Sketch had come up a few times when I was perusing Yelp for afternoon tea recommendations, but I never really considered trying it because of their price and modern gimmick-y setting. At
£34/person, it's cheaper than Ritz and Claridge's, but it's not exactly spare change either, and I didn't think I could justify spending so much for afternoon tea in a place with zero historical significance. This, however, was not a concern of my mom, and we ended up trying Sketch while she was visiting.
We made a last minute reservation, and we ended up with the 1pm time slot in The Glade - a French fairy-tale forest setting with enchanting upholstery and odd laser lights and rotating mirrors. The furnishing of the room was gimmick-y as expected, and the realist in me struggled a little to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the decor. Yes, the toilets are egg-shaped space age cubicles; yes, there's a voice telling you how far you are from Peru while you are peeing; yes, the Glade room looks like a forest and the laser lights add a sense surreal Alice feel; and yes, there is a cosy velvet-clad bar underneath the toilet area... regardless, there is design for aesthetic purposes, and then there is gimmick for the sake of gimmick.
Anyways...
After studying the menu, we got the full afternoon tea, which came with a pot of tea, 1 scone, 4 different sandwiches, and 2 layers of cakes and pastries.
First off, the scone was ridiculously ginormous. It was also too crumbly, and I had to be extra delicate when spreading the clotted cream, which by the way, was not good at all. More butter than clotted cream, I couldn't taste the milky smoothness that I so love. The strong citrus fruit in the Sultan scone didn't help either.
The sandwiches were a lot more pleasing, and you could tell that they had put some thoughts into designing them. I especially liked the smoked salmon sandwich, which was made with flat bread, fresh dill and thin layers of cream cheese, topped with a few salmon roe.
The cakes and pastries weren't bad either, none of them overly sweet. That being said, none of them stood out either. Well... except the pistachio macaron, which had such a strong burnt almond taste to it that I was instantly overwhelmed. I seriously had to wash the nausea down with cups after cups of tea. I admit I have a low tolerance for burnt almond/cherry, but still... it was totally uncalled for in a macaron.
Overall, I think I liked my experience, and I do think that Sketch provides a wonderful setting for a group of girlfriends to catch up and chat over cakes and pastries. I may very well visit Sketch again to experience the other rooms, but I still don't think the price matches what I receive.
It doesn't make much economical sense, but part of it is that Sketch is priced just right - their pricing is in the middle range between homey (
£20) and extravagant (
£40+), and attracts young professionals that are price conscious, but willing to spend money for an afternoon of indulgence.
I would definitely like to try more afternoon tea venues within the same price level for comparison.
site:
http://sketch.uk.com
