Artistic Dining at Sketch
Sketch is an amalgam of ideas. Constantly changing and reinventing itself, this restaurant combines art and fine cuisine for a unique dining experience. The brainchild of Restaurateur Mourad Mazouz and French master chef Pierre Gagnaire, Sketch first opened in 2002. Since then, it has been awarded two Michelin stars and is considered to be one of the top fifty restaurants in the world. Tucked away just off Regent Street on Mayfair's Conduit Street, this cultured hot-spot is a real treat for the senses.
Enter Sketch and step away from the world outside. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, we are led into another land. It is more abstract than the one we know. Everything is slightly off kilter and ever-so topsy turvy. Walls become chairs, Lego boxes double up as bread baskets and each piece of furniture is unique. It's a mismatch of interiors - a melding of elements to create an eclectic visual world. Like a sketch, this restaurant is forever changing. At present, the Gallery is covered in abstract lines and bright hues by artist Martin Creed. Who's next? The artist to follow Creed is being kept firmly under wraps but Sketch guarantees standards will not be slipping.
Offering an extensive cocktail list and expertly composed a la carte menu, The Parlour is the room to choose if fine dining is what you're after. Dishes are unique and inspired - proof of the Michelin star chef behind them. Choose from a list of pasta dishes, meat and fish dishes along with some delicious vegetarian options; each created by master chef Pierre Gagnaire.
Courteous staff are at hand to advise on the best tipple. A cocktail refreshes the palette. Let's Talk About Passion is a fruity infusion of pineapple, passion fruit, raspberries, lime and bulldog gin. Refreshing and zesty, it's a tasty, promising start to the evening. Chef Pierre Gagnaire's Swiss chard ravioli with pine nuts, courgette and basil brunoise in a creamy coconut sauce is recommended to start. Proof the French can do pasta too, this dish is melt in the mouth soft. Pasta gives way to a smooth courgette filling, complimented by the basil infused creamy coconut accompaniment. It is an unusual combination but the flavours fit.
Deciding on a main dish is difficult. The entire menu is full of things to tempt the taste buds. Highlights include the roast wild venison saddle and the pan-fried fillet of sea bass. The waiter recommends the roast rump of angus beef with cabbage and sesame paste and onion cream with vadouvan (Indian spices) and Enokitake (Asian mushrooms). Cooked to perfection, this beef is juicy and tender, set off well by the sesame tinged cabbage paste. A sizeable portion makes this a meat lover's dream. A selection of sides are on offer. This indulgent dish is best teamed with steamed seasonal vegetables if you'd like to save room for dessert.
Rich mille feuille accompanied with passion fruit jus is the dessert recommended by the experts at Sketch. Layers of light pastry interspersed with thick cream make this dessert the perfect end to a rather fancy evening of dining at the parlour. If you can, make room for a dainty macaroon or two - this is a French restaurant after all.
A quirky experience that beholds as much for the eyes as it does for the mouth, a meal at Sketch provides for all senses. Kooky and classy all in one, this Regent Street hot-spot is well worth a visit.