Sally Abé has just announced she’ll open her first standalone restaurant in Hackney on Thursday March 26, with co-owner Abe Drewry, who will oversee wine. Teal by Sally Abé – named for the chef’s favourite game bird – will reflect Abé’s ethos of seasonality and sustainability, and her passion for British dishes and ingredients, which have been honed during her career in some of the country’s top restaurants and pubs.
“Opening Teal by Sally Abé feels incredibly personal,” Abé said in a statement. “It’s the first restaurant I’ve built entirely on my own, on my own two feet, and I’m hugely proud of that. After years working in other peoples’ businesses and kitchens, this is me putting my name, my values and my voice into a space that’s truly mine.”
In her most recent role, Abé worked alongside Drewry as head of food at Cotswolds pub The Bull, owned by Public House Group (The Hart, The Pelican). The Nottingham-born chef sharpened her skills while working under Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and Brett Graham at The Ledbury. She continued to develop her signature style of elevated British classics leading the team at The Harwood Arms, London’s only Michelin-starred pub, then became consultant chef at The Conrad London St James hotel.
At her new Hackney restaurant, Abé is exploring some lesser-known British classics. Snacks revive Victorian-era starters, including “lockets savoury” – which traditionally includes pears, stilton and watercress on bread – as well as angels on horseback (oysters wrapped in bacon). Starters and mains are ingredient-led, including “haunch of deer, pickled walnuts and cavolo nero” and “Dorset crab royale, English peas and lovage and baked bone marrow”. Drewry’s wine list will be constantly evolving, with a focus on champagne – a particular favourite of Abé’s – as well as oaky chardonnays and bright bordeaux reds, which the pair feel best complements Abé’s cooking.
Dessert plays on British nostalgia, with a marmalade ice-cream sandwich and a “penny lick”, a once-ubiquitous street snack consisting of a single scoop of ice cream in a small glass vessel. All proceeds of this dainty £1 treat will go to the Hackney Food Bank.
“Teal by Sally Abé is about celebrating the best of British food, its history, its flavours and its stories, while championing women and supporting good causes,” Abé said.
The chef – whose 2024 memoir, A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen, called for change within the industry for women – will continue to champion and mentor female hospitality workers. She’s appointed Abbie Hendren (ex-Sam’s Waterside) as head chef.
Abé’s sister also played a key role in bringing the project to life, co-designing the restaurant with vintage Winchester stools at an oak countertop, antique brass table lamps, and black and white posters that depict moments from historic women’s rights marches.
Teal by Sally Abé will open at 52 Wilton Way, E8 1BS on Thursday March 26.
