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Sketch - meal for £450


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how can an average meal be £450?  I can understand someone spending £450pp if they opt for v.expensive wine but to give this as the average price?  Are starters £50 and mains £100+ with no wine under £300?  or is it a fixed price menu?  and more importantly would you pay?

I think the £450 was quoted as a meal for two wasn't it?

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  • 1 month later...

Zagat reports the following:

"Sketch: In addition to the à la carte menu, there is now a casual prix fixe lunch menu (two courses for £42, three courses for £48)."

It is unclear what the "casual" lunch refers to, and member should confirm that it is being offered at Sketch itself (likely, since other venues have different names). This represents an interesting opportunity potentially. :blink:

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The place is...."wall to wall celebs"......"if you have to ask the price you can't afford it".........."most fun I've had with my clothes on for a long time"..........Jesus Christ, do people actually get PAID for writing this drivel?

Edited by Tonyfinch (log)
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The whole piece is nothing but a press release. They even manage to recite a menu without a single comment on the food. I'll bet next month's wages the writer didn't even eat there (probably had to ask the price). What the heck is Bonjour Paris, an advertising leaflet ? Anyone heard of it ?

Every time this thread pops up to the top, I dash in to see which of our members has finally had a meal there. Disappointed again :sad: I can really do without reading any more of these puff pieces.

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Jay, if you are comfortable in doing so and have the time could you please post a link to your review?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Jay, you skinflint. You only went for the cheapo lunch special. :angry:

Thanks for the link. :biggrin:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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  • 1 month later...

Matthew Fort reviewed Sketch in Saturday's Guardian:

Sketch review

To be honest, I despair of when we're actually going to get a review of this place that really dissects the food. Fort reckons it's up there with Gordon Ramsay as far as turning out the best grub in London is concerned, but then awards it 0/20 because at these prices it's impossible to say anything sensible about value for money. What the hell is that all about? At what point does a restaurant become so expensive that a rational VFM calculation is impossible?

Jay Rayner said something along the lines that, in reviewing Sketch he knew he'd be guaranteeing a postbag full of 'this is obscene, how can you justify etc' letters - I can only assume Fort has the same issue and was trying to head them off at the pass. Shame, because there is actually some worthwhile content in there.

Adam

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'Tis a shame. Just one more big piece of evidence that major dailies continue to dumb down the dining experience by viewing everything though the lens of consumerism. And to be honest, 143 pounds is not out of line with what dinner at any of the top places in the world would cost. But I doubt an article entitled, "Why you should spend 143 quid for dinner" would be very popular. That's because people would immediately believe that the article is saying that if you don't spend that amount, then you can't eat well.

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Matthew Fort reviewed Sketch in Saturday's Guardian:

Sketch review

To be honest, I despair of when we're actually going to get a review of this place that really dissects the food. Fort reckons it's up there with Gordon Ramsay as far as turning out the best grub in London is concerned, but then awards it 0/20 because at these prices it's impossible to say anything sensible about value for money. What the hell is that all about? At what point does a restaurant become so expensive that a rational VFM calculation is impossible?

Jay Rayner said something along the lines that, in reviewing Sketch he knew he'd be guaranteeing a postbag full of 'this is obscene, how can you justify etc' letters - I can only assume Fort has the same issue and was trying to head them off at the pass. Shame, because there is actually some worthwhile content in there.

Adam

i saw the 0/20 and prepared for a savage attack. then scoured the piece for some serious dissing - all i could find was approbation (apart from the fact that fort didn't like the decor). the score seems like a bit of flouncy, drama-queen behaviour based purely on price.

does anyone know how the scores are reached? i'd always assumed it was about the place as a whole: atmosphere and, primarily, food.

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To be honest, I despair of when we're actually going to get a review of this place that really dissects the food.

Adam, I think your critique is a bit unfair. I was expecting to read an article that trashed the place for being elitist and catering to those who only patronize it because of its exclusivity. Instead, Fort considers the food in some depth, both in independently and in consideration of any potential contribution to english cuisine. He also provides it the accolades of saying that only Ramsay can rival it.

I do not much care for scales, but I also think its possible to read the "rating" in a different fashion. He is not saying that Sketch receives a zero, and is therefore lesser than all places that received a higher mark on that scale. Rather, he says that Sketch is unique and therefore cannot be measured on the same scale, or within the same paradigm, as other restaurants. That is how I read it, and that can be a high compliment (similar to saying there is no point in giving Bulli a Zagats rating, because his food is not comparable to the food of other chefs). Matthew Fort than joins his praise with a warning regarding price, because irrespective of what dinner in the top places in the world cost, this place is by far the most expensive in England, and costs significantly more than the English population are used to.

In addition, most PR people I have spoken to, think the high prices were a well devised gimmick to generate publicity, and I therefore think it is incumbent upon a reviewer to review the price as well. Critics should review the aspect of the restaurant which the restaurant owners themselves are touting, whether thats pork belly or price.

Thomas Secor

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In addition, most PR people I have spoken to, think the high prices were a well devised gimmick to generate publicity,

It's good job then that 'publicity' is legal tender and can be spent on ingredients, staff costs, rates etc.

excellent food at commensurate prices make for successful restaurants not over-hyped column inches.

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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I was expecting another article suggesting the food was not worth it etc, but to be fair this was the first review that actually made me think I might like to consider going there, there was at least some discussion of the food which is more than many reviewers have managed.

Paul

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hundred and forty three quid is around $220 today. Several New York-based eGulleters left a Manhattan restaurant on Saturday night, having paid $150 a head, remarking how inexpensive the evening had been. There are several restaurants here where it is easy to pay more than $200 a head (and one, ADNY, where it's practically obligatory). My goodness, London's cheap. :raz:

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I can't speak for the other Londoners but I'm just waiting for one person-a professional reviewer perhaps -to say "This is fantastic. Absolutely great. Cutting edge food which is amazing and delicious. Yes its expensiive but in my opinion its worth every penny for a unique and wonderful experience"

If I see a review like that I'll book up and go. Has anybody seen one?

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The high-end restaurant also suffers the fact that basically 'Sketch' is an expensive nightclub, currently filled with 'celebrities', but likely to be replaced with the inhabitants of Essex, shortly.

This setting for a restaurant is curious but not tempting.

Edit: What a horribly snobby tone.

Edited by Gavin Jones (log)

Wilma squawks no more

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