I have always thought of an afternoon tea as this lavish, indulgent meal. As a lover of all things exquisite, I do my best to go for an afternoon tea at home or whenever I am in London. This past winter, my friend, sister, and I took our afternoon tea to a whole new level. We went to Sketch in SoHo for their Christmas Tea. This place was just incredible! The interior was not your traditional afternoon tea setting. It had lots of modern, caricature-y artworks. Did I also mention that the entire dining room (called The Parlour) was pink? Yes, pink. From the floors, to the chairs, accents, and even the uniforms of the servers and hosts have different tinges of pink. It worked! Because we were there during the Christmas holiday, they had carol singers serenade guests with jolly tunes. So fun! Sketch also has other restaurants and bars within the building. You can choose from The Parlour, The Glade, East Bar, Gallery, and Lecture Room. Its concept is genius and unique. The amalgam of art, music, and food at Sketch leaves guests entertained and satiated.
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| Ceiling of the dining room
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The ceiling, for instance, had a hanging dried tree as the chandelier. The lighting was muted and also pink-ish.
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| Our afternoon tea bites |
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| Sassy tea cups
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The plates and cups were mostly unadorned, as you can see from my photo. It’s totally different from the traditional afternoon tea where plates, teapots, and tea cups were gilded and decorated with blues, yellows, florals, and other regal patterns. I can understand the sensibility of Sketch here. The restaurant is already ornate and pink, that to use colorful china will be an overkill.
The food was amazing, too. Those tea sandwiches, pastries, cakes (from their trolley), and scones were good sized, tasty, and well-presented. A huge plus was they didn’t skimp on my beloved clotted cream. Sketch also provided second helpings for those inclined (like us). Their Jing tea selection was outstanding, as well. We tried their Assam, Earl Grey, Ceylon Rose, and Silver Needle.
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| The Parlour – so pink! |
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| The Parlour – Missoni inspired floor |
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| The Glade |
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| Bathroom pods |
Yes, bathroom pods! I thought this bit juxtaposed the uber-girliness of the the Parlour. It definitely gave me the sci-fi vibe 🙂
It’s not often that you’ll find guests take pictures of the bathroom. Here at Sketch, I’d say everyone there took either a selfie or a quick photo of the pods. Leave it to Sketch when it comes to pushing the boundaries of comfort.
Our afternoon tea at Sketch was fun, weird, and delectable. Even though I looked up photos of the restaurant prior to our trip, seeing it in person was something else. I loved my traditional afternoon tea at Orangery but this experience at Sketch will forever be etched in my memory as refreshing and entertaining. So when you find yourself planning a trip to London, consider Sketch. You will not be disappointed.
