Sketch

[Steve Plotnicki]

Macrosan - The only thing satirical are your priorities. If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to identify with those people. It would serve you well to be identified with the group of people who are interested in the serious eating aspect. But if you insist, the next time they open a new Hockney show, or a show by some other artist of that caliber in London, I'll make sure you get the broadsheets that poke fun at the prices and the people who pay them instead of reviewing the art.

[macrosan]

Macrosan -  If I were you, ...

Oh please no, Steve. If you were me eGullet would be a different, and lesser, place

[Tonyfinch]

If Sketch was really meant for the serious eating brigade why spend all those millions on decor and design? I don't think I could sit there without looking around me and thinking THAT'S where my money is going, rather than what's on the plate.

Since I couldn't give a flying fart about the design of a restaurant (as long as its comfortable etc.) I would struggle to justify to myself paying those prices when most of it is patently not going into the food.

[Steve Plotnicki]

If Sketch was really meant for the serious eating brigade why spend all those millions on decor and design? I don't think I could sit there without looking around me and thinking THAT'S where my money is going, rather than what's on the plate.

Well that's the thing isn't it. The amount of money spent on Sketch has nothing to do with how much was spent on The Library which is where the Gagnaire cuisine is. One could review The Library without ever mentioning Sketch or the amount of money they spent on the decor.

[Jon Tseng]

To be fair, the 10-11m figure mentioned does cover the whole place, not just the Library. Given that starting up a restaurant //anywhere// in London costs a minimum 1-2mil nowadays (5+ if you're looking for a high profile, central opening) this figure doesn't look totally unreasonable

J

[Matthew Grant]

We ate in the Gallery last night - not for the faint hearted. The place is cool it hurts. I've never seen a restaurant looking so white. Full of the young and beautiful, mega trendy brigade (ourselves included ), food was crap, choose 3 from 6 of the starters ("they are all designed to go together"), we ate all 6 between us and they didn't go together very well at all. Incidentally they are all cold an served from a trolley, as was the soup, an eminently reasonable £3 a bowl and dessert. Food was generally poor. Charolais beef completely overpowered by anchovy butter and lobster with lemon tagliolini, looked nice but was very small and a little overcooked. Service was amateurish but they tried so hard you couldn't help but forgive them. £170 for two with 2 glasses of champagne, £37.50 on a wine I can't remember and service.

The music is a blend of electronic styles and the video art is great, as the evening goes on the tables are lowered to knee height and some of the chairs are replaced with day beds, the music goes up a notch or two and the pace increases. In the next few weeks, this will without doubt become the place to be - aside from the food it was fucking amazing. Possibly the most pretentious place I've seen in London, but it is so cool (probably not recommended for anybody over the age of 35 and wearing anything less than a £1000 of clothing)

Interesting to see Gordon Ramsay come in (21:00), accompanied by Angela Hartnett and Marcus Waring, They must of eaten upstairs, I didn't see them again otherwise I would have asked for a stage at RHR and what he thought of the meal

[SamanthaF]

Interesting to see Gordon Ramsay come in (21:00), accompanied by Angela Hartnett and Marcus Waring, They must of eaten upstairs, I didn't see them again otherwise I would have asked for a stage at RHR and what he thought of the meal

Nice to know they're looking after their own customers then

[macrosan]

AAGilligan reviewed Sketch in yesterday's Sunday Times. It was 30% about the price, 50% about the furnishings, and 18% a simple list of the dishes his party ordered. That left 2% for a critical assessment of the food, which he rated very highly.

His final line suggested that he also will be surprised if it lasts a year.

[robert brown]

Does anyone know what Mazoz's contract with Gagnaire specifies in terms of its length and how often Gagnaire must be at the restaurant? Are there any performance clauses as well? Also does anyone know how dynamic the menu in the Library is; i.e. in terms of changes?

As one of those Michelin eaters, what I find disquieting (and maybe others find it too in almost a subconscious way) is that Gagnaire's stars are available for lease. I find it doubly disquieting because a restaurant right off the bat is charging prices for being three stars by association instead of working and earning its way to the top. As usual, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and maybe Sketch will fool us all over the long haul because Gagnaire is able to conceive a menu that is delicious and replicable by the everyday chef de cuisine and a brigade that is not Gagnaire's. However, with Paris so near, is there any culinary reason to eat at Sketch when you can go have Gagnaire's cuisine at his very own restaurant where he is often dazzling his clients with his "cuisine du moment"?

