Teal by Sally Abé

Sally Abé’s CV is a roll call of very serious kitchens: The Ledbury, The Harwood Arms, The Pem at Conrad London St James. Impressive, certainly, but largely in service of another’s house style, until now. Billed as a bistro, and conceived entirely in Abé’s own voice, Teal draws on oft-forgotten Victorian recipes and retro 80s dinner party cooking. Think vol-au-vents and devils on horseback (mercifully, no cheese and pineapple hedgehogs), reworked for the Hackney crowd.

Despite the pretty, dusky blue-green interiors, Teal takes its name from the Eurasian teal - the UK’s smallest wild duck. The comparison holds. Devised by Abé and her interior designer sister Alice Webster, the dining room is compact, seating just 25 guests across bentwood chairs and mustard-yellow banquettes. Shielded by mesh curtains and fitted with marble-topped tables and antique brass lamps, there’s a whiff of a French bistro, but make no mistake - Teal is British through and through.

Savouries - salty Victorian-era palate-cleansing bites - are well worth your undivided attention. Devils on horseback prove a brilliant call: crisp bacon wrapped around sweet prunes concealing an oozy pocket of chicken liver parfait; as is a brawn Scotch egg: rich yet bright, pepped up with a sharp, fruity Oxford sauce. Elsewhere, knife-and-fork bacon (an Abé signature) layers thick, unctuous cuts with blistered shards of streaky bacon. Lifted by pickled shimeji and soured cream, it’s a triumph.

Haunch of sika deer comes paired with a dense, savoury faggot spiked with salty bacon, plus a buttery celeriac, practically gilded in beer and maple. Joined by a spiky daub of pickled walnut puree for contrast, it’s Abé to a tee: clever, technically faultless, and the picture of comfort.

Already giddy with anticipation, a marmalade ice cream sandwich features fluffy parfait pressed between wafer-thin slices of crisp bread. Visually striking, it’s topped with thin-cut candied peel, pinning it safely on the right side of bittersweet. A trifle-like rhubarb jubilee highlights that same knack for balance: thick, panna cotta style creme Anglaise, tart poached rhubarb, bright rhubarb sorbet and a toothsome, caramelised tuile.

London’s stable of trend-chasing, live-fire copycats and small plates restaurants is a powerful, even invasive force. Outside of gastropubs, British cooking is liable to get lost. It may be small in scale, but Teal lands with real heft; Abé has authored something new, personal, and ever elegant – predictably, it’s a soaring success.

Teal by Sally Abé is a modern British restaurant from former Harwood Arms and The Pem chef Sally Abé, situated on Wilton Way in Hackney, opening in March 2026. This is Abé's first solo restaurant in the capital: 'It's the first restaurants I've built entirely on my own, on my own two feet, and I'm hugely proud of that,' she says. 

Abé's return to London is a big deal - the chef first burst onto the scene as the head chef of the Michelin-starred Harwood Arms in Fulham, and has been a regular face on TV. In 2021 she won SquareMeal's Female Chef of the Year Award, and has been a champion for female chefs throughout her career.

At Teal by Sally Abé, the chef celebrates traditional, nostalgic British cooking, uncovering lesser known dishes from the Victorian era and beyond. The menu includes angels on horseback, devils on horseback, and lockets savoury - a late victorian dish of Stilton, watercress and pears, later re-popularised by Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book in 1978. 

In general, the modern British bistro champions seasonal British produce, taking quality ingredients and shining a light on them via classic British cooking. The menu includes starters like a classic crab royale made with Dorset crab, English peas and lovage, as well as baked bone marrow. 

Main courses include haunch of deer with pickled walnuts and cavolo nero, and Cornish mussels with Jersey royals, cauliflower and sea kale. On the dessert menu, a playful, nostalgic looks at British puds, including marmalade ice cream sandwiches, and raspberry marshmallow teacakes, as well as £1 penny licks - a traditional ice cream scoop once sold on the streets of 19th century London. At Teal, all penny lick proceeds go to support Hackney Food Bank.

Abé's business partner Abe Drewry - who also worked with Sally at The Bull Charlbury - oversees the wine and drinks lists, with a particular focus on Champagne and traditional French wines.