Quo Vadis

I decided to go to Quo Vadis for dinner on the basis I had heard many good things about the place. It exceeded all my expectations. I can genuinely say it was the best meal I had had. The whole experience made our whole party felt well looked after. All the waiting staff and bar staff greeted us and said goodbye.

The food was amazing. I could have eaten a dozen oysters. My friend who had the gnocchi, said it was the best she'd ever tasted. I shared the 28 day beef rib, which was cooked to perfection. Even the chips that came with it were delicious. Crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the centre. My only gripe was that the beef didn't come with a jus but a bernaise sauce instead.

The desserts were mouthwatering. The profiteroles came with an ice-cream centre instead of the usual cream which was a welcome change.

The waiting staff on the whole were friendly and professional. Although, I found it strange that our table wasn't given a wine list when the menus arrived and we had to ask for one.

I would recommend to go to Quo Vadis when there are a few more diners in because my group felt a little self conscious because it was very quiet as we had arrived just before the peak rush.

Quo Vadis is an excellent place to go with a group or for a more intimate occasion. My group were surprised at the price and thought it would be much more for the quality of the food and the sevice. I love the place and hope to go again soon.
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SS - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 09, 2008

Restaurants these days can be complicated affairs, often to the point of pretension. It was therefore refreshing to visit Quo Vadis one evening last week. A simply yet tastefully decorated room greeted us on arrival, and the welcome from the staff was pleasant and friendly without being cloying.

The simplicity continued with the extensive British-leaning menu. While some menus harp on for page after page in florid prose about the provenance and accompaniments of the food, Quo Vadis instead opts for a straight forward list of what’s on offer. And everything looks tempting. It is taken as read that it will be quality ingredients that will be used in creating our dinner.

I started with the no-nonsense steak tartare, which was as good as it could be. The pigeon main was cooked to perfection, and was sufficiently meaty as well. My friend’s veal kidneys were similarly impressive; once again, simple food but cooked with skill and care.

The wine list was a little more confusing and continued with the general theme of ‘quite expensive’, but we managed to dig out a very tasty red from the lower reaches of the price scale.

It is difficult to find any fault with our evening at Quo Vadis, which is testament to the daring of the Hart brother’s enterprise. It would have been easy to hide behind style and reputation, but that would not have endured, and haven’t we seen enough of that? Instead, the restaurant is very good at serving delicious food in a great setting. This is real, visceral and lasting entertainment.
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Forth Bridge - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

First impressions of Quo Vadis were of a spacious yet cosy, well designed and impeccably presented restaurant.

Attentive staff showed us to our table and explained that the £2 cover charge included olives, water and bread - a welcome addition and somewhat of a surprise given the tendency of charging for absolutely everything in London establishments.

Oysters were excellent and reasonable priced at £9 for 6; my companion's steak tartare was well seasoned and just the right size. For main course the squab pigeon was perfectly cooked and accompanied by some purple sprouting broccoli - always good to see a restaurant using seasonal produce. We were intrigued however at the cost of a roast chicken for two at £35 - it is hard to see what 'added value' you can give such a dish.

Desserts were mixed - my treacle tart was truly amazing with a 'school dinner-type consistency and a good combination of sweet and bite from additional zest. The bitter chocolate tart was, however a little too 'supermarket'

The bill for two including a bottle of well-chosen wine was £180 - a little hefty but not unacceptable given the quality of the food, excellent service and atmosphere. We will be back.
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Vestan Pance - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Enjoyable and quality establishment.

The menu provides a blend of classic English dishes, with some continental flashes. The price for two (with a decent wine) will be c. £150, but you will not feel short-changed. The quality of food and attentive (but not stuffy) service make this a worthwhile visit.

The £2 cover charge for bread / water / olives is also a welcome addition to eating out in london.
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Paul
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, September 22, 2008

After reading all the hype in the reviews I decided to finally pop in for a quick lunch this weekend with my mother. After being warmly welcomed by the front desk, we were led to our table - next to the beautifully restored stained-glass windows. To start I ordered the Seabass Carpaccio, followed by the Veal Cutlet with Chips. whilst my mother chose Brown Shrimp on Toast and a Fish Soup (the precise name escaped my attention).

The service was utterly impeccable, as I suppose one would expect from a top London restaurant, but the food.... ah well, how could I possibly do it justice? Describing it in two words I would probably opt for 'subtle brilliance'; this is simple English food - at its best. The best, freshest ingredients, simply cooked to perfection. And after all isn't this what food is about?