Edited December 30, 2002 by robert brown (log)

[Gavin Baxter]

Earlier in this thread someone asked about the cost of tasting menus at Paris 3 stars. Having just returned I can tell you about a couple of them.

Guy Savoy - 188 Euros

Taillevent - 130 Euros

Both of these meals were lunch, but I'm pretty sure that the same menu is offered at dinner.

Gavin

[Wilfrid]

Without doing the actual calculation, I am guessing that for someone based in London, a ticket on the Eurostar and dinner at Gagnaire's flagship would work out cheaper than Sketch.

[macrosan]

Don't do the calculation, Wilfrid. I'll meet you at Waterloo at 5pm next time you're in town

[Wilfrid]

Over the course of New Year, that has become lodged in my mind as a serious proposal.

[macrosan]

[tony h]

Earlier in this thread someone asked about the cost of tasting menus at Paris 3 stars. Having just returned I can tell you about a couple of them.

Guy Savoy - 188 Euros

Taillevent - 130 Euros

Both of these meals were lunch, but I'm pretty sure that the same menu is offered at dinner.

Gavin

GS has several menus prices in the evening. The highest being 280e - I think that comes witha blow job - certainly a nose bleed.

[Gavin Baxter]

GS has several menus prices in the evening.  The highest being 280e

I've just remembered - there was a Truffle Menu for 300 euros.

[bateman]

Taillevent - 130 Euros

Had lunch there as well a while back and i am sure the evening menu was much, much, much more expensive

[Steve Plotnicki]

There is no price difference that I know of between the lunch and dinner menu at Taillevent.

[bateman]

I'll check next week, popping over.

[lxt]

As soon as we entered the lobby, we were struck with a sense of ubiquitous absurdity, conforming to the nightmares of one’s surrealistic dream, epitomized by the conversion of curves, lines, bands, and lavishness into grotesques. The dirty-gray plastic chairs, akin to rococo, emerging from the wall on your left; distorted floor-mounted synthetic red lips in the tradition of Dali hiding in the corner on your right; and a grand beige marble staircase awkwardly plastered with resinous litter of an unidentifiable, brown-violet substance, were all rather incongruous and devoid of any redeeming grace and seemed to impose farce on otherwise marvelous spectacle of graciously and artistically applied wealth.

The Lecture Room on the second floor, where we had a reservation for lunch, showed more restraint in the juxtaposition of styles, only with a touch of modernity, and accented the extravagance of the reign of Louis XVI, noted for the splendor of his courts in Versailles and Paris. We were led through a door in a modern, yellow-red iridescent glass wall into the room, rising approximately 30 feet with a beautiful cupola-shaped plasterwork ceiling, which added a sense of refinement and space. Before we had a chance to get accustomed to the plush, burgundy tufted armchairs at our table in the back of the dining room, and right after we ordered the prix-fixe (casual) lunch, five little plates of amuses were brought to our table all at once.

Amuse 1: Ginger Bread with Greek Yogurt.

This was a nice amuse that seemed to be based on a traditional recipe with a little twist. A droplet of white, creamy, sweet-sour yogurt crowned the toasted and slightly spiced, miniature round ginger bread. The taste of the yogurt was so intense that even the small amount was enough to offset the saltiness of the bread and make a statement.

Amuse 2: Cod Fish.

Tiny cubes of firm and lean white cod marinated in lemon juice were mingled with finely chopped fresh and roasted red pepper and sprinkled with flakes of cilantro and just a tiny amount of tarragon(?). The firmness of the fish went well with the crunchiness of the fresh pepper, and the refreshing and clean taste of this amuse was a nice contrast to the ginger bread dish.

Amuse 3: Flat Bread.

This dish was simply a basket full of thin strips of toasted flat bread. Considering that the first amuse was also bread-centric, this one seemed to be excessive unless introduced to prepare one’s palate for the next amuse. We, however, were not given instructions from the restaurant staff whether the order of amuses, brought to our table simultaneously, mattered.

Amuse 4: Chestnut Cookie with Foie Gras.

An oval plate was filled with grated off-white chestnut flesh, serving as a decorative foundation to secure the vertical position of the two delectable, miniature dark-brown chestnut sandwiches, padded with orange foie gras mousse, inserted into the chestnut sand. The slightly crackled, but perfectly round, chestnut chips were so delicate that a very gentle touch was required to prevent them from crumbling between one’s fingers. They were distinctly sweet and salty at the same time and wonderfully complemented the mildly bittersweet-toward-sweet, sensual taste of the mousse. The mousse was light and thin, almost runny, and lacked a distinct foie gras flavor which forced me to confirm the description of the dish with the waiter, who disclosed that one of the major components of the mousse was mango. One nibble, and I was smitten.

Amuse 5: Sauerkraut Sushi Roll with Salmon Roe.

When the waiter presented this dish, the sauerkraut description escaped me perhaps because sauerkraut was always, in my mind, an accompaniment to a hearty, peasant, Eastern-European “crude” meal like spaetzle or polenta, and the idea of sauerkraut wrapped in delicate seaweed and topped with salmon roe didn’t seem too plausible and appealing. The surprise of realizing what was inside the roll was surpassed, however, by the surprise of how well this combination worked. The trick was that the seaweed wrapper nourished the sauerkraut with ocean flavor, which became reminiscent of pickled seaweed salad. It was a real treat.

As soon as our plates were clean, a set of five starters was placed on our table all together. Some of the starters were served warm, and what struck me was that even if the warm appetizers were supposed to be consumed first, there was only a slight chance that all of them could’ve maintained their original temperature. It seemed doubtful that the kitchen accounted for this scenario. It did seem, however, that the most logical progression of the dishes was by following the order in which they were listed on the menu even at the expense of some dishes getting cold.

Starter 1: Basmati Rice Pilaf with Peas, Tip of Asparagus from Pertuis with Parmiggiano Reggiano.

The whole essence and success of this simple and nice dish lay in the perfection of both the ingredients and their execution. Three neatly overlapping, bright-green, meaty asparagus tips rested on a bed of warm Basmati rice mixed with green peas, corn and raisins, shaped like a burger and positioned in the center of the plate. The Basmati rice, sweet and salty, was fluffy, with each grain individually separate, was infused with a tantalizing aroma and delicious fragrance complementing the Spring freshness of the barely cooked, crisp and tender asparagus very well, and had a flavor of slightly toasted nuts.

Starter 2: Asparagus Royale.

This dish continued the theme of asparagus, and seemed to have the best effect if eaten right after the rice pilaf appetizer following the menu listing. A chilled, soft-green asparagus mousse of a smooth consistency, sprinkled with chopped toasted pistachios, was presented in a small white cup. The lightness in texture of the royale contrasted with its rich and creamy taste. It was hardly seasoned, and would’ve been absolutely bland had the concentrated taste of asparagus not tenderly reconciled with the reticent mildness of the mousse. Though I understood the concept, this starter left me cold.

Starter 3: Lightly Spiced Confit of Tomato Slowly Cooked, Arbusier Honey.

This dish was intense, especially after the almost neutral-tasting Asparagus Royale. A small amount of tomato water, tomato jelly, a tiny bit of a honey-based sauce and a spice (red pepper) to offset the honey sweetness were injected into the flesh of the skinned whole tomato, which was roasted long enough to partially absorb the mixture, but not to lose its perky shape. Then, the tomato was placed in the center of the plate in a puddle of thick, orange tomato sauce, crowned with a honey-sweet piece of fried tomato skin and voila: the unsurpassed, most intensely flavored tomato. It was a very nice appetizer indeed.

Starter 4: Caramelized Grilled Scallops with Soya and Green Lime Juice.

This appetizer was wonderful and would’ve been great as a main course. One perfect scallop, white as a pearl, rested comfortably on a bed of a nicely sautéed chopped onions and a dark-brown soya sauce. The scallop was a little overdone, but its texture was still moist, soft and almost cushiony, and the sweetness burst forth from the luscious flesh on my first bite into a rainbow of flavors. In fact, the sweetness of the scallop was so profound that it wasn’t overshadowed by the more intensely sweet onions and stood out well in contrast with the slightly pungent and salty soya accompaniment. By the time I got to this dish, it had already cooled down a little, though it didn’t lose all appeal. I only wished that it had been brought to the table separately.

Starter 5: Fondue of Sweet Onion “St André,” Creamed Gnocchi with Gorgonzola, Dates and Nuts.

The bottom of a small crater in the large round plate was coated by the fondue, hidden from the eye under a pile of salty, small cubes of gnocchi, pine nuts and toasted slivers of almonds and half of the cloyingly sweet date stuffed with one hazelnut. The gnocchi, when sampled separately, were so salty that it became apparent that all elements of the dish had to be eaten simultaneously so that the extreme saltiness of the gnocchi could offset the extreme sweetness of the date, and the fondue and nuts would complement the creaminess of the gnocchi and provide a greater balance. It wasn’t a bad starter, but nothing exceptional.

We desperately needed to have a break before the main course and decided to take a quick stroll around with a possible stop at the lavatory. The modest door to the bathroom, located on the second floor right across from the entrance to the Lecture Room, didn’t promise any surprises, but upon entering the room, I found myself inside a music box and a vortex of elaborate insanity. The décor – with black reflecting tiles, dim lighting, irritating music playing one leitmotif over and over again like an annoying ice cream truck; crystal-encrusted walls inside the stall imitating a spider nest; a colorful crystal cross on the toilet back, blessing each and every one for whatever they were about to do; and an unbearable heat apparently produced by the mechanisms responsible for the extra effects – was outside all aesthetic preoccupations. Unless one were to accept that “beauty must be convulsive or cease to be” (Breton), he would agree with Chagall that it was “…the most tragic show on earth, man’s most poignant cry across the centuries in his search for amusement and joy.”

For the main course, one could choose between fish and meat dishes, and we, of course, ordered one of each to have a chance to sample both.

Main Course: Grilled “Sea Bream” with Lemon Butter, Crushed Potatoes, Thin Slices of Dried Tuna.

When the dish, covered with a silver dome, was presented before me, my level of alertness increased in the anticipation of ultimate pleasure from inhaling the aroma of whatever was sizzling inside. As the dome was removed however, my concern about the senses became secondary, as what I saw on my plate could have been nothing else but a living creature with dorsal, thoracic, caudal, abdominal and other fins coiling on its body like snakes on the Gorgon’s head. Even after the waiter politely explained that such a visual effect was achieved as a result of the hot and the cold air waves blowing against the paper-thin, almost transparent, dried tuna slices set vertically on top of the fish, it was hard to accept that the fish or at least parts of it weren’t in some sort of a living state. That was when we were extremely sorry that the restaurant staff didn’t allow us to take pictures of our meal, as we could’ve made a little movie with our digital camera.

A meaty fillet of sea bream sat on top of the lightly cooked white cabbage in a puddle of a thin potato-based sauce. The fish was nicely browned, but a little overcooked and slightly dry. (Overcooked fish, for some reason, seemed to be a pattern with my fish orders in London.) The wonderful, gentle potato sauce was enriched by lemon butter and endowed soft acidity, soothing the flesh of the fish, and the cabbage, cooked to a state of fresh crispiness, added brightness to the flavor of the fish. The tuna skin had a slightly smoked taste and upon falling off the back of the fish into the potato sauce infused it with smoke. I generally don’t favor dry smoked fish, and would rather have had the dish without that flavor. The combination of the potato sauce and the cabbage with the fish was wonderful, and had the fish been less cooked and served without the tuna skin (my personal preference), the dish would’ve been excellent.

Several side dishes accompanied the sea bream course: A bowl of baby spinach salad dressed in a light vinaigrette, a tuna mousse mixed with tiny bits of cucumber and chives on toasted Italian bread, and lightly cooked vegetables (turnip, shallot and beet root) presented in an eye-shaped, white plate.

Main Course:Pekin Duck Stuffed with Paris Mushrooms and Foie Gras, Vegetables Purée Made with the Cooking from the Duck Legs, Spring Cabbage.

This was a very nice dish. Three cylinders of duck, stuffed with the mushroom-foie gras mélange and encircled by the duck jus, were positioned randomly on the plate, with one central piece atop a mound of the cabbage salad covered by the blanket of a large, fried cabbage leaf. A vegetable purée made of cabbage, leeks, shallots and eggplant(?)cooked in the duck jus had a tiny bit of a soy tang and was set on the side. The duck meat was cooked beyond medium-rare (which seemed to be by design), but was lean, almost velvety and mild with a robust flavor from the stuffing which was dominated by the taste of mushrooms sautéed with chopped onions. The foie gras, cooked long enough to develop an acute liver taste, merely lent a background flavor to the stuffing. The cabbage salad, sprinkled with chives, was creamy and added a nice nuance to the dish, and the vegetable purée reminded me of an eggplant spread that my grandmother used to make.

A separate plate holding a duck leg with sautéed, crispy thin onion slices on the side came along with the stuffed duck. The skin of the duck leg was nicely caramelized and had a slightly sweet flavor, but the meat was overcooked and a little dry for my taste.

Desserts were excellent, and despite our having been quite full, we finished every single dessert amuse and dessert down to the last drop and crumb.

Amuses included one cube of creamy marshmallow with a sprig of rosemary sticking out like a feather on a hunting hat; a small chocolate cylinder, the bottom of which was coated with a caramel sauce and chopped nuts, and its top crowned with a wooden stick holding three perfect blueberries coated in sugar.

Dessert 1: Lemon Jelly of Menton.

This was a simple and a wonderful dessert. The diced fruit (I can’t recall which one) was resting on the bottom of a round cup under the delicate, light and airy lemon jelly with the perfect balance between the acidity and sweetness.

Dessert 2: Menton’s Lemon Biscuit.

The biscuit, saturated with lemon juice, hosting tiny cubes of lemon rind(?), was topped with a small scoop of the lemon sorbet and crowned by a thin pineapple chip. This dessert continued the lemon theme, but provided more body and a more intense flavor.

Dessert 3: The “Montargis.”

Small, caramelized meringue balls and caramelized almonds were served in a raspberry sauce and were a little too sweet for my taste.

Dessert 4: Strawberries and Red Pepper.

This dessert was very interesting, and I enjoyed it the most. A rectangular cylinder made of caramel (?), with a distinct, but not overbearing, red pepper spice, was filled with fresh strawberries resting on top of the strawberries mousse. The little bite of the red pepper added a certain extravagance and piquancy to the dessert.

At the end of our lunch, we ordered espresso, which was served with melted chocolate and one perfect fresh raspberry in a Chinese porcelain spoon. That berry was the sweetest, freshest raspberry I have ever tasted, and I wondered whether it was injected with raspberry extract to intensify its flavor. :)

The desserts were so inspiring that at the end of our trip we visited Sketch Patisserie, where we sampled almost all desserts on display.

Conclusion:

Our lunch at Sketch was interesting and imaginative in both flavors and textures, and we thought it was probably the best meal we had in London. Each dish prepared you for another adventure either through following the theme of the previous course or presenting the main element of the current dish (whether vegetable, fruit, meat or fish) in different manners and preparations to educate and amaze your palate.

Unlike the eclectic and eccentric Sketch décor, the juxtaposition of well-established classic cuisine and experimentation in food was engaging and parallel to Chagall’s work for the Paris Opera, a majestic 19th century building, where the historic structure absorbed the dreams of a modern painter, and where the cherubs and rosy clouds of Jules-Eugène Lenepyeu’s academic frescoes yielded to the power of the “dreams and creations of the singers and musicians” brought to life by the hand of Chagall.

[Jonathan Day]

I've printed this review to savour more slowly and carefully than the usual run down the laptop screen. Many thanks for taking the time to prepare it.

[Clerkenwellian]

great review, but the $64,000 question is of course whether it cost $64,000.

Dare I ask what the damage was?

[lxt]

Jonathan, I enjoyed writing about this meal as it provoked very pleasant memories.

One more thing to mention: According to the restaurant staff, the “Lunch Casual” menu will be changed seasonally giving one the opportunity to try new dishes at a reasonable price four times a year.

Clerkenwellian, on the contrary. Lunch at Sketch was cheaper than dinners at Fat Duck, Petrus, Gordon Ramsay and even Tamarind. The so-called three-course lunch was £48 (two courses £42), which is quite reasonable for the number of actual dishes served. I suspect that the lunch experience is not much different from dinner and much more affordable. In my opinion, it is worth the trip and the money.

[Jonathan Day]

Lunch at top London places (GR RHR, Le Gavroche, etc.) is often far more reasonably priced than dinner, and a great way to get to know a restaurant's cuisine. Same is true in Paris. In London, at least, the captains of industry will not often have business lunches at the truly gastronomic places (as opposed to trendier spots like Le Caprice); doing so would be seen as lavish and in violation of the new lean and mean business ethos. And they won't take wine, either, so the opportunity to match food and wine is missed.

But they will have dinner at these places, without missing a beat, and happily drink wine. I wonder whether this explains at least part of the substantial price difference.

[Clerkenwellian]

Jonathan, I enjoyed writing about this meal as it provoked very pleasant memories.

One more thing to mention: According to the restaurant staff, the “Lunch Casual” menu will be changed seasonally giving one the opportunity to try new dishes at a reasonable price four times a year. 

Clerkenwellian, on the contrary.  Lunch at Sketch was cheaper than dinners at Fat Duck, Petrus, Gordon Ramsay and even Tamarind. The so-called three-course lunch was £48 (two courses £42), which is quite reasonable for the number of actual dishes served.  I suspect that the lunch experience is not much different from dinner and much more affordable.  In my opinion, it is worth the trip and the money.

thanks! Sounds a tad pricier than the Michelin two stars (which hover around £30 for three courses and one amuse) but on that showing shall have to give it a try