Quo Vadis

Godmother's delight

Assuming Quo Vadis is still going in 15 years time I will be bringing my godson here for his first swanky grown-up London restaurant experience and trying not to bore on too much about how I came here “in my youth” with his parents for a great meal. We'll battle through Soho streets, find the revolving door between the sex-shop and the latest oxygen bar, then step into a sophisticated world which hasn't changed since my last visit. The still smiling staff in the lobby will whisk us straight up to the “members only” feel bar and I'll order him an amazing cocktail while we lounge on the comfy sofas. Before it goes to his head we will head down to the lively dining room, picking our way through the well-heeled clientele (he'll be relieved I nagged him into wearing clean trousers), to our banquette table tucked away behind a glass screen at the back. The menu will baffle him a bit and I'll explain the meaning of “rissoles”, “sweetbreads” and “green salad”. Even though the menu changes daily (and we can tell as it says -5 degrees at the top today and it hasn't been that warm since the Big Freeze of 2015) by extraordinary coincidence I'll be able to have the delicious pheasant pie again with its crisp crust and gamey juice, after gorging on the same delicious pate nibbly starters. I will have insisted on ordering veggie sides and then remembered that they're not necessary and we're full now and can't fit in pudding which is a shame because rhubarb trifle or a little chocolate tart would have reminded me of a bygone era before even my own. We'll have downed a few glasses of new-world red (French wine's been banned since we exited the EU). We'll roll out into the night after a hefty bill inflated somewhat since the £55 a head I paid all those years ago and I'll give him £500 for the hovercraft ride back to his student digs in slummy Chelsea. Godson's parents, if you're reading, there is nothing Mrs Robinson about this, I promise. You can come too if you want, it's going to be great.

It may be a cliché, but it is true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Given the gushing praise from others of the service, and specifically the front of house, I too had expected to be wafted through reception by an obsequious, yet sincere, immaculately groomed person, treating us like royalty.

Alas, it could not have been further from reality. Having been propelled into the room via the wildly spinning door, there was nobody there to greet us. No worries, it was but a trice before Sam or Eddie (sorry, I can’t tell them apart) appeared, at which point we should have been greeted and wafted through reception like the royalty we so clearly are not. But no: somebody who had come in after us bounded in front, barging us aside and greeting Eddie or Sam like a long lost relative. Instead of acknowledging this with a quick “hi” then getting on with sorting us out, Sam or Eddie returned the salutation and disappeared into the restaurant with the beanie wearing bounder before we could say: “hi I have a reservation in the name of….”.

It seems that this sycophancy to the regulars isn’t restricted to Eddie or Sam, as the chef too (serving a cheese plate when we arrived) spent more time glad-handing with a table of hysterical ladies-of-a-certain-age than behind the stove. Now I know that you have to keep your regulars happy, they are after all the mainstay of your establishment, but I eat out a lot, have spent more than my fair share of both mine and the marketing department’s budget at Fino and Barrafina, so how do Sam or Eddie expect me to become a regular if there is so clearly a two tier dining structure: those who we know and the rest?

And I could well have become a regular: I have eaten here a couple of times before, both in its MPW days and the Early Hart Period, but, with the arrival of the most excellent Jeremy Lee at the stove (well, sort of), the cooking is the best that it has ever been here.

Having eventually made it into the bar, it is clear that the room too has grown up; it has lost the Damien Hirsts that cluttered up the place, is lighter, airier, the tables are spread out sufficiently to allow space to talk without interference.

The menu is pared down, St John style, with the names of the ingredients and no fuss: “ox liver, sage, onion”, “artichoke vinaigrette”, “onglet”, “middlewhite” etc. There is even a helpful weather forecast: it being summer, ours was “fine and deluge 16°C”.

The squid and samphire salad, Linconshire Poacher with asparagus and the crab soup starters were all excellently prepared, extremely moreish and showed a superb understanding of ingredients. The saltiness of the samphire complimenting the mild flavours of the perfectly cooked squid; the richness of the crab bursting through; the strong cheese a perfect accompaniment to the asparagus: a British answer to the more usual parmesan.

