Quo Vadis Members Club & Restaurant

Brimming with character, Dean street members club and restaurant Quo Vadis made us feel fully ensconced in the crazy universe unto itself that is London’s Soho district. Jeremy Lee‘s haunt is just as characteristically zany as the history and characters of it’s surroundings; a once-brothel and archaic favourite of anarchal figurehead Karl Max, we feasted on the delightfully unorthodox atmosphere as much as the fantastic food.

From the get go the kooky glamour of the dining room let us know this was to be an experience with a bit more tongue-in-cheek to it’s charm. Over our seat at Quo Vadis, our jaws dropped as stain glass windows rendered the light from outside into brilliant shards of colour over our white — all over the interior, vibrant wildflowers pack the space; gloriously akin to the colourful crowds roaming the Soho streets that runways just a hairsbreadth away from the side of the restaurant.

We had heard tell that head chef Lee’s cuisine had a boisterous touch befitting the vibe. We couldn’t agree more. It’s obvious this is a champion of his craft who has been cooking for Londoners Fulham of the eighties — this is great British cooking because of the fact that it takes no strict regulatory stance on what it has to or cannot be. Take the smoked eel sandwich (a Jeremy Lee legend of lore) that we happily sampled at the bar whilst reading the extensive wine menu: crispy sourdough is galvanised by the fire of horseradish and touch of delicately smoked eel — a toasty that’s cheerfully irreverent but (if the stain glass design indicates anything) worth worshipping.

At dinner we savoured radishes, brightening our plates to match the hue of the heavily blooming room, with their peppery base wonderfully partnered with the cloy of butter and celery salt. Deceptively simple pickles and toast was dynamic and thoughtful way to serve their super rich pork –well-seasoned and moulded into beautiful rillettes. For the vegetarian, pasta bursting with spinach and ricotta used British ingredients to a sensationally enjoyable degree.

This month’s speciality wine (another small thrill – this is always subject to change, another eclectic Soho touch) was the levin loire sauvignon blance. We had the bottle, but half bottles and glasses are available — anything goes. And to finish at Quo Vadis — we just had to sample a sweet wine and the ten year Tawny Port was delectable, a smith and wood-house concoction roguishly suited to the undercurrent of risque that clings to Quo Vadis and Dean street beyond.

This restaurant, with its upstairs private members club, is a maddening and mad treasure, we cannot recommend enough simply stopping in at it’s welcoming promenade front — and it’s certainly worth applying for the exclusive club membership too; these private dining rooms are a honeypot for the artistic and culture types, who even fashion the entertainment at regular entertainment and events in the separate bar.

Quo-Vadis Restaurant London Cuisine, Dress Code & Address

Cuisine: European, British

Dress Code: Smart Casual 

Area: Soho

Address: 26-29 Dean Street | Soho, London W1D 3LL, England

Website: https://www.quovadis.com/london-berkeley-st/contact-and-hours/