Quo Vadis

My wife was slightly reluctant to return, but the half price food deal was too good to miss and our second visited totally vindicated the restaurant in her eyes. "Fish and chips" - a large chunk of ultra-fresh halibut to be precise - did the trick and a dessert to die for completed the transformation.

An excellent sirloin steak and belly of pork with exemplary crackling comprised our other main courses and a NZ red wine from the "specials" was top notch and towards the lower end of the price range.

A not especially welcoming receptionist and staff chatting together in the bar were minus points (the restaurant was very quiet on a Sunday night), but service itself was fine. The first bill showed full prices without a discount, but this was immediately remedied.

I can't afford this kind of dining on a regular basis (nearly £200 for three at menu prices) but the discount brought a high quality experience within reach. Keep them coming!
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Kentishwanderer
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, February 01, 2010

Quite disappointed with dinner on Friday night - and this covers both the quality of the food and the service. I started with calves brain which was fine but was quite simply a brain, rolled in breadcrumbs, deep fried and then plopped on a plate with a dollop of salsa and tartare sauce. The presentation was questionable - thumb and finger prints peppered the side of the plate.

My other half had ham hock terrine which was overly salty and was also poorly presented thanks to a giant chuck of bread which they'd thrown over the top of the dish.

For mains I had the partridge which was dry and sticky and my girlfriend had the monkfish confit which had been so drowned in butter, the beetroot had lost most of its earthy taste.

We ordered potato sticks and sprout tops to accompany - the former were indistinguishable from a 1980s packet of Smith's Chipsticks (albeit served in a silver pot), the latter had met the same fate as the monkfish.

Right, you're thinking, but surely the service made up for it? It did to an extent; the lady who took our coats and showed us to our table was delightful. But then we were assigned a waiter who seemed to exude the same confidence and lack of interest as a post-pubescent school child. We had to ask the guy twice for our wine and it still didn't arrive. In the end we asked another waiter who responded immediately.

When we were presented with the bill we noticed we'd been charged a small amount of money for a thing called 'StreetSmart'. Was this a charge for our coats? No, the waiter explained, it was a donation to a charity to help the homeless.

Charity? Hang on, I said, I don't remember you telling us about this BEFORE putting this charge on the bill. 'Oh,' he said, 'we normally have a small card we put on your table but we've run out of them.'

It's very noble indeed of Quo Vadis to support a homeless charity. Like spoof DJs Smashy and Nicey, it seems they don't really like to talk about it - I've searched their website and there's not a single reference to their charity work. We left the charge on - it was 88p - but surely it would have been a matter of principled courtesy to check with the customer first?

Given the amount of money swilling about in that place I think it would have been a better idea if the waiter had told us that Quo Vadis supports a local charity helping the homeless; 'with your permission we'd like to put a small charge on your bill, though we'd be very grateful if you would like to donate more'. If they'd done that we'd have definitely given more - and would have left feeling slightly less guilty about having chucked more than £120 at dinner. Instead we left feeling like they'd rifled through our coats during the meal.

Whither goest thou (Quo Vadis)? Home ... never to darken the door of 26-29 Dean Street again.
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Simon Horsborough
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 06, 2009

Popped in for a post theatre meal on the off chance and we were accomodated superbly event though we were late and had no booking. busy dining room that has real atmosphere and the staff extremely hospitable. had a steak tartare and lobster spaghetti which were flavoursome and comforting, great wine list and one of the most stylish and comfortable dining rooms in london. in short thought it was brilliant.
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The Shrimp - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, November 15, 2009

Very pleasant experience last saturday evening,grown up service,excellent food and good atmosphere.Notable dishes were the Calfs brains,Veal Cutlet and Rib for two-puddings were possibly the weak link but may have been down to bad choice after rich main courses/starters.A good value bottle of Urbina “Reserva Especial” topped off an excellent meal.Well worth a visit if it stays this consistent.
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mal - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 09, 2009

sensational winner of best lunch for restaurant festival

£15 for 2 courses (mackerel and partridge) cant wait to go back for the a la carte menu
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thierry lenon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, October 18, 2009

My partner & I took advantage of the set lunch earlier today after reading great reviews. Seated among the `expense account` customers and a sprinkling of luvvies we quickly realised that to get a decent meal in this establishment we would have to pay considerably more than the £17.50 for 2 courses plus service charge and an attempt to divest us of £2 p.p for some bread and butter. Now, this is not a vast sum BUT the food simply wasn`t worth it. Tasteless starters and quite poor main courses were offered but no enquiry made as to why they weren`t finished. We do take advantage of special offers made at some of London's finest restaurants and most are superb and those are the ones we revisit at other times. I`m afraid that the phrase `emperor`s new clothes` is the one that comes to my mind here. Still, it was a good excuse to conplete our dining experience at Chez Bertaux with a coffee and a magnificient pastry!
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marilyn terchin - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I'm not sure why Quo Vadis is so highly rated by others as I thought it was distinctly so so after a recent lunchtime visit. The room is pleasant and buzzy with the Soho business crowd and to my recollection the décor isn’t much changed from its previous incarnation.

Starters were ham hock terrine and whitebait which my host enjoyed although there isn’t an awful lot of cooking involved with this dish. The terrine was chunky but lacked flavour and would have been better accompanied by homemade chutney. We both then had rump steaks. These were poorly butchered and cut far too thin, so they covered much of the plate but were overcooked as medium to well done rather than the requested medium rare. It was probably impossible to cook them anything but medium or beyond. The flavour was good and the béarnaise was all it should be. Chips can no longer be simply cooked but have to be at least tripled cooked. As a diner I do not care that a chip is tripled cooked as long as it is good and these certainly were excellent and so they should be at £4.50.

At over £60, without any alcohol, the food was no more than average and represents poor value for money.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Early supper last night so restaurant was pretty quiet and lacking that bit of buzz. Most important though, the food was very good and served efficiently by pleasant waiting staff.

Only shortcomings were lack of acknowledgement of major allergies flagged up in our on-line booking. Top restaurants should take these things seriously. Also tables are v close together (a general problem in London restaurants). Prices towards the top end of what you'd expect from the best of the London eateries.

Overall though, a very nice experience and one I'd be happy to repeat.
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Mark
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, August 18, 2009

An excellent restaurant. In every way.

This could be a restaurant school. So many places would benefit by sending their staff here to see how it should (and can) be done. Professionalism. Service made to look easy.

Rib of beef for two: not a difficult dish to cook, but here it is UNBELIEVABLY good.

Some great wine too, but way too pricey - only flaw.

An absolute standard to measure against. Beat this.
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Kev
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 07, 2009

Dropped in last night with a post-theatre group of six friends and were very well looked after. We knew that the kitchen was likely to be closing not long after our arrival but we were not placed under any pressure by the waiting staff who were attentive and pleasant throughout. The food (particularly the scallops and the rib of beef for two!) was divine and washed down by a decent couple of reds and a white from this month's recommended wine list. The bill worked out at £67 per head including service. Overall this was a slick, hugely enjoyable and bordering on fautless experience.
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Matty B
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, April 04, 2009