One of Soho’s smartest destinations for dinner has sectioned off part of its restaurant to create a bar with an old school British feel. Now you can settle in for drinks and informal food alongside bloggers taking snaps of their dinner and celebrities like Suggs from Madness.

The Venue
Owned by the Hart brothers, a pair of siblings also responsible for foodie favourites Barrafina and Fino, Quo Vadis has a magnetic media cachet and an old-fashioned appeal with its green and cream canopies, stained glass windows and conservative decor. The QV Bar, a new idea with the intention of allowing people to eat and drink at leisure without the formality of the restaurant proper, is a cosy little space with banquettes and seating for around twenty people. Upstairs there’s a private members’ club complete with a piano, a pool room, two private dining rooms and a very homely design. What’s most remarkable about the entire venue is the amount of art that pepper the walls – from Damien Hirst to artists like Adam Neate’s visceral 3D skull, this is clearly a best of British affair.

The Atmosphere
Expect international business types, curious foodies and plenty of famous faces at Quo Vadis. During the week the bar is pretty chilled by all accounts; weekends are jammed and require a reservation. Staff have plenty of previous experience at notable venues and know how to make their customers feel very at home.

The Food
Oysters are a big draw and small dishes such as the infamous scotch egg (£5.50) and the salt cod fritters (£5) are good for nibbling. The scotch egg is a revelation: a perfectly set yet slightly gooey yolk is enveloped in herby minced pork and a crunchy breadcrumb coating. It’s cut in half and wafer-thin slices of crispy smoked bacon are laid upon each piece. The waiter refers to it as ‘the best scotch egg ever’ and you may well be inclined to agree. The cod fritters are more like tempura – light and greaseless – than the dense cod versions that are often served up, and they’re all the better for it.

Mains include diet-friendly options like the on-the-bone grilled quail with quinoa and raisins. A lovely combination that comes in a portion size agreeable to those watching the calories. For bigger appetites, the QV burger (around £12) with onion rings and fries is the one. The beef is meaty, pungent, of very good provenance, and has clearly spent an age maturing.

The Drink
Timothy Taylor Landlord is a stand-out from the beers list (although it is £5.75 a bottle) but it’s the wine list that garners most attention. Served in the smaller measure of 125ml, it only offers half-a-dozen red and white tipples but it’s very much a question of quality over quantity. A South African Journey’s End (£5.50 a 125 ml) red is juicy, gluggable and bursting with ripe berry flavours, while a Malbec ratchets the price up (£9.50 per glass) but offers a more refined and complex flavour as a result. Carafes, cocktails, and Union coffee are among the other options for punters to imbibe.

The Last Word
Soho has plenty of great places to eat and drink these days – Polpo, Dean Street Townhouse and Koya to name but three – but Quo Vadis remains a class act. QV Bar allows you to enjoy the surroundings without having to sit down for a formal sitting, and it’s all done in a very classic British fashion.

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