We don’t know whether Fanny and Johnnie Cradock, aka ‘Bon Viveur’, were fans of James Bond’s creator Ian Fleming , but the three writers had one thing in common. They all liked dining at Quo Vadis in Dean Street, in the heart of London’s Soho.
Throughout the fifties, when Fleming was writing the Bond thrillers, he was dining and drinking regularly at a number of top London restaurants, particularly favouring L’Etoile, The Ivy, Overton’s, Pimms, Quo Vadis , the Ritz Grill, the Savoy Grill, Scott’s, the ‘ Big ‘ Wheelers and Wilton’s. Of these famous eateries Fanny and Johnnie only chose to write about Quo Vadis, the Ivy and ‘Big’ Wheeler’s in their 1955 Bon Viveur guide, possibly because they felt that the others didn’t need the publicity, or perhaps because the food and wine they served was over priced
Fleming had no such scruples. According to one source, he was particularly drawn to the rather rich French cuisine that many of his favourite eating places were happy to serve. He also drank heavily and smoked at a time when this unpleasant habit was permitted, and even encouraged in restaurants. No wonder he died at the age of 56.
If the dishes sampled by Fanny and Johnnie in the London restaurants they did cover in their guide, were any indication of their tastes, they and Fleming were equally drawn to continental cuisine. This is obvious in their entry on Quo Vadis:
Scarcely just a restaurant any more, but additionally an institution, a landmark, an integral part of Soho life. Signor Leoni’s restaurant, with the wall paintings and the air of having been there for ever, has nothing to envy in terms of famous clients from the most fashionable Mayfair restaurant squib exploded in a blare of phoney publicity . ‘Everyone’; goes to see Leoni, who exudes friendliness and enthusiasm and who can be passionately severe without the slightest effort if some part of his standard of cooking and service momentarily slips.
Leoni recommends ( and we, of course, concur) that you should try his Omelette Leoni ( 4s 6d) , his Pollo alla Yolanda ( with cheese and asparagus tips , 9s 6d. , his Calves Head Florio ( 4s 9d.), Artichokes in Hollandaise ( 6s 6d) , Lasagne Verde (3s 6d), and one of these two special house gateaux Gianella or Lorenzia. There are all provided a la carte . In addition, the table d’hote three course luncheons ( 8s 6d) and dinner ( 10s 6d) invariably includes such Italian favourites as Minestrone, Pollo Romana, Ravioli, Tagliatelli and Risotto.
Leoni will willingly help you make a happy marriage at the table with one of the many Italian wines he sells. He may evince a special partiality towards the white Sabioncella Leoni Reserve’47 ( 22s 6d per bottle, 11s per half-bottle) and the red, costing 23s. 6d per bottle, 12 6d. per half-bottle. And why not ?Both these wines come from Cannero, on Lago Maggiore, which is his birthplace. The event which has pleased the proprietor most this year in the winning by his team of chefs of no less than three gold nedals1st class and one Silver Medal at the International Catering Exhibition, Berne, 1954.
It’s a bit odd that Fanny and Johnnie fail to mention that Quo Vadis occupied part of the former home of Dr Karl Marx, but perhaps Fleming was aware of the association and was rather tickled by the idea of dining in the home of the founder of Communism. We don’t know. What we do know is that , unlikely as it may sound, Fleming described English food as ‘ the best in the world ‘, singling out a number of English foodstuffs, such as potted shrimps, Whitstable oysters, Dover sole, lamb cutlets, roast beef and asparagus for special praise, but then the creator of James Bond had eclectic tastes and the fact that he included an Italian joint like Quo Vadis among his favourite restaurants in London suggests that he was a fan of the best food from a number of European cuisines. His dictum was that he would eat anything ‘as long as it tasted good’. Along with English fish and meat he placed English vegetables. What he didn’t say, of course, it that he enjoyed eating vegetables cooked the English way ( that is to say, overcooked ) so he probably avoided the chain of ABC cafes and ‘British ‘ restaurants of which there were many in London in the late 1940s and early fifties. His views on Wimpy Bars are not recorded; nor did he praise, as far as we know, steak and kidney pie and fish and chips.
Quo Vadis is still going strong today under its head chef Jeremy Lee, but the table d’hote staples recorded by Fanny and Johnnie do not feature prominently on the online menu. There is, however, a Karl Marx Room, doubtless something that Leoni would have disapproved of.
R. M. Healey