Mains too continued the theme: Ox liver a stronger version of calf, flavoured with long cooked down onions and some sage; lamb’s sweetbreads not overpowered by the accompanying almonds, offset perfectly by peas and mint.

Whilst we couldn’t go the whole hog on the desserts, we had to try that ‘80s throwback: St Emilion au Chocolat: a pure chocolate slice, anointed with crunched up macaroons. No, of course we didn’t need it after all those chips, but it was bloody superb nonetheless.

The wine list isn’t long, but is very well priced. In fact, even though you have to order sides separately, as none of the dishes comes with much more than the main ingredient identified, the total bill, whilst hardly a bargain, did not elicit the usual sharp intake of breath when it arrived.

Along with the food, the standout advantage that QV has over all of the other (often more trendy) places popping up around this part of Soho is that it takes bookings. There is the de rigueur time restriction on how long you can sit, but at least you don’t need to bring a sleeping bag, thermos and umbrella to ensure that you don’t die of hyperthermia, starve or get soaked to the skin whilst waiting to be granted an audience with your food.

If only I could be a regular, then it would be perfect.

We were greeted at Quo Vadis by the maitre'd who looked like Fergus Henderson's immaculately tailored younger brother. Incredibly charming guy and perfect front of house. Our guests were unfortunately a little late and as we booked the previous day we and only managed to get a very early dinner table which had a turnaround time of 2.5 hours that was already ticking away.

Our guests arrived, we were shown straight to the table and enjoyed pies, steaks and terrines. Solid English fayre. Dinner didn't feel hurried despite, the starters came out quickly, we had time to sink a couple of bottles of Wine but as the plates were removed I knew it was time for us to do the same. Fergus then suddenly reappeared, invited and escorted us to the private club upstairs for live entertainment and rejuvenating cocktails. It was a pretty perfect evening.

I thought that the Blue Print Cafe was terrible but Jeremy Lee's cooking has evidently really moved up a few levels since then and with a great team have put Quo Vadis back firmly back on the map once again.

I love the new look of Quo Vadis, and the simplified menu was good, but I have to say I think I preferred the old one, especially the bar snacks. The food was delicious and Jeremy was very visible in the dining room. Service as always was excellent, and the rib of beef for two was fantastic, although not fantastically hot by the time it got to us, and a tiny bit overcooked (we asked for it rare and it was probably nearer medium rare). Still one of my favourite places to eat in London, but I think the menu still needs a bit of improving.

If your experience at front of house is the same as mine, you're going to love Quo Vadis. Familiar with the standard issue, perfectly groomed clones, staring into a computer screen while you wait patiently to be noticed? Not here. They're quick, charming and efficient, making you feel instantly welcome. I was so overcome an emergency glass of blanc de blanc was required!

The room has been sensitively refurbished (a big improvement on its MPW days) creating more light and buzz while retaining unique features such as the stained glass windows. So far so good.

But while we wanted to love the food, and there was lots to commend it, there was a slight “work in progress” feel about it. Perhaps Jeremy Lee is still settling in after his move from the excellent Blueprint Cafe, but it didn't quite hit the heights we expected.

Having said that, the (shared) smoked eel sandwhich lived up to everything you've read – punchy, balanced and irresistible. This was followed by starters of squid with fennel and skewers of pork & rabbit livers. The squid was underwhelming – completely devoid of seasoning and lemon, it was far too bland. A slight chewiness to the squid didn't help. And to add insult to injury it even looked bland; nothing to break up the white-on-white.

But you couldn't accuse the livers of being underpowered – they were perfectly cooked, nicely gutsy with just the right amount of pancetta to lend some seasoning and balance. A good dish that might have been improved with a little salad to break the richness.

And so to the mains. Mutton was a must (why don't we see this on menus more often?) but it created some debate as to whether it actually was mutton. Served pink, and tasting suspiciously lamby, it didn't have any of the characteristics you would normall expect. Was it actually hogget? Anyway, whatever the truth it was enjoyable, only let down by a celeriac gratin that was overwhelmed with cream and under-seasoned.

Middlewhite pork was another good effort, served nicely moist and with good flavour. It came with an interesting white bean accompaniment that complemented the pork nicely. A side of cabbage and carrots was exactly that, and none the worse for it.

