A historic Soho restaurant and members’ club
Formerly a brothel and a home to Karl Marx, the Great Dame of Dean Street continues to draw an eclectic and epicurean crowd, attracted to the good things in life. The restaurants – ground floor is open to everyone and first floor is members only – serve seasonal, regional British fare, with a menu conjured up monthly by Chef Proprietor, Jeremy Lee and team. With an exuberant private members’ club upstairs, Quo Vadis also boasts three handsome private dining rooms, both beautifully appointed and very well attended to.
QUO VADIS
26 -29 Dean Street
London, W1D 3LL
02074379585
info@quovadissoho.co.uk
In Spring, we yearn for light, rich, delicious food that bridges the gap between winter and summer. This inspired a dish of hake, mussels and peas in a silky velouté, on our April menu.
When our upper chambers are not in use for a private meeting, event or party, our members are more than welcome to ascend to the blue room to enjoy the dulcet tones of our juke box. 🌈
On the new QV pudding menu, we’re making the most of @fernverrow blackcurrants by pairing with ricotta and olive oil and draping lavishly over an almond, lemon and polenta cake. All served on a tranquil pool of custard.
Excitement mounts as we look ahead to our special guest on May 22nd, @cookinboots. Born in Kenya, to Indian parents, Ravinder has found inspiration in her mixed heritage and the UK’s diverse immigrant culture, creating a unique culinary style filled with innovative and often daring combinations.
For her dinner at QV, Ravinder will serve a bountiful array of dishes from her latest cookbook, Comfort & Joy. The sweet-toothed among you should eagerly await the finale of the evening, a mighty milk cake soaked overnight in a rich falooda milkshake and topped with an abundance of strawberries, basil seeds, creams and pistachios.
Tickets are £65, including a bite, three courses served feasting-style and a welcome drink. Link to purchase tickets on our stories!
Last night QV played host to a very grand aioli indeed, as @mic_hazlewood and @harrylesterauvergne constructed multicoloured platters of all things good, which we proceeded to drench in rich, moreish aioli.
Starting with prawns, mussels and whelks, radishes and chicory for crunch, we then revelled in a plethora of vegetables with salt cod and boiled egg. The feast continued with roast quail and pommes frites, and was crowned with the stickiest of tartes tartins.
Many thanks and much love to both Harry and Mike for travelling all this way to treat us, we still smell of garlic, but we don’t mind one bit.
We are devoted to rabbit, and our latest flame is a beautiful braise with anchovy, wine, herbs lemon and many vegetables, topped with walnut, parsley and crisp sage.
We expect that Jeremy’s take on a fritto misto, a great assemblage of naughty fried seafood and leafy goodness, might just stop some shows.
Show Us Your Member: Max Coltart
This month, we have the musings of the brilliant, and apparently elusive, @mcoltart in our members’ Bugle.
For the full mini-interview, check your inboxes. For the story behind the 2am liver kebabs, you may have to corner Max in the Club.
#ShowUsYourMember
A quick note to assure you that all will be business as usual in the QV restaurants and Club over the bank holiday, should you wish to join us for a celebratory meal or toast.
We had doozy of a tasting for our April menu, and all the naughty deliciousness to come. Here we have a sneak peak of a pickled mackerel, beetroot, rhubarb and horseradish number, presented beautifully by our @jeremyleeqv.
We thought it was about time to consult our superb sommelier Marijana, quizzing her about what wine on our list she would recommend as a companion to the smoked eel sandwich.
Her selection was this, the rather beautiful Nonnengarten Riesling by pioneering winemaker of Mosel, Clemens Busch. The smoky, flinty notes in the wine complement the eel and cut nicely through the richness of generously buttered Poilâne. Grown in vineyards surrounded by pear orchards, poached pear aromas shine through in the wine, which develops and evolves with each sip you take.
We highly recommend you come by and try a glass over an extended lunch or dinner, and look forward to introducing you to more of Marijana’s recommendations and insights.
Dear @sami_tamimi won our hearts with the warmth of his smile, our admiration with his meticulous attention to detail, and our palates with dish after sublime dish.
To begin, we were enthralled by lettuce cups that took us on a veritable journey of flavour, with the richness of silky burnt aubergine cut by herb-smacked cucumbers and the tart spicy punch of shatta. This was followed by an exquisite array of dips, all mopped up with greedy fervour by delighted diners. Lamb and pine nut koftas rested atop a lavish pool of tahini, all the more splendid alongside a fresh, salted courgette salad. The proceedings were concluded with a sumac-dusted meringue tumble, leaving us sated and smiling as the dinner drew to a close.
Huge thanks and much love to Sami for a wonderful feast and joyous evening, and to our sponsors, @journeysendwines, @ginmare and @everleafdrinks.
Our Brands
There are five Barrafinas in London, serving modern Spanish tapas of exceptional quality.
Formerly a brothel and a home to Karl Marx, the Great Dame of Dean Street continues to draw an eclectic and epicurean crowd, attracted to the good things in life.
The El Pastor family is a small group of Mexican taquerias in London, inspired by the decade the founders spent in Mexico City, running cult nightclub, El Colmillo and searching for the city’s best al pastor taco.
Taken from the Spanish word, ‘parrilla’, meaning grill, our two restaurants, Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, and Borough Yards in London Bridge, celebrate Spanish cooking over fire.
The Drop is a relaxed wine bar nestled in the Victorian stone arches of Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross.
A Spanish wine and cocktail bar in Borough Yards
