The Times Magazine 33t’s just two pieces of sourdough wrapped
around a fillet of smoked fish, plus a dab
of horseradish, and went on the menu
almost as an afterthought, but the smoked
eel sandwich has become an icon at Quo
Vadis restaurant and encapsulates what
we all love about Jeremy Lee and his
cooking: impeccable ingredients skilfully
brought together and delivered with a
minimum of fuss.
Well, I say “all”, but not Liz Truss. The
other week it was reported that the Tory
leadership hopeful had deemed the Soho
institution an “inappropriate” venue for a
diplomatic lunch. The foreign secretary had
opted instead for 5 Hertford Street, a private
members’ club in Mayfair, where you’ll pay
considerably more for considerably less prized
cooking. It was a decision that Giles Coren
said marked “Thick Lizzy” as unfit to be prime
minister. “Who could fail to see the value in
Lee’s historic sandwich and aperitivo of the
day for 20 quid plus service?” he asked.
Not just the smoked eel, but any one of the
classics that Lee serves to his loyal customers
across “four knackered old townhouses on
Dean Street that were battered together
almost 100 years ago” to create one of
London’s best-loved restaurants. So feast your
eyes, Liz, and see what else you were missing.
“We just roared with laughter,” says
58-year-old Lee in his flamboyant Scottish
tones. “I’ve always been amused by the
strange Maginot Line along Regent Street that
separates Soho from Mayfair. For hundredsof years Soho was this remarkable square
mile in the heart of London that everyone
thought was a fleshpot, yet a nanosecond
either side you’ve got some of the grandest
addresses in the world with all the sanctimony
that comes with them.” The irony is not lost
on him that Hertford Street is in Shepherd
Market, itself a well-known red-light district.
“It comes with its own reputation, n’est-ce
pas?” he says knowingly. “But Liz is welcome
back any time.”
After a brutal apprenticeship in Aberdeen,
Lee came to London in the Eighties to work
with such luminaries as Simon Hopkinson at
Bibendum and Alastair Little at Frith Street.
Together with Rowley Leigh at Kensington
Place, they changed the face of London
dining. “They encouraged what was within,”
he recalls. “We all came knowing about
Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson, we loved
Rick Stein, we’d been on holiday abroad, and
they were this new enlightened generation
that paved the way, scooping up us young kids,
gawky and awkward but also bright and very
well trained.”
It’s this foundation that has given his
cooking a timelessness. “With food you get
these extraordinary swings of the pendulum- suddenly no one’s eating bread any more,
chocolate is now bad for you, no one’s eating
potatoes – and it causes bedlam and chaos.
So people saying they would recognise my
cooking from 20 years ago is absolutely the
best compliment I could hope for. These are
just great dishes. Some are tweaked but mostly
they remain true to the originals.”
This month Lee celebrated ten years as
head chef and, having operated with a limited
menu during Covid, he hopes he can now
return Quo Vadis to its full glory. The main
dining room has just emerged from a light
facelift in anticipation. “We’ve got a vast archive
of dishes waiting to be mined again,” he says.
“You can’t help but feel just a custodian to an
old darling like this.” Tony Turnbull
SAGE AND ANCHOVY FRITTERS
Serves as many as you want!
- Anchovy fillets (at least six per person)
- Sage leaves
- A dish with beaten egg
- A dish of flour, lightly peppered
Taste the anchovies to check for saltiness- soak them for half an hour beforehand if
they are too strong. Sandwich each anchovy
fillet between two leaves of sage. Thread a
cocktail stick to secure and dip in the egg and
then into the flour. Lay upon a tray and heat a
frying pan with clean, light oil. Fry the fritters
until puffed and crisp. Serve swiftly.
Eat!
QUO VADIS
I
PHOTOGRAPHS
Romas Foord
STYLING
Sophie HammondThe smoked eel sandwich has become
an iconic dish at Quo Vadis and
encapsulates what we all love about
Jeremy Lee and his cookingJeremy Lee