In 2002 a new kind of restaurant opened in Mayfair, London, it is not just a place for eating, but also for seeing art and hearing music. More interestingly is the idea that the restaurant art is not based on the food, but rather the food is made to complement the art. Furthermore, it can’t be described as just one restaurant, it offers two different restaurants which are based on different concepts, as well as a Parlour with a menu ranging from breakfast to afternoon tea, and two very unique bars.

Gallery

It has been home to over 50 major exhibitions and in 2012 to mark its tenth anniversary the Gallery restaurant was transformed into an interactive piece of art by Turner prize winner Martin Creed. The resident DJs provide the atmosphere to this exciting building with music which is a fusion of all music. It is a place to eat, to drink, to think and to enjoy, it represents the future of dining and drinking as not being limited to merely a space where people can sit, but a place where people appreciate the arts and in addition can enjoy delicious food and drinks.

Parlour

The building that houses this wonderland is surprising inconspicuous, apart from a well dressed and polite doorman waiting outside (even in the rain). Once inside a door to the right leads to the Parlour filled with a variety of Louis XV seating where one can enjoy culinary delights such as their afternoon tea, from 6pm it is a cocktail bar (Members only from 9pm).

Lecture Room & Library

For the other parts of the building the well trained staff will quickly guide you in the right direction, the back of the building is where the Gallery restaurant, the Glade bar and the East Bar are located, while up the stairs one will find the Lecture Room and Library restaurant. This restaurant was created by interior designer Gahban O’Keefe and is Sketch’s two Michelin starred dining area.

Glade

The Glade bar is adjacent to the Gallery restaurant and as the name suggests it has been inspired by a fairy tale forest coloured in shades of green and complimented by 50s rattan furniture from the south of France. In contrast the East Bar on the other side of the Gallery restaurant is a startling modern cocktail bar, around of which stairs lead to the toilet ‘pods.’

East Bar

The Gallery restaurant is the most imaginative piece of artwork in the building consisting of 96 different kinds of marble in zigzag patterns in conjunction with large wall paintings. In addition every chair, table and items on the tables are entirely different. There are small plastic chairs, and large comfy sofas with tables of every size and glasses, etc, of various kinds.

A restaurant is a place for eating delicious food, and Sketch is certainly a place for this with a varied menu of delicious choices ranging from fish to venison, however, it is also a unique consolidation of everything one could want in the fields of art, music and culinary delight.

Sketch
Address: 9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG
Opening Hours: open 7 days a week, different areas have different opening times
Tel: +44 (0)20 7659 4500
http://sketch.uk.com