The small ground-floor bar below Quo Vadis used to be a holding area for the dining room, but it’s been rebranded as the QV Bar to make it a destination in itself. The tan leather seats are sumptuous, every surface is polished, and the service is impeccable. It feels comfortable and luxurious, and it’s filled with the sort of people who turn left upon boarding planes.
The brief cocktail list (mostly £8.50) includes the Aviation (gin and lemon juice in a conical glass, aromatic with violet and cherry bitters, and a booze-soaked cherry) and the Floradora (gin with crushed raspberries, topped with ginger ale) – and jolly good they are too. There’s also a decent selection of wines by the glass. The bar menu’s brief, the dishes (burger and chips, grilled quail) mostly small and pricey.