Review on Sketch, Lecture Room & Library
Rule one, check the state of your finances before embarking on a trip to the Sketch, Lecture Room & Library, an ultra-extravagant conversion of the old RIBA Mayfair headquarters. Sketch embraces many experiences – the awesome Lecture Room & Library, the Gallery, Bar and Parlour – all overseen by Parisian superstar chef Pierre Gagnaire, a man who was in the vanguard of a mini-invasion of London by French gastro-wizards.
Michelin's three-star rating suggests that the Lecture Room is the top dog as regards food. The setting, on the first-floor of the building, has been designed to evoke the sexy mood of a fabulous French drawing room. What you get is exciting, elegant and luxurious cooking: spend your money and enjoy.
Meals consist of a cavalcade of miniature dishes arranged in groups. Langoustines 'addressed five ways' is typically intricate or you might begin with the 'sea garden' - a quartet of miniatures including mackerel and nori seaweed terrine, spinach and sorrel paste, celeriac cream and red beetroot jelly, cockles with raw pear - and more besides. Roast fillet of Simmenthal beef is glazed in a Burgundy sauce and paired with grilled baby squid, sautéed cranberries and French bean salad, while desserts might include President Sarkozy's favourite - a mini Paris-Brest.
The Lecture Room is a hard act to follow, but the Gallery has its own gems to show off. Multi-media, multi-sensory – call it what you will – the combination of food and art here is ravishing. Menus put the emphasis on what is naturally seasonal: best end of lamb with a beetroot cake, prunes and hazelnuts or pan-fried Dover sole with watercress coulis, diced mooli and green pepper, for example.
Sketch, Lecture Room & Library is also featured in: Michelin Guide, Good Food Guide, Hardens, AA Guide
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Modern French
Chef
Pierre Gagnaire
Restaurant Opening Times
Lunch: 12.00 - 2.00pm Fri & Sat
Dinner: 7.00 - 10.00pm Tue-Sat
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card, American Express
