DISAPPOINTING Visit to a 3 Michelin Star Restaurant - Sketch

Sketch opened with such brilliance I was immediately amazed. But by the end of the meal I had one question. What the hell just happened? In this channel I take you to some of the world's most exclusive three Michelin star restaurants. My name is Alexander, I'm the co-owner of a one Michelin star restaurant and I am on a mission to find inspiration in gastronomy. Welcome to Alexander the Guest. Today we are heading to London, England. People don't think of London as a culinary capital but they really should. Other than Paris no European city has more Michelin star restaurant than London. We are off to the posh Mayfair district in the West End. Home of Savile Row, the Royal Academy of Arts and one crazy three-story townhouse with four restaurants known as Sketch. For 20 years this iconic place has been a favorite among London's who's who. The owner is Murad Mazzouz, an Algerian-born businessman. His vision was to create a place where music, art, food, design and entertainment create a unique experience for the five senses through the new wave French cuisine. The man behind the menu is two-time three-star Michelin super chef Pierre Gagné who has more than a dozen restaurants across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. So we have the visionary and the super chef. Surely these two can do something great, right? Before we go any further I need to tell you I've been here. Back in 2019 just before the pandemic that's when Sketch was awarded its three Michelin stars. I tried it and I have to say I wasn't blown away. I'm curious to see what has changed in the past three years. Sketch is unique, I will give it that. There are four restaurants in this building each with its own thing going on. Today we have a reservation in the fine dining restaurant they call the lecture room and library. We step into the building, the lobby is quite dark and a bit mysterious. The host finds our name on the list and brings us upstairs. Standing there is a beautiful woman in a French maid outfit. She says nothing, she's art. Then the host dramatically throws open the curtains and wow, this is another world. It's like we were suddenly pushed on stage at the musical Moulin Rouge. Immediate sensory overload. It was the most impressive welcoming I have ever seen anywhere. The sommelier arrives and keeps the theater vibe going. He's Italian and very friendly. His champagne options are extraordinary. Most restaurants don't carry this mentality. We took our pick from the many high-end options including Krug and Jack Salo's by the glass. It's not often you get to just have a glass of champagne from such prestigious bottles. Usually if you want to taste you need to buy the bottle. Not here. The lady who welcomed us at our table was very stiff and formal. She would fit perfectly in a standard formal restaurant but didn't really match the cool bohemian theater vibe they had going on here. They offer two types of tasting menu. A classic and a vegetarian. And there is the à la carte menu as well. The amuse-bouche arrives and I have it with an English parking bar. I'm still a champagne lover but that was quite something. Just 300 bottle producing. Then the first course, lobster. Prepared in three parts and served on three plates. First the tail with fresh turmeric root and wild mushrooms. The claws served cold with yuzu on a lettuce leaf and a traditional bisque. For me the sophistication was missing. Also missing was a sharp knife. I'm not sure if it was the knife or the lobster but cutting it, it was mission impossible. Second course, fillet of Scottish trout. It was very good. The flavors and textures really blended nicely. But then nothing for more than half an hour. Just waiting for the next course. Maybe there was an intermission they didn't tell us about. I don't know. So naturally we got bored and start looking around. We start notice little mistakes now that we are up close. For example it's normal for the table to be cleared of any crumbs or pieces on the tablecloth throughout your meal. During our visit they missed it. The fabric is faded and a little shabby. One thing that many people comment on are the bathrooms. They may be the most instagrammed bathrooms in London. When you go in you know why. What happened next was confusing. So we went for the wine pairing. Usually the pairing is great because you can try different grapes, methods and styles. But here the sommelier was waiting on the food. So he could serve the wine at the right temperature. So he comes out and shows me the bottle then leaves without filling. I came here to eat and drink. Please don't take the bottle away. Half an hour with no food and no wine. It was clear that there was some confusion going on behind the scenes. I have never seen this before and what I experienced is something you will probably never see at a three Michelin star restaurant. Normally it flows like an opera. With everything in the right place at precisely the right time. That may be the case here at Sketch. But it wasn't on the night I went. After the long wait the next dish arrives. Finally the main course arrives. Two slices of lamb and grilled vegetables arrive after two hours and 20 minutes. The flavor was nice but not next level. Same with the presentation. You would expect some creativity from a three Michelin star restaurant. But I didn't get it here. The problem with the finale was that they brought out too many plates with different kind of desserts at the same time. Which caused imperfection. The ice cream started to melt. The hot dessert started to chill. The coffee foam was collapsed. I saw the potential in them. They just couldn't show it completely. And now my final thoughts on lecture room and library. Sketch makes an amazing first impression and it's a stellar wine list. The visual experience is like none other. It's simply stunning. From the service side the sommelier was fantastic. These things gave me really high hopes for the whole show. Unfortunately the experience didn't live up to them. The actors were great but the production seemed to be having a rough night. My recommendation? Check it out. Come to Sketch. See the amazing job the designers did transforming this space into another world. Have a beautiful cocktail or a glass of champagne. But if you decide to eat at the lecture room and library don't expect a showstopper. I personally not going to visit them again. And that does it for this episode. Thank you for joining me. If you like this video hit the subscribe button. See you next time.