Quaglino's ( ) is a restaurant in central London which was founded in 1929, closed in 1977, and revived in 1993.
From the 1930s through the 1950s, the original Quaglino's was popular among the British aristocracy, including the royal family, many of whom were regulars, and was a haunt of London's
café society. It offered dinner, music and dancing. In the 1960s, it was sold to a succession of hotel companies, and its reputation faded; it closed in 1977.
The name was revived for a new restaurant at the same location in 1993, "aiming to revive the spirit of the original".
Origins

Giovanni "John" and his brother Ernesto "Ernest" Quaglino were immigrants from
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, Italy,
probably from
Riva presso Chieri or
Refrancore, Asti.
John was the ''maître d'hôtel'' at the
Hôtel Martinez
The Hôtel Martinez is an Art Deco hotel on the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes. It was opened on 20 February 1929 by Emmanuel Michele Martinez, son of Baron Giovanni Martinez and Giuseppa Labiso Costanza, members of a noble Italian family of ...
in
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
, and later worked at
The Savoy in London with Giovanni "John" Sovrani. Sovrani left The Savoy to start Sovrani's Restaurant in
Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street is a One-way traffic, one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing r ...
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.
Sovrani's lost much of its business to Quaglino's and closed in 1931. The ''
Tatler
''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...
'' reported a rumour 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
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
. 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. 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.
Before WWII
Quaglino's became highly fashionable in the 1930s, due in large part to the Quaglinos' charm. It was patronised by the
Mountbattens,
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
,
Edward, Prince of Wales and
Mrs. Simpson,
King Alfonso of Spain,
King Carol of Romania and the newspaper columnist
Charles Graves.
Lord Forte recounted that John Quaglino treated royalty "with respect but without fuss", but also made "every guest... feel that he was the only person who mattered", regardless of rank.
Quaglino's offered dining, dancing and cocktails until midnight.
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
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the '' ...
'', his affair with
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."
In the 1930s, the romantic novelist
Barbara Cartland found a real pearl in an oyster served at Quaglino's.
[
]Steak Diane
Steak Diane is a dish of pan-fried beefsteak with a sauce made from the seasoned pan juices. It was originally cooked tableside and sometimes flambéed. It was most likely invented in London in the 1930s. From the 1940s through the 1960s it ...
may have been invented at Quaglino's in the 1930s, perhaps by their head chef, Bartolomeo "Meo" Calderoni.
The Quaglino brothers left for Italy in 1940 rather than be interned on the Isle of Man as enemy nationals.[Richard Whittington, Martin Webb, ''Quaglino's: The Cook Book'', 1995, , sectio]
"Quaglino's Story"
/ref> They may have been fascist sympathizers.[''cf.'' '' Collar the Lot!''] The restaurant was renamed "Meurice" after their departure.[Margaret Gaskin, ''Blitz: The Story of December 29, 1940'', p. 416]
After WWII
The Quaglino brothers returned to England in 1947, with some difficulty, but the restaurant continued to be popular.
In 1947, George Soros
George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
was a waiter at Quaglino's.[Rob Baker, "Communists, bombs and pigeon with pineapple – curious tales about three of London's oldest restaurants", '']The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
''
11 December 2019
/ref>
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
dined at Quaglino's in 1956, making her the first reigning British monarch to eat at a public restaurant. The restaurant was said to have a table permanently reserved for the regular visits by Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
...
, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
John Profumo
John Dennis Profumo ( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affai ...
and his wife made a show of togetherness at a dinner-dance at Quaglino's in 1963, after the scandal of the Profumo affair
The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...
broke.
In March 1969, Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
held the wedding reception for her marriage to Mickey Deans
Michael DeVinko Jr. (September 24, 1934 – July 11, 2003), known as Mickey Deans, was an American musician and entrepreneur. He is best known as the fifth husband and widower of actress and singer Judy Garland.
Career
He was a disco owner, j ...
, 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
Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
failed to attend, saying "I can't make it Mamma but I promise I'll come to your next one!".
Quaglino's reputation faded in the 1960s, as it was sold to a succession of hotel companies, and it closed in 1977.[Richard Whittington, Martin Webb, ''Quaglino's: The Cook Book'', 1995, , sectio]
"Quaglino's Reborn"
/ref>
The new Quaglino's, 1993
Terence Conran
Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...
and Joel Kissin of Conran Restaurants bought the restaurant in 1993 and revived the name, aiming to revive the spirit of the original:
The restaurant became a staple of the BBC television sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''.
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.[
In 2014, the restaurant reopened after a £3 million renovation under the new owners of the Conran Restaurants, D&D London.][
In 2018, Quaglino's launched its sustainable menu "Science of Sustainability" featuring sustainably sourced products.
]
Chefs
Early in his career, starting in 1992, John Torode worked at Quaglino's as a sous chef
A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members o ...
.
References
External links
Official site
{{Restaurants in London
Restaurants in London
1929 establishments in England
1977 disestablishments in England
1993 establishments in England