Quaglino's

Quaglino's, nicknamed Quag's, is a restaurant at 16 Bury Street, St James's, London owned by D&D London and originally opened by Terence Conran in 1993.

Quaglino's
Restaurant information
Established1929
Owner(s)D&D London
Street address16 Bury Street
CityLondon
CountryEngland
Websitequaglinos-restaurant.co.uk
Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, 1920s. The couple were regulars at Quaglino's in the 1930s and 1940s.
Judy Garland at Quaglino's on her wedding day with her wedding cake

The name comes from the original Quaglino's founded by Giovanni Quaglino in 1929, with his brother Ernest as headwaiter. The restaurant was highly popular with the British establishment from the 1930s through the 1950s, and was a popular haunt of London's café society. Its reputation faded in the 1960s, as it was sold to a succession of hotel companies, and it closed in 1977.

Origins

Giovanni "John" and his brother Ernesto "Ernest" Quaglino were immigrants from Piedmont, Italy,[1] probably from Riva presso Chieri.[2]

John was the maître d'hôtel at the Martinez Hotel in Cannes, and later worked at The Savoy in London with Giovanni "John" Sovrani. Sovrani left The Savoy to start Sovrani's Restaurant in Jermyn Street in 1927, taking Quaglino with him, however, according to rumour, Sovrani took too much interest in Quaglino's wife, causing him to resign as head waiter in 1929.

John started Quaglino's in the basement of the St. James's Palace Hotel (later the Meurice) on nearby Bury Street, under the patronage of Lady Furness, and with his brother Ernest as headwaiter.[1]

Sovrani's lost a lot of business to Quaglino's and closed in 1931. A version of the rumours was repeated in the Tatler on 6 January 1932 in which a restaurant owner was quoted as saying "my boss, he pinch my brother's wife, so now I pinch his business", causing Sovrani to sue the publishers and printers of Tatler for libel.[3][4] The defence argued that the words could not apply to Sovrani as his restaurant had already closed by the time they appeared and Quaglino's only brother was not married. The jury, however, found in favour of Sovrani and awarded him £2500 damages with costs.[5] Giovanni Sovrani died when the SS Arandora Star carrying around 1500 Italian, Austrian and German internees and 'enemy aliens' to Canada was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Scotland in July 1940.[6]

Before WWII
Both applied their charm to maximum effect, but it was John who became known as the perfect greeter. It was said that no female visitor could fail to be impressed by the gracious way in which he would present her with a flower as if she was the only person ever to have been so favoured. The epitome of the suave host, he flattered his regulars by name but was neither overly familiar nor obsequious, contriving that fine line – between due deference and professional courtesy that proved irresistible.[1]

Quaglino's became highly fashionable in the 1930s, due in large part to the Quaglinos' charm. It was patronised by the Mountbattens, Evelyn Waugh, Edward, Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson, King Alfonso of Spain, and King Carol of Romania, and the newspaper columnist Charles Graves.[7][1] Lord Forte recounted that he treated royalty "with respect but without fuss", but also made "every guest... feel that he was the only person who mattered", regardless of rank.[1]

Quaglino's offered dining, dancing, and cocktails until midnight.[8]

Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson, one of the first popular black entertainers in Britain, became a regular performer at Quaglino's in the 1930s and 1940s. According to the Sunday People, his affair with Lady Edwina Mountbatten caused her husband Lord Mountbatten to complain to the band leader at Quaglino's that "Hutch has a p***** like a tree-trunk, and he's f****** my wife right now."[9]

In the 1930s, romantic novelist Barbara Cartland found a real pearl in an oyster served at Quaglino's.[10]

Steak Diane may have been invented at Quaglino's in the 1930s, perhaps by their head chef, Bartolomeo "Meo" Calderoni.[11][12]

The Quaglino brothers left for Italy in 1940 rather than be interned on the Isle of Man as enemy nationals.[1] They may have been fascist sympathizers.[13][14] The restaurant was renamed "Meurice" after their departure.[7]

After WWII

The Quaglino brothers returned to England in 1947, with some difficulty,[15] but the restaurant continued to be popular.[8]

In 1947, George Soros was a waiter at Quaglino's.[8]

Queen Elizabeth II dined at Quaglino's in 1956, making her the first reigning British monarch to eat at a public restaurant.[10] The restaurant was said to have a table permanently reserved for the regular visits by Princess Margaret, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra.[16]

