Back in the 80s, as a copywriter fresh out of university, I discovered the joys of Quaglinos. Given any excuse for a party most of the creative department would decamp to ‘Quags’, with a favoured Account Handler dragged along to pick up the bill, which was then invariably passed onto some unsuspecting client.
That staircase never failed to thrill, even as it became harder and harder to negotiate safely as the evening wore on. Up and down it has travelled European royalty, Evelyn Waugh, Judy Garland
Now almost one hundred years since Giovanni Quaglino set up in St James’s, The Evolv Collection has carried out a significant restoration with a newly commissioned collection of art, and a menu that traces the journey of its founder.
It’s not an exercise in nostalgia, the restoration honours the room’s Art Deco bones and that famous staircase while introducing a reimagined day-to-night experience. The menu follows Giovanni Quaglino’s own journey, from Piedmont to Cannes, by way of The Savoy, bringing together Italian provenance, French classical technique and the best of British traditional dining.
The famous Q Bar is still there and now three new bars join it – the Champagne bar with 24 champagnes by the glass and bottle, a Fruits de Mar seafood counter which serves molluscs and crustaceans, reminiscent of the original Conran feature design and a Dessert bar which takes the form of a Cannes ‘Tabac’ offering smoke-filled edible helium balloons, cannoli cigars and chocolate ashtrays.
There’s a new stage for cabaret and live music and theatrical raised booths around the perimeter of the dining room. In the daytime there’s an offering of ‘Ten Pound Plates and Executive Chef Daniel Scott strips away unnecessary complexity, allowing the quality of produce – sourced directly from farmers, producers and fishermen – to define each dish. Signature dishes include Vitello Tonnato Skewers, Pissaladiere, Turbot Mountbatten and Lamb Cutlet Milanese.
“Quaglino’s isn’t simply a restaurant; it’s a part of London’s story. Our job was never to reinvent it, but to return it restored, alive, and every bit as glamorous as the room Giovanni Quaglino opened in 1929. Few rooms in London carry the history that Quaglino’s does, the royalty, the music, the feeling that anything might happen after midnight. We haven’t changed what Quaglino’s is; we’ve simply reminded London why it fell for it in the first place.” — Martin Williams, Chief Executive, The Evolv Collection.
I can’t wait to fall up that staircase again!
Quaglino’s
16 Bury Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6AJ,
www.quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk