotheosis of my career – my biggest restaurant ever with 482 covers. It wouldn’t surprise me if I did do something else.

Were you a good eater as a child?

I wasn’t a good eater because the food put in front of me wasn’t good, at school and home. My mother hated food.

Were you interested in food?

Thanks to literature. After A-levels, we had a 24-hour exeat. While all my friends went to London and got wasted, I went to Petworth to eat lunch in a hotel by myself and look at the Turners at Petworth House – sheer happiness.

You’re renowned for your attention to detail. Where did that come from?

When I was 13, doing a holiday job, I was given a very bad brush to sweep a gym, and I swept that gym better than it’s ever been swept before. If you’re going to do something, do it as well as possible.

Did you want to become a merchant banker?

I thought I did…

What attracted you to the restaurant business?

I was incredibly shy but when I was behind a bar, I could interact with people, as I was protected from them.

Where did the idea of recreating historic restaurants come from?

When Chris [King, his business partner] and I were looking for a restaurant, we fell upon what had been the Caprice, that has become Arlington, and when I saw the Ivy Tower, something just sparked in me.

How important is the actual building?

The building speaks, and I love reacting to that.

Was the Caprice a success from the beginning?

Absolutely not. A turning point was a call from Marie Helvin saying, ‘I’m with Mick and Bianca, Bryan [Ferry] and Antony Price, and we’d like a table for 10. You will be busy, won’t you?’ We papered the room, and people went, ‘Wow, is this the sort of place where Mick Jagger comes?’

How do you tell when a customer’s about to hit you?

If they’re squaring up to me, the moment they look down, you know you’re going to be punched. Very few men can punch somebody looking them in the eye.

Are people in suits the most violent diners?

When you see a particular type of man come in, take their jacket off, put it on the back of the chair, roll their sleeves up, undo the top button of their shirt and slightly loosen their tie, that’s when you’ve got a problem.

How did you sort out the problem at the Savoy Grill when Ernest Saunders and Jeffrey Archer wanted the same table?

The maître d’, Mr Maresca, arranged a stainless-steel bucket with an inch and a half of water in it on their table and said, ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Archer, Mr Saunders, I’m afraid your favourite table can’t be used today because we have a leak above it.’

Are you addicted to running restaurants?

I’m not addicted to restaurants; I’m addicted to doing whatever I do well.

How agonising was it to lose your restaurants in 2022 to the Minor hotel group?

It wasn’t so painful because my anticipation before going into the transaction was who was going to get control.

How did you preserve Princess Diana’s privacy at the Caprice?

She was sitting at a particular table in the corner, and we knew the people around it would never bother her.

What’s been your proudest moment?

At the Wolseley, we had two Nobel Prize-winners, and I thought it was wonderful. I went to the kitchen, who said, ‘Big day upstairs, with both of them.’ And I thought, ‘I’m making headway – the kitchen is excited about Nobel Prize-winners,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, it’s amazing to have both Ant and Dec in at the same time.’

Do you have a favourite restaurant?

It tends to be the restaurant I’m in.

Do you go to restaurants?

I quite like going to restaurants alone incognito because then I can see what they’re doing.

Is there anything you can’t leave home without?

A handkerchief.

Is there something you really miss?

The rhythm of home.

Do you travel light?

I may only wear three suits but I like to take five.

What are your earliest childhood holiday memories?

The Lizard in Cornwall, mackerel-fishing, my brother getting sunburnt and my father being taught how to swim.

Do you lie on the beach?

Only to humour others.

Simpson’s in the Strand is now open simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk