Sketch Lecture Room and Library, Oct 2012

 

Sketch Lecture Room and Library is the London establishment of Michelin starred chef Pierre Gagnaire. I’ve been meaning to give Sketch a try, but for some reason or another I never got around to doing so until now.

 

 

 

On a day to day basis the kitchen is headed by Jean-Denis Le Bras  and he seems to be doing something right as this year Sketch Lecture Room and Library was awarded a second Michelin star.

 

 

 

Sketch consists of several different areas. Sketch Lecture Room and Sketch Parlour are more casual while Sketch Lecture Room and Library the exclusive dining area upstairs. In addition to these three dining there is a members bar and a cocktail bar.

 

 

 

The interior at Sketch Lecture Room and Library has a big wow factor. Upon entering the restaurant you’re greeted by friendly David, who makes you feel right at home. He’ll escort you upstairs to the dining area, which consists of two areas.

 

 

 

 

The interior upstairs in the Sketch Lecture Room and Library is slightly less funky and more conservative than downstairs, but still it’s easily one of the most impressive dining areas I’ve ever seen (only Apsleys comes close in terms of impressive dining rooms).

 

 

Even though Pierre Gagnaire isn’t cooking in the kitchen his stamp is all over Sketch Lecture Room and Library as he designs the dishes with  Jean-Denis Le Bras.

 

 

During our visit to Sketch Lecture Room and Library we tried the Tasting menu which consisted of the following dishes:

• Feuilletés (8/10)
• Foie Gras - Olive Jelly / Red Pepper Coulis / Diced Foie Gras / Watermelon and Mirin / Rose and Mint / Olive Powder (8/10)
• Seabream - Sea Bream Marinated in Kombu Seaweed / Brown Shrimps / Buckwheat Pancake (9/10)
• Scallops - Roast Hand-dived Scottish Scallops / Baked Ricotta / Artichoke / Paris Mushroom Consommé with Tapioca (9.5/10)
• Blue Lobster - Lightly-cooked Blue Lobster / Pickled Girolles / Aged Gruyère / Traditional Bisque (9.5/10)
• Duck - Challans Duck Fillet with a Marmalade of Red Cabbage and Quetsch / Red Port Sauce / Sarawak Black Pepper (8/10)
• Pierre Gagnaire’s Grand Dessert - A Combination of Five Desserts (8/10)
• Petits Fours (8/10)

 

 

The food at Sketch Lecture Room and Library is generally very good (on par with experiences at other 2 Michelin star restaurants). Particularly the Scallops and the Blue Lobster dishes are very good. The Foie gras dish may not be to everyone’s liking (strong black olives’ flavour), but I enjoyed it.

 

 

 

There is however room for improvement at Sketch Lecture Room and Library. For instance:

• I had two glasses of wine during my dinner, but I wasn’t offered the opportunity to taste the wines before my glasses were pored.
• The bread comes with two types of butter (salted and unsalted). We ran out of the salted butter and weren’t offered some more salted butter.

 

 

However, these are small niggles and overall the service and dining experience at Sketch Lecture Room and Library is one of the best to be had in London. If you want to celebrate a special occasion or impress someone a dinner at Sketch Lecture Room and Library is a very good way to go.

 

 

 

As is the be expected, Sketch Lecture Room and Library is not cheap (e.g., the non-vegetarian tasting menu costs £95 pp excluding drinks, etc), but the pricing is in line with other 2 star Michelin restaurants.

 

 

Overall rating for Sketch Lecture Room and Library: 8/10

(The rating reflects quality of cooking, quality of food, overall service and price)