No matter how many dinner tables your elbows rest on, the capital always has the capacity to thrill and amaze. Step forward one of the most unique, Sketch Gallery, a long-standing restaurant-cum-art-installation serving fancy food, and proud owner of the most talked about toilets in town.

The Venue
Sketch on Conduit Street is a buzz as soon as you walk through the front door. It’s a veritable maze of grandiose bars, arty regal rooms and elegant dining spaces, all fashioned in a building that reeks of history - it dates back to the 18th century and was once Christian Dior’s showroom.

Sketch Gallery sits at the heart of the action. It’s book-ended at either end by bars – The East Room and The Parlour - and of course the infamous egg-shaped toilet pods. Make sure you check these out during your visit as they look like something Barberella might emerge out of in a plume of smoke and they even entertain you with bird song or a round of applause as you go about your business – undeniably unique. The dining space is a white leather clad room with projections (think: snowflakes in winter) beamed onto the blank walls, and it’s only when you look up that you’ll see a domed roof, intricate cornicing and other signs of its original, remarkable design.

The Atmosphere
Serving staff wear a hipster uniform of Levi jeans and Converse sneaks, while the management are very much part of the experience, sprinkling little nuggets of Sketch trivia during your visit. Special occasions, plenty of couples, loaded internationals and switched-on Londoners pack out the room. There aren’t many restaurants that can touch it in terms of the surroundings and there’s even a set of Technics in place for late-night party sessions.

The Food
Modern, ambitious and expensive – starters average £15; mains cost anything up to £35; and desserts are £10-plus. The fine dining banqueting room upstairs (The Lecture Room and Library) is where the seriously extravagant dining goes on, courtesy of the highly regarded Pierre Gargain. The Frenchman’s influence extends to Sketch Gallery, where voguish, unusual and luxe ingredients are offered in a less experimental fashion to what goes on upstairs.

A Gonzales starter - beef with sardines on a fresh and zingy ratatouille - is plentiful and the cured beef goes well with the diced cucumber and sliced tomatoes but the sardines are a little too fishy and they overpower the rest somewhat. Much better is the Chantilly lace, a lobster bisque of sorts served on a mound of fragrant basmati rice with horseradish cream. This is absolutely knock-your-socks-off fantastic. Portion sizes are surprisingly hefty.

Mains again divide opinion: a lamb dish with a Thai accent of peanut paste and tropical fruit is sublime; a venison dish is deflating as it’s more like a stew. It’s served in a bowl with a thick, claggy sauce, and the tartness of the red cabbage suppresses the rest of the ingredients.

To finish, a tropical fruit meringue (£11) is a crowd-pleaser of a dessert and fat chewy macaroons (£2 each) are so good you’ll be singing their praises for days to come.

The Drink
A bottle of Portuguese Crasto Douro is a great foil for the red meat dishes, as it has a vibrant fruity character and a bit of spice too. At £30 per bottle it's good value in an establishment like this. Bottles – or flutes – of champagne are popular with other patrons and the cocktails in either of the bars are well worth investigating before or after your meal.

The Last Word
You’ll never forget a visit to Sketch Gallery – and that’s something you can’t say about some of the most highly-rated restaurants in the capital. The food may fluctuate between phenomenal and flawed, but the venue itself will leave you spellbound.

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