Quite possibly one of the most engaging toilets in London resides at 9 Conduit Street. Here, an 18th-century town house has been converted into Sketch, a dignified gastroland, with a cafe and patisserie, a bar and brasserie, and a fine-dining restaurant, divided into two parts, the Library and the Lecture Room.

Conceived by French superchefs Pierre Gagnaire and Mourad Mazouz, Sketch is perhaps the most expensive restaurant in London with meals in the restaurants likely to set you back £250 per head. It is possible to enjoy Sketch’s unique ambiance and arty surrounds for a smaller price tag—The Lecture Room offers a three-course, fixed-price lunch for £48 and a two-course one for £42, but obviously, the obligatory glasses of fine wine will add a few pennies onto this figure.

The venue itself is a visual spectacle as well as a culinary masterpiece. Expect large arty video projections on all the walls while you nibble your way through the sublime lobster fricassée in ginger butter in The Gallery brasserie, or choose from the daintiest petits gâteaux from the pâtisserie counter in The Parlour, then take a comfort break in the white Kubrick-inspired space pod of a toilet. In an ideal world you would spend a whole day in Sketch, and money would be no object. In reality, expect to pay a small fortune but enjoy every second of it—Sketch exudes sensory pleasure in every perfect mouthful.


The Parlour: Mon-Fri, 8:00-18:30, Sat, 10:00-18:30

The Library and Lecture Room: Tue-Fri, 12:00-14:00 & 19:00-23:00; Sat, 9:00-23:00