Quo Vadis

Quo Vadis at 26-29 Dean Street in Soho W1 is one of London's great dining institutions, open on this site since 1926. The building has housed Karl Marx (who lived here in the 1850s while writing Das Kapital in the British Museum Reading Room), an artist's club, and since the 1920s a celebrated restaurant. Chef Jeremy Lee has presided over the kitchen since 2012, and under his tenure it has become one of the most beloved restaurants in London. Hardens describes Lee as "inimitable" — famous for his elegant seasonal British cooking, flowing martinis and the extraordinary good cheer he generates. Dishes like smoked eel sandwich and whole roasted fish are Quo Vadis signatures. The building's first-floor club has stained glass windows designed by Damien Hirst. Time Out lists it among Soho's finest restaurants. The Nudge calls it "a century-old grande dame."

Available for dine-in at 26-29 Dean Street, Soho W1D. Phone 020 7437 9585. Own website: quovadissoho.co.uk.