sketch (restaurant)

Sketch is a restaurant on 9 Conduit Street, 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.

sketch
Façade by Simon Brundret,[1] a sculpture on the wall outside the restaurant
Location within Central London
Restaurant information
Established2003 (2003)
Owner(s)Mourad Mazouz
Head chefPierre Gagnaire
Food typeNew French
Dress codeArt Smart
Rating (Michelin Guide 2020)
Street address9 Conduit Street
CityLondon
Postal/ZIP CodeW1S 2XG
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′45.721″N 0°8′29.602″W
ReservationsYes
Other informationNearest station:
Oxford Circus
Websitesketch.london

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]

9 Conduit Street history

9 Conduit is a Grade II listed townhouse in Mayfair,[10] designed by English Architect James Wyatt in 1779 as the private residence of James Viner.[11][12] Following that the building hosted a bizarre 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, the RIBA[13] and Christian Dior.[11]

In 1887–1909, Conduit Street was converted into the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 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 interesting design legacy and history in the mid-20th century to become Christian Dior's London atelier, within which Dior housed his collections. During this time in the 1970s the listed interior was modified by the seminal mid-century architect and leading Pop interior designer and furniture maker Max Clendinning (b. 1924) 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.

Awards

In 2005, sketch was ranked as the 18th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine.[14]

In 2008 and 2016, sketch won the AA Wine Award for England.[15]

sketch is the current owner of five rosettes from the AA.[16]

sketch lecture room & library was awarded its first Michelin star in 2005, its second star in 2012 and its third star in 2019.[17]

See also

References
  1. "sketch". Sketch.london. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. "Times interview with M.M". Women.timesonline.co.uk.
  3. Warwick, Joe (11 November 2007). "The Independent interview with M.M". Independent.co.uk.
  4. Jan Moir & S. "Copy from FT interview with P.G". Areyoureadytoorder.co.uk.
  5. "Momo Website". Momoresto.com. 28 May 2012.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "David Shrigley on Sketch". The Week Portfolio.
  9. "David Shrigley creates tableware range for London restaurant Sketch". Dezeen.com. 25 June 2014.
  11. VADS Design Journal Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  12. 1749 Westminster Poll Book Archived 8 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Exhibition at RIBA". Flightglobal.com.
  14. "London Eats". London Eats. 18 April 2005.
  15. AA Hospitality Awards Archived 18 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "AA.com". AA.com.
  17. "Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library) – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant in United Kingdom". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
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