Sometimes pole dancers get fancy and go to brunch in Mayfair. This time, the occasion was a fantastic brunch in sketch‘s The Glade with the one and only Faded Spring. Read on to find out what to expect from this affordable, innovative brunch in one of London’s most Instagram friendly venues.
You’ve probably seen my review of sketch’s afternoon tea in The Gallery recently. This is yet another thing. sketch doesn’t only have one room. Oh no. It’s a versatile venue catering for your needs at every time of the day or of the night. This time, Faded Spring and I tried their brunch. Or better, Faded Spring treated me for brunch and I was her plus one. Thanks Kitty Girl – she looked fabulous #10s10sacrosstheboard.
The Glade
After you walk through sketch London’s door, past the hopscotch and the cloakroom, you end up in a corridor right in front of a self-playing pink piano. Its tunes tend to be renditions of pop songs like Sia’s Cheap Thrills or Pharrell’s Happy. Then you have a choice (depending on where you’ve booked): either The Gallery, an explosion of pink on your right; or The Glade, all green and blue on your left.
This time we went for The Glade. Now, don’t get me wrong, The Gallery is dreamy. Yet, while still maintaining that otherworldly sketch experience, The Glade is more chill, less of a once-a-year type treat and more of a “I’ll come back next weekend for brunch” kind of place.
With walls painted like forests blessed with light and freaky mirrors moving from left to right to enhance the feeling of being deep in some Amazonian retreat, The Glade sports cute little classy tables and a relaxed vibe for the inappropriate conversations Faded Spring and I always end up having.
Small parenthesis for bloggers and Instagram addicts: The Glade is actually better for pictures! Hurrah! I love The Gallery but maybe my cameras and my face are not pink light friendly. Both Ana and I had a better time Instagramming away from The Glade. Also, probably because it’s slightly more casual and there are less tables, there are less chances to be photobombed by other patrons in your pictures. Right, dumb moment over. Let’s get real.
The Food
While in The Gallery you have a set afternoon tea menu, at The Glade you can pick and mix from whatever you feel like having on that day. This didn’t stop us from being defeated by food.
Drinks
I had two drinks: a juice and a smoothie. Give me a mango and passionfruit combo and I’ll be ready to have your babies… or not. But yeah, I love them. So the mango, passionfruit, goji berry and pomegranate juice (£8) was refreshing and felt like a Bali cocktail. Definitely getting that one again at some point.
The Butterlicious (£9.50) smoothie, made with chocolate, peanut butter, tonka and almond milk, was a healthy milkshake and y’all know what milkshakes do. I was pretty impressed.
Starters
Food wise, it was pretty hard to choose if to go for a starter and a main, or eggs and a main, or starter, eggs, and dessert. And which starter do you even pick? There are so many! So we ordered a bit of everything.
We shared a variety of starters, beginning with the Emmental, Gouda and Cheddar cheese board with celery and apple jelly (£12). Although not as massive as some cheeseboards I’ve tried, this dish was beautifully presented, a great way to start light. The apple jelly was an unexpected touch that made it all more interesting.
The winners among the starters were however the pumpkin velouté with chicory and orange foam (£12) and the burrata rocket velouté (£12). Both dishes were unusual and more liquid than we’d expected. The pumpkin was extremely delicate, while the burrata was creamy and fresh. In both cases, the dishes came in a bowl in which our lovely waitress then poured the rocket and pumpkin veloutés, turning the dish into a quirky but delicious soup. We had both with what was possibly one of the best focaccias I’ve ever had. As thick as a slice of cake, yet savoury and covered in rosemary, sketch’s focaccia (£4.50) made an Italian immigrant very happy.
Main – Eggs
Have you even had brunch if you skip having eggs? Faded Spring and I just had to try sketch’s take on this traditional brunch dish.
Faded Spring is a veggie, so she went for the poached eggs with the watercress soup (£11). These were probably the most unexpected combo, especially considered the soup doesn’t come on the side, but on top of the eggs. Needless to say, if eggs are already runny enough for you, don’t pick this dish.
I’m a sucker for bacon, so I ordered veggie scrambled eggs too, with bacon on the side. I absolutely loved sketch’s melanosporum black truffle scrambled eggs (£25), which came in a bowl and were way more filling than I thought they’d be. The eggs had a spicy twist to them and they were definitely one of the most interesting egg dishes I’ve ever tried. The bacon, cooked up to perfection, was the perfect addition to the dish. Unfortunately, due to the already filling starters and to the fact we wanted to make room for dessert, I couldn’t finish them.
Top tip: don’t be like me. Maybe have less for starters, because unfortunately you can only take cakes home at sketch, but you can’t ask for a doggy bag for savoury dishes. You wouldn’t want so much amazing food to go to waste!
Dessert
We did make room for dessert, and what a dessert that was. Faded Spring went for some colourful macaroons, while I picked a rich, filling and indulgent caramel mille-feuille (£6), a puff pastry filled with caramelised cream, toasted hazelnuts and praline. It wasn’t only the perfect treat, it actually reminded me of old birthday cakes I used to get as a child and it made me really happy. Worth it!
My Outfit
I can’t believe I’m doing this, but peepz on Insta asked me where I got my outfit from so bear with me and get your fashiony deets.
Skirt and jacket: vintage Moschino, circa 1991. No, I don’t know where you can get it from. No, I haven’t paid for it. My mum did, when she was pregnant with me and was still skinnier than I am today. Bag: MaxMara, a gift from my 20th birthday that I hold onto for dear life. Shoes: Primadonna (€36, about £30), last summer’s collection. Glasses: Arise Collective’s Stella Eyeglasses ($85). The Arise Collective team sent these to me as a gift, and I’m absolutely in love with them. They work as sunglasses outdoors and then turn into normal frames indoors, so you don’t have to be the douchebag who doesn’t take them off. Win.
Egg Pods
We also made the compulsory trip to sketch’s egg pod toilets, which were made up to welcome Easter and spring with a new art installation. Pictures and selfies were inevitable.
The Verdict
Although the service was a bit slow at times, brunch at sketch’s The Glade is an absolute pleasure. You will legit never want to leave. We got there at 2.30 and it was nearly 6 when we walked out!
Like tea in The Gallery, brunch at The Glade makes you feel lost in time and in the conversations you’re having. It’s a venue packed with art – on the walls and in the air, with sounds from the live music played in other rooms coming in muffed and intriguing. It’s an affordable venue, where you can share a variety of dishes or just go for a main and still enjoy the experience. It’s an outstanding, iconic space that you don’t want to miss out on.
I will be back!
Pictures: Carolina & Faded Spring
**sketch hosted us for brunch. Opinions are my own.
Pin It