I am told 'Quo Vadis' is Latin for 'where are you going?' and I have no doubt that I will be going back very soon indeed....
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Extremely arrogant and rude management. They messed up our booking and gave our table away, insisted that they had tried to call us (when in fact they had been dialling the wrong number) and had the audacity to raise their voices at us in their attempt to explain this.

Food was below average (sand in the razor clams; bland dover sole) though waiters were pleasant.

Overall, far too much attitude and hype about a sub-par restaurant.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

“There are places I'll remember, all my life though some have changed, some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain, all these places have their moments…” (In my Life- Lennon/McCartney)

It was with a degree of trepidation and scepticism that I’d somewhat arrived with Quo Vadis. Did I need to blow a week’s wage on an average meal and mingle with the likes of Victor Meldrews and Fat Cats in an otherwise pretentious atmosphere? Will it also disappoint like Le Café Anglais? Will they also allow me in with my Motörhead T-Shirt?

Thank goodness for the Hart brothers for dispelling the negativity surrounding this grande dame of an institution. It was pretty clear they have applied the Midas touch to the place as well. The dining room oozes quality and prepares the diners for an enlightening experience.

My daughter’s starter of half a dozen Colchester oysters were so delicate in flavour and firm in texture that the addition of shallot vinegar or squeeze of lemon was deemed unnecessary. My delicious Steak Tartare was beautifully concocted (with the right amount of capers, chives and hand chopped steak) and served at the correct temperature, not 5 °C straight from the fridge. My mains of Skate with capers and lemon was skillfully cooked, for it was lovingly melting and fresh tasting. Her Grilled Scottish Lobster was verging on the ridiculous; it was so huge that she could only manage half of it and we even joked about the great beast on her plate taking on a king crab for breakfast. This great tasting dish was responsible for us not finishing the stupendous chips (the best I’ve encountered) and refraining from the pudding course altogether. I’m ok with the cover charge; the bread was good and the water didn’t taste of the swimming pool. Even if the food was average you could come back here again just for the brilliant service, everyone gets pampered.

There are certain places that fall into the category whereby you religiously patronise week in and week out, Quo Vadis is one of them.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Sunday, September 14, 2008

We had a fantastic meal at this beautiful restaurant. We booked it as a treat for a friends 40th birthday which i mentioned at the time of booking and the birthday boy was greeted by two stunning girls at the desk just inside the entrance who immediately said "ah yes i understand you're celebrating your 30th birthday" - well that made his day before he had even taken a bite!

The food was amazing, my husband declared his steak the best he'd ever eaten and we didn't have a single complaint about any of the dishes they were all cooked to perfection. My only dissapointment is that none of us could stretch to a dessert as we were just too full but i would return in a heartbeat and i probably will just to make sure i get to try the desserts next time! Great atmosphere, lovely staff and not a particularly scary bill at the end of the night, take your friends or take your loved one - you can't fail to impress!
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Donna - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, September 03, 2008

I ate lunch with a couple of friends at Quo Vadis last Friday and I was truly amazed at the quality of this restaurant. Not only was the food delicious but the service was outstanding.

The menu is quite lengthy so it took us a while to choose our dishes but the delightful waitress was patient and more than happy to explain the dishes that we queried

I could see one of the owners, Eddie Hart, greeting people at the door and fastidiously checking the tables were properly laid out. At one point he came to check we enjoyed our meal and took our orders for dessert. By the way, he's very cute!

I can highly recommend the chips (triple-cooked I think), the rib of Dexter (very very large steak and not for the faint hearted!), crab linguine and whitebait

There is a £2 pp cover charge and this covers olives, bread and unlimited chilled filtered water. In total we paid approx £60 per person - this was for three courses and a glass of wine each.

I cannot wait to return!
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Ewok - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, September 01, 2008

High expectations were generally fulfilled on our first visit to the Hart brothers' latest venture. It's an attractive space as others have noted, but I wouldn't want to eat at one of the tables in the small bar area.

My courgette flowers and saddle of lamb were exemplary, wife's crab likewise but a "fatty" piece of veal did not find favour. Daughter raved about her Dover sole. Desserts were of course of high quality, but I thought they lacked inspiration. Maybe our choices were not the best and others may have better luck. Service couldn't be faulted.

The first measure of our experience is whether we would go back. Most definitely, but if you want a drink at the bar and a bottle of wine on the table, be ready to pay £70-£80 per head.
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Kentishwanderer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, August 26, 2008