Someone has obviously put a lot of thought into the concise but nicely balanced wine list. Mark-ups are not too unkind and plenty of bottles have a bit of age to them. It follows the current trend towards natural and organic wines, a welcome development, and features some excellent small producers. A few more wines by the glass and carafe would be welcome, but overall this is a list that you wish others would copy.

Neither of us having a sweet tooth, we decided to skip deserts and coffee (although I was nearly persuaded by a tempting Vin Santo).

Quo Vadis is a good package. Prices are sensible for this part of town and the uncomplicated food on offer. Service is good and it has the right balance between buzz and privacy. It's not hard to see why it is such a hot ticket currently, and we'll certainly be back.

But you can't shake the feeling that, with more precision to the cooking, this wouldn't be a good restaurant, it would be a great one.

A pre christmas lunch was highly enjoyable at this amicable and comfortable restaurant.
Plenty of arm and leg room ensuring that there would be no chance of a sense of claustrophobia, which I personally find can ruin a lunch or dinner from the outset.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The menu, without being daunting or overbearing, had quite an array of mouth watering dishes that even the fussiest of palates would find difficult to cast aside without at least one starter and one main course tickling it's fancy !

The food arrived very slightly apace, which on it's own is not a major flaw but did make one almost feel that you were being rushed to finish but this was indeed not the case.

The wine list was extensive with some wonderful grapes and some fantastic variation. A decent amount of the bank of England's finest could easily be handed over but methinks very worthwhile to enjoy the dining experience properly at this fine restaurant.

A credible list of after dinner malts and ports along with a superb cheese board completed our lunch and all were left more than satisfied.

Highly recommended and a very good chance that I will be a regular visitor in 2011.

Fabulous friendly service, and wonderful buzzy atmosphere. The food was good, but could have been better for the money. Heavily salted octopus salad, and the tub of prawns were small, a lot of effort, but not much taste at the end of it. Steak not bad and fish main courses excellent. But certainly would recommend.

The new Sunday lunch offering at Quo Vadis was excellent. There was a very family orientated atmosphere in the restaurant and it felt very good and relaxed. A 3 course lunch for £35, which includes a half bottle of wine, water, coffee and service was incredibly good value. The service was ever present and attentive without being intrusive. Watching the maitre'd was a masterclass in good management and service. Throughout our visit he knew what was happening at each table and intervened when he thought it was necessary.

The smoked salmon starter was served with a circular accompaniment of hard boiled egg, chopped very finely and herbs. My roast beef was served excellently medium rare, although I was not asked if I had a preference. The ‘trimmings’ were very good, although a 3rd roast potato and possibly a little more gravy would have made it perfection. I am told by my partner that the sea bream was very good and cooked incredibly well. The desert was very good and well presented but did not totally reflect the decscription on the menu.

All considered it was an excellent experience that needs to be repeated sooner rather than later.

Nothing special or wow. Saturday lunch, Four women with money to spend. Starters genrally very good, especially the crab.
Main course – rib of beef for 2. Tasteless, a lot on “un tasty fat” – more like blubber. Meat was VERY tough. Ordered Medium Rare.
Service – friendly. First choice of wine not available and no real suggestion for substition. Appeared no-one was “in-charge” and several waiters served us, but none stood out. Pointed out meat issue and was given a shrug, with a “well it is cooked right” – no offer to change it.
Will not go back. £75 a head for lunch on a Saturday. there are a plethora of places that could easily substitute and the not quite top restaurants will be the ones that fail in hard times

I found Quo Vadis quite noisy in the main dining room and had to ask to be moved away from the central area – they were very willing and helpful. For starters, my friend had oysters, some of which were not properly cooked and I had crab in a shell, which was watery. For main course, I had whitebait – nothing special and they did not taste fresh and my friend had the lamb which he said was excellent. For pudding we decided to share a pannacotta – I have never had a pannacotta like that. It was solid like it had a lot of gelatine in it and to be frank tasted of not much. My friend drank wine by the glass which was recommended to him and this was good and and the service was good too. The bill came to over £110 – the food came nowhere near being worth this, maybe half that.