Quo Vadis is a restaurant and private club in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

, London. It primarily serves modern British food. It was founded in 1926 by Peppino Leoni, an Italian, and has passed through numerous owners since then, including the chef

Marco Pierre White Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...

, and is currently owned by Sam and Eddie Hart, also the owners of Barrafina. The restaurant is named after the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase '' Quo vadis?'', meaning "Where are you going?"

History

Building

The restaurant occupies numbers 26–29

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...

. Nos. 26–8 form a uniform group built in by the carpenter John Nolloth, of St James's, and No. 29 was built in . The sculptor

Joseph Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

was born in the latter house in 1737; a later resident was the composer

François-Hippolyte Barthélémon François Hippolyte Barthélemon (27 July 1741 – 20 July 1808) was a French violinist, pedagogue, and composer active in England. Biography François Barthélemon was born in Bordeaux (Gironde), France. He received his education in Paris, where ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and his family lived in two small rooms at No. 28, described as an "old hovel", between 1851 and 1856; his residency is commemorated by a

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

blue plaque. It was due to the association with Marx that numbers 26–28 were made a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on 14 January 1970.

Restaurant

The restaurant was founded in 1926 by Peppino Leoni. When Leoni originally opened Quo Vadis in 1926, it only occupied No. 27. He purchased the property, with the aid of a bank loan for £800. Its name was chosen after Leoni saw a billboard in Leicester Square advertising a film of the same name. Quo Vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?". The cinematic epic, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's 1896 novel '' Quo Vadis'', was the highest-grossing film in 1951. In 1996, the restaurant was bought by Marco Pierre White and

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

, and featured paintings by the artist as well as a bar designed by him. The pair later parted company after a public falling out, following which White replaced Hirst's paintings with some of his own. In November 2007, head chef and owner Marco Pierre White sold the restaurant, along with two others, to restaurant group

Conduit Street Conduit Street is a street in Mayfair, London. It connects Bond Street to Regent Street. History The street was first developed in the early 18th century on the Conduit Mead Estate, which the Corporation of London had owned since the 15th centu ...

. Quo Vadis was then sold on again to Sam and Eddie Hart, who immediately closed it down. Both White and the Hart brothers endured criticism as Christmas bookings were cancelled. The Hart brothers re-opened the restaurant in 2008 with head Chef Jean Philippe Patruno (previously at Fino) following extensive restoration work and, in 2009, it won ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' magazine's Restaurant of the Year award. In July 2008, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay named Quo Vadis as his favourite restaurant, describing the Hart brothers as "restaurateurs in the fullest sense of the word". The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' characterised this praise as a "thinly veiled attack" on Marco Pierre White, with whom Ramsay has an antipathetic relationship. On the front-right of the restaurant is curious sight of a human nose. While rumours of connections to ancient Roman legends of traitors having their noses cut off and fed to animals have sprung up, it is one of several London Noses. In January 2012 Jeremy Lee, formerly of London's Blueprint Café, joined Sam and Eddie Hart as chef and partner at Quo Vadis. Upon Lee's arrival the restaurant underwent some cosmetic changes and began a collaboration with artist John Broadley, starting with the distinctive illustrated menus. In September 2012 the QV Bakery was launched and a month later, in October 2012, Quo Vadis began offering breakfast.

Critical reception

Quo Vadis under its current ownership has received generally positive reviews. ''Tatler'' has listed it as one of its top 20 restaurants, in July 2008 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' reviewer

Giles Coren Giles Robin Patrick Coren (born 29 July 1969) is a British columnist, food writer, and television and radio presenter. He has been a restaurant critic for ''The Times'' newspaper since 2002, and was named Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the ...

gave the restaurant a score of 9 out of 10, describing the food as "all done beautifully" and in June 2008 '' The Telegraph'''s reviewer, Jasper Gerard, gave it 8 out of 10 and said that visitors would "adore the cooking". Tracey MacLeod of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' was less positive, giving the restaurant 2 out of 5 for ambience and service, although 4 out of 5 for food. She described the waiters as "skittish" and said that the Hart brothers were "not natural hosts". In January 2012 Fay Maschler of the ''

'' gave Quo Vadis four out of five stars, stating "The combination of lovely Jeremy Lee, the hard-working Hart brothers and "Spitz" is the dream team of which my nights are made." In February 2013 Giles Coren reviewed Quo Vadis in The Times Magazine, describing the menu as 'simple, perfect', the smoked eel and horseradish sandwich as a 'must-have' and the squid and fennel salad 'clean and dainty'. Also in February 2012 Nick Lander wrote a review of Quo Vadis in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'', calling the cooking "exciting, vibrant and fresh."

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51.51401, N, 0.13264, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1926 establishments in England European restaurants in London Soho, London Restaurants established in 1926 Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster British cuisine