Quo Vadis

Founded in 1926 as Quo Vadis, the Great Dame of Dean Street has the kind of colourful history one might expect or hope for from its postcode. 26-29 Dean Street had formerly housed a notorious Soho brothel and been home to Karl Marx, who began writing Das Kapital in one of the upstairs rooms. It was Pepino Leoni who gave the building its moniker, inspired by a billboard advertising a film of the same name, and established Quo Vadis as one of the great Soho restaurants. The actors, artists and glitterati of the time flocked, and Leoni himself declared that he would ‘Die on the carpet.’ The restaurant passed through a number of other hands before the Hart brothers, later joined by Jeremy Lee, steered Quo Vadis into a new safe harbour, bedecked with flowers, pressed linen and baked salsify. They take seriously their role as stewards of the reputation for excellent food and drink, uproarious company and serious enjoyment.