afternoon tea at sketch

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when my dear friend julie was in town a couple of weeks ago, we had afternoon tea at the most funky fabulous place – sketch london. i cannot stop gushing about this experience. at sketch, not only is the space so awesomely quirky glam, but the food and drink is completely splendid.

here’s some background information on this fascinating space:
sketch’s home, 9 conduit street in london, was designed by james wyatt in 1779 and has previously been the headquarters of the royal institute of british architects before later becoming the london atelier of christian dior. with this series of commissions sketch continues to contribute to the building’s heritage as a destination for experimentation in design, art and architecture. the site consists of the lecture room & library, the parlour, the glade, the east bar, and the gallery. sketch was inaugurated in 2002 by restaurateur mourad mazouz and masterchef pierre gagnaire, as a destination for food, art and music. the lecture room & library was awarded its first michelin star in 2005 and in 2012, the restaurant won its second michelin star, which it retains today.
Over the past decade, due to mazouz’s com­mitment to art and design, the venue has hosted over fifty exhibitions of artists’ moving image including work.

sketch is a museum of visual art, architecture, design, food, and fantastic dining experiences.

from our first step inside sketch, it felt like we left the streets of london entirely and entered a new zany dreamland. the service was amazing and there were just so many little details that made the afternoon tea experience both so fun and so delicious.

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^^ i mean, look at those insanely perfect soft boiled eggs, and warm toasty tea sandwiches wrapped up with yellow ribbons! ^^
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^^ every single mini cake was pretty much to die for. the great thing about afternoon tea is that everything is refillable. so basically it’s all you can eat! ^^
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^^ i was obsessed with my blackcurrent tea. i had about four pot refills! ^^
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^^ and the warm scones with clotted cream and fig/strawberry jams! there are few things in this world i enjoy eating more than a wam scone with clotted cream and jam. add on plush pink couches, a rose gold wall under a dome, a ton of other incredibly tasty things, perfectly jazzy music wafting, and a best friend to oodle over all of it with? heaven. ^^
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^^ julie showing off our favourite bite of the afternoon – a chocolate profiterole with a surprise cherry filling! ^^
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^^ that floor! devastatingly fabulous. ^^
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so you think “the gallery” (sketch’s name for this fabulous pink room) is pretty dang cool … and then you go to the bathroom. i’m not even lying, this is the bathroom:

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^^ each pod has a toilet and speakers playing nature sounds. for real. ^^
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sketch has several other dining rooms, and i want to go have an incredible eating experience in each and every one! check out “the glade”:

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afternoon tea at sketch (in the heart of picadilly!) is suuuuuch a fun london experience. so glad jules and i spent a few fabulous hours there.

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{this post is in partnership with sketch london. all opinions are my own. it really is incredibly fabulous.}

Comments

  1. Ohmygosh, if I am ever lucky enough to go to London again I need to go to Sketch. I got butterflies in my stomach looking at that gorgeous food and dining room. And those bathrooms - worth the trip there just to experience the pods :)

    -Sabrina (longtime-but-previously-non-commenting-reader)

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  2. Wow, what a fantastic place for afternoon tea.:)

    I love all the bright colours. Some of the chairs remind me of Farley's Rusks.:)

    The loos look great -note the word loo, not bathroom.:)

    Are the puddings at the top triffles? All the cakes look lovely.

    Have you had tea at the Ritz yet? That is also brill.

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  3. When I have been to England a few years ago, I had tea, a scone and clotted cream in a local café to experience England. My friend ordered nothing and went to Starbucks afterwards. :-)

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  5. Right, am finally grabbing a spare min to make some local recommendations for you! All a bit downmarket from Sketch and Fortnums but you'll have more fun if you don't stick to the posh places (though I do love tea at Fortnum & Mason).

    1) Walks.com, my fave is the streetart walk and if you go early in your stay you start to recognise the streetart all over London.

    2) Brick Lane and Shoreditch (the area they hold the streetart walks) - amazing historic part of London which will probably be pulled down to make way for skyscrappers soon, but for now you get the feel for what it would have been like when Jack the Ripper was at large. Fournier St is gorgeous and now very expensive, Colombia Rd flower market and the historic Petticoat Lane Market on Sun mornings. Recommend the samosas from Ambalas. By general agreement best curry is Lahore on Commercial Road, about 15 mins from Brick Lane (there are two businesses called Lahore, the one I recommend is the second one you come to when you're walking away from Brick Lane). It's well worth reading up on the history of the area.

    3) There's a lovely, long, walk if you then walk away from the Brick Lane area up the Shoreditch / Kingsland Road through a traditionally Anglo-Turkish area, with beautiful tiled mosques. Andu's cafe in Dalston is great for Ethiopian food, run by a very friendly guy.

    4) Breakfast at the Regency Cafe near Vincent Square, long queues move fast and take the service as part of the entertainment :-)

    5) When you're visiting IKEA in Wembley, take a peek at the Neasden Temple (Shri Swaminarayan Mandir). You can go inside and it's stunning. I haven't been yet but I've heard that the Shayona restaurant which is very close is well worth a trip.

    6) St Dunstan's church, a bombed-out church which has been turned into a garden - amazing.

    7) Brixton and Brixton market. My fave is Ms M's cupcakes. Another area which is being gentrified so catch it while you can.

    8) The Wellcome centre; it's not one of the top must-see museums but has the most interesting exhibitions.

    9) When you're at the Borough Market and want a sit-down, pop into the Southwark Cathedral cafe. There's an open excavation in the corridor by the caff where you can see the foundations going back to (from memory) Roman times.

    10) Warung Pandang, a tiny Indonesian restaurant in a dilapidated shopping centre by Leicester square which does the most incredible food. The owner's a kind of star in the Indonesian community here.

    11) Day trip to Southall, which is a huge centre for the British Asian community and very crowded at the weekend. Southall is lovely at Christmas when all the Muslim, Hindu etc businesses have big 'Happy Christmas!' banners in the windows. Hard to go wrong with food but my favourite is Roxis, near the station.

    12) Was going to recommend tea at Fortnums but you found it already :-)

    Hope you have fun here! Rachel

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    1. what an awesome comment -- thank you! very excited to try out these suggestions.

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  6. The chairs look like ladyfingers. I love it!

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