John Profumo and his wife made a show of togetherness at a dinner-dance at Quaglino's in 1963, after the scandal of the Profumo affair broke.[17]

In March 1969, Judy Garland held the wedding reception for her marriage to Mickey Deans, her fifth, at Quaglino's. The reception was reported to have been poorly attended with more waiters than guests, even Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli failed to attend,[18] saying "I can't make it Mamma but I promise I'll come to your next one!".[8]

Quaglino's reputation faded in the 1960s, as it was sold to a succession of hotel companies, and it closed in 1977.[19]

The new Quaglino's, 1993

Conran Restaurants bought the restaurant in 1993 and revived the name,[19] aiming to revive the spirit of the original:

When I walked down that catwalk staircase at Conran's Quaglino's in 1993, I thought here is a kind of London glamour that has been missing since probably 1929 when Giovanni Quaglino launched the original. It wasn't an exercise in nostalgia though; it was a thoroughly modern take culminating in the excitingly impious altar dedicated to worshipping crustacea.

— Fay Maschler[20]

The restaurant became a staple of the BBC television sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.[21]

In 2013, Quaglino's hid a £2000 pearl in an oyster to be served at the restaurant as a publicity stunt based on the incident when Barbara Cartland found a small pearl by accident in the 1930s.[10]

In 2014, the restaurant reopened after a £3 million renovation under the new owners of the Conran Restaurants, D&D London.[16]

In 2018, Quaglino's launched its sustainable menu "Science of Sustainability' featuring sustainably sourced products.[22]

Chefs

Early in his career, John Torode worked at Quaglino's as a sous chef.[23]

References
  1. Richard Whittington, Martin Webb, Quaglino's: The Cook Book, 1995, ISBN 1850297916, section "Quaglino's Story"
  2. Ministero delle Finanze, Elenco dei Contribuenti Possessori di Redditi delle Categorie B e C, Provincia di Torino, 1930, p. 140
  3. "Quaglino's History – Mayfair – D&D London". quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk.
  4. "High Court of Justice King's Bench Division Libel Action by Restaurant Proprietor Sovrani v. Eyre & Spottiswoode, Limited, and Another." The Times, 15 March 1933, p. 4.
  5. "High Court of Justice King's Bench Division Restaurant Proprietor's Libel Action: £2,500 Damages Awarded Sovrani v. Eyre & Spottiswoode, Limited, and Another." The Times, 16 March 1933, p. 4.
  7. Margaret Gaskin, Blitz: The Story of December 29, 1940, p. 416
  8. Rob Baker, "Communists, bombs and pigeon with pineapple – curious tales about three of London's oldest restaurants", The Telegraph, December 11, 2019
  9. Lewis Panther (19 October 2013). "Downton Abbey's newest heartthrob based on real life high society American gigolo". Sunday People.
  10. "Quaglino's hides £2,000 pearl in oyster". The Daily Telegraph. 2 August 2013.
  11. Caterer & Hotelkeeper 179:53 (1988)
  12. "Meo is brought to book at last", "The Times Diary/PHS", The Times, April 11, 1978, p. 16
  13. Judith Walkowitz, Nights Out: Life in Cosmopolitan London, 2012, ISBN 0300151942 p. 125
  14. cf. Collar the Lot!
  15. Mr. Anthony Greenwood, Oral Answers to Questions, December 4, 1947
  16. "Quaglino's promises late nights and music after £3m redesign". London Evening Standard.
  17. Dominic Midgley. "The Profumo Affair: How Daily Express reported revelation of Christine Keeler – History – News – Daily Express". Daily Express.
  18. "A glimpse of the real Garland". New York Post.
  19. Richard Whittington, Martin Webb, Quaglino's: The Cook Book, 1995, ISBN 1850297916, section "Quaglino's Reborn"
  20. Jay Rayner, "Observer Food Monthly Awards 2012 Lifetime Achievement: Sir Terence Conran", The Guardian, October 20, 2012
  21. Mark Kleinman and Jonathan Sibun (10 May 2008). "Sir Terence Conran, restaurateur to the stars, is selling up". The Daily Telegraph.
  22. "Quaglino's Bar Explores 'The Science' of Sustainability' With Its New Menu". Ikon London Magazine. 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  23. "John Torode, Esq Authorised Biography – Debrett's People of Today". debretts.com.

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