Restaurant review Lecture Room and Library, Conduit Street, London.

Oh blimey, it's that time of year again; my annual dinner with the highest bidder in The Independent's charity auction. I always find these blind dates a bit stressful. One of our generous readers has paid money to come out on a review with me. The restaurant had better be bloody good. And I had better behave myself.

This year's winner, Philip Turton, placed his bid as a surprise birthday gift for his wife, Alison, and was keen to find a dinner destination with the suitable wow factor. We finally alighted on the Lecture Room and Library at Sketch. From a price point alone, it fitted the bill, though it isn't so much the wow factor as the wtf? factor – with starters from £35 to £45, and main courses from £37 to £55, it is surely Britain's most expensive restaurant. But this was a special occasion, right? And Sketch is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, so there was an editorial justification, too. (No, of course I didn't just suggest it as a way of getting to eat at Britain's most expensive restaurant...)

Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk