This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2008) |
Sketch | |
---|---|
![]() Façade by Simon Brundret, [1] a sculpture on the wall outside the restaurant | |
![]() | |
Restaurant information | |
Established | 2003 |
Owner(s) | Mourad Mazouz |
Head chef | Pierre Gagnaire |
Food type | New French |
Dress code | Art Smart |
Rating | ![]() |
Street address | 9 Conduit Street |
City | London |
Postal/ZIP Code | W1S 2XG |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°30′45.721″N0°8′29.602″W / 51.51270028°N 0.14155611°W |
Reservations | Yes |
Other information | Nearest station:![]() |
Website | sketch |
Sketch is a restaurant at 9 Conduit Street in Mayfair, London, England, which opened in 2003. The restaurant is owned by Mourad Mazouz, [2] [3] and the head chef is Pierre Gagnaire. [4] The cuisine is described as 'New French', and is a loose adaptation of the cuisine served in Gagnaire's three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris and is executed by Frederic Don and Johannes Nuding. There are 5 eateries, including 3 restaurants in the building: the Parlour, the Lecture Room & Library, the Glade, the Gallery, and the Eastbar & Pods. The Lecture Room & Library holds 3 Michelin stars.
Mazouz came to public attention through the success of Momo, [5] the North African restaurant and bar he opened in 1997 just off Regent Street, although he was already well known in France for his celebrated restaurants, Au Bascou [6] and 404. [7]
The restaurant covers two floors of a converted 18th century site in Conduit Street, Mayfair. Its dining area contains a permanent exhibit of David Shrigley artwork, [8] and Shrigley designed the restaurant's tableware. [9]
In 2005, Sketch was ranked as the 18th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine. [10]
In 2008 and 2016, Sketch won the AA Wine Award for England. [11]
As of 2021, the Lecture Room & Library holds five rosettes from the AA. [12]
The Sketch Lecture Room and Library was awarded its first Michelin star in 2005, its second star in 2012 and its third star in 2019. [13]
9 Conduit is a Grade II* listed townhouse in Mayfair, [14] designed by English Architect James Wyatt in 1779 as the private residence of James Viner. It was listed on 24 February 1958. [15]
Following that the building hosted a variety of societies and institutions that, according to some accounts, included cyclists, balloonists and psychologists, as well as the Suffragette movement in the early 20th century. [16]
In 1887–1909, Conduit Street was converted into the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) [17] and still retains its plaque and crest in the entrance hall. During this time, RIBA/AA hosted a competition to re-design the 18th century façade design and although this was never realised; the RIBA archive at the V&A retains some of the competition proposal drawings.
The townhouse continued its design legacy and history in the mid-20th century to become Christian Dior's London atelier, within which Dior housed his collections. [16] During this time in the 1970s the listed interior was modified by the seminal mid-century architect and leading pop art interior designer and furniture maker Max Clendinning, who designed cupboards, cubicles and display cases for Dior's ready to wear clothes and accessories. To combine the old and new, everything (including the walls, ceilings and woodwork) was painted a uniform mid-grey with a grey velvet Wilton carpet and grey uniformed attendants to "throw the clothes into sharper relief, and seems to conform with the classical, refined elegance of the House of Dior itself". This austere style of monochromatic design was developed from his seminal 1960s signature white on white designs that marked the peak of British Modernism.
When the building was taken over by Sketch the interior was re-designed by Mazouz and Paris-based designer and sculptor Noé Duchaufour Lawrance. Several other international designers were commissioned for signature pieces, which are featured throughout Sketch.
Mayfair is an area in London, England and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in the world.
Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson was a British architect, also active as an interior designer, an artist, and a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for the 1951 Festival of Britain. From 1976 to 1984, he was president of the Royal Academy.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supplemental charters and a new charter granted in 1971.
Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. Claridge's Hotel is owned and managed by Maybourne Hotel Group.
Devonshire House in Piccadilly, was the London townhouse of the Dukes of Devonshire during the 18th and 19th centuries. Following a fire in 1733 it was rebuilt by William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent. Completed circa 1740, it stood empty after the First World War and was demolished in 1924.
Hakkasan is a Chinese restaurant first opened in Fitzrovia in London, England but has since expanded to many cities worldwide. The restaurant was founded in 2001 by Alan Yau, who was also behind the Wagamama Japanese restaurants and later the Yauatcha restaurant, also in London. It serves modern Chinese cuisine fused with Western upscale dining experience. The Hakkasan group has also branched into hospitality and entertainment including a nightclub opened in Las Vegas.
George Grey Wornum CBE was a British architect.
Richard Corrigan is an Irish chef. He serves as the chef/patron of Corrigan's Bar & Restaurant Mayfair, Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill, Daffodil Mulligan Restaurant & Gibney's Bar in London, Virginia Park Lodge and adjoining pub the Deerpark Inn in Virginia, County Cavan, and most recently The Portrait Restaurant, located on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It marks the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to the east.
Afroditi Krassa is a British product designer and interior designer and founded her own design consultancy Afroditi Krassa Ltd in 2002 in London. Krassa was educated at Central St Martins College of Art and Design and later on, the Royal College of Art, under architect Ron Arad.
Capital Hotel is a small 5-star hotel in London, England. It is located at 22–24 Basil Street, Knightsbridge, and is known to have been visited by The Queen.
Mirabelle was a restaurant in the Mayfair area of London. It opened in 1936, and became popular during the 1950s and 1960s, with some celebrities being regulars. Chef Marco Pierre White owned it from 1998 to 2007, and it earned a Michelin star in 2000 under head chef Charlie Rushton, and kept it until its closure for refurbishment in 2008. It remained closed until the site was demolished in 2016/17.
Luke Thomas,, is a celebrity chef, author and entrepreneur who made headlines when he was just eighteen years old, being named the youngest head chef in the United Kingdom. Thomas is the brand owner of the historic social club known as Blacks, located in a restored 18th-century Georgian townhouse in Soho London, as well as the chef-owner of Luke's Dining Room located at Sanctum on the Green, in Cookham. Thomas has also appeared as himself in a number of television shows produced in the United Kingdom, including Russell Howard's Good News, the Great British Menu and Junior MasterChef, as well as the BBC Three documentary titled Britain's Youngest Chef featuring the trials, tribulations and meteoric rise of a young Chef Luke Thomas.
Flemings Mayfair is a luxury hotel located in the Mayfair area of London, England. It is home to Manetta's Bar, the original hangouts in the 1930s for famous artists and literati of the day; and Ormer Mayfair, a fine-dining restaurant under the direction of Sofian Msetfi. Ormer Mayfair was awarded its first Michelin star in 2024, four AA Rosettes, and is consistently voted one of the top restaurant for fine-dining in London.
In British usage, the term townhouse originally referred to the opulent town or city residence of a member of the nobility or gentry, as opposed to their country seat, generally known as a country house or, colloquially, for the larger ones, stately home. The grandest of the London townhouses were stand-alone buildings, but many were terraced buildings.
Mark's Club is a private members' club and restaurant in Mayfair, London, UK. Established in 1972, it has hosted many fashion events and been patronised by members of the British establishment.
Doris Adeney Robertson, Lady Robertson was an Australian architect, interior designer and writer, and one of the first generation of professionally trained female architects who studied at the Architectural Association (AA) in London.