The Sea, The Sea in Hackney, the 14-cover chef’s table headed up by Exec Chef Leandro Carreira, will shake up its offering from September by reducing its menu to £95 per head from £150, with plans to introduce two sittings per night before the end of the year.
From Wednesday, 5th September Leandro will serve his innovative, multi-course seafood menu – now reduced from twelve to eight courses – at two thirds of its original price, every Wednesday-Saturday at 7.30pm.
Leandro said: ‘It’s definitely time for a change in Hackney, the dining landscape isn’t the same as when we opened two years ago, and so this is a response to the rising costs. It will not only enable us to widen our pool of potential diners, but makes sense for the business. There is no doubt that chef’s tables are in demand right now, guests are really after that experiential kind of restaurant, but it’s got to be accessible. Everything else within the restaurant; the atmosphere, service-style and high-quality seafood sourced directly from the South West and Scotland, will remain the same.’
The style of Leandro’s dishes will continue uphold his distinct culinary style, an approach which focuses on raw and dry-aged fish, whilst a couple of Leandro’s most recognisable dishes, to include his Scottish Langoustine Pastry and his lauded Pão de Ló (a traditional Portuguese sponge cake), will remain as permanent staples. A wine pairing, focusing on low-intervention and Portuguese wines will also be offered as well as a selection of cocktails.
Guest chef residencies and four-hand dinners will continue ad-hoc in Hackney throughout the year as well as seafood masterclasses. The original The Sea, The Sea, the seafood bar and fishmonger in Chelsea’s Pavilion Road will continue to operate as usual. Bookings open for Hackney from today.
Shortening the journey from catch to kitchen
The change-up in Hackney has also been propelled by developments at the heart of The Sea, The Sea’s nationwide wholesale arm (TSTS Wholesale) in Cornwall – which currently supplies more than 150 restaurants around the UK, and soon will be able to increase its supply .
The only fish wholesaler in the UK with a base in both Cornwall and London, and which directly oversees every element of the supply chain, from late summer The Sea, The Sea will boast the infrastructure for a carefully selected fleet of local dayboat fishermen to land directly at its doorstep.
This follows the recent relocation to Looe’s former fish market, a 3000 sqft structure positioned directly on the harbour front. The Sea, The Sea’s revival of the space not only pays homage to the building’s original use but enables optimum control from catch to kitchen. Once landed, the seafood is driven directly by TSTS vehicles, to restaurants across the South in less than 24 hours, with plans to expand delivery radius throughout the rest of England.
The Sea, The Sea founder Alex Hunter, who established the wholesale business in 2021 said: ‘The move to Looe’s former fish market will be a gamechanger, allowing us to provide an even better quality product by ensuring we have complete control over ever part of the seafood supply chain, whilst reviving a disused building which used to be an important part of the community, so the fishermen are happy. We can now increase our stock and ultimately, our wholesale customers and our own restaurants will have access to optimum quality fish, the best we’ve ever supplied.”
