From 5 September executive chef Leandro Carreira will serve a condensed version of his high-reaching seafood menu, with the number of courses reducing from 12 to eight.
Open evenings-only Wednesday to Saturday, the restaurant launched in 2021 following the success of the group’s original site in Chelsea, which offers a more informal but still relatively high-end small plates experience.
The group’s owner Alex Hunter says he wants to make The Sea, The Sea Hackney - which is under railway arches in Acton Mews - more inclusive.
“At the moment people have less money in their pockets. We’re going to make it less elite in terms of the audience we’re trying to reach. We want to open it up for more people. We will need to be a bit smarter with our produce but I think we can still offer a very premium menu at that price point.”
Carreira added: “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.”
Carreira will continue to focus on raw and dry-aged fish and some of his most recognisable dishes will remain on the menu, including his Scottish langoustine pastry and pão de ló (a traditional Portuguese sponge cake).
A wine pairing focusing on low-intervention and wines from Carreira’s native Portugal will also be offered as well as a selection of cocktails.
Guest chef residencies and four-hand dinners will continue ad-hoc at the Hackney site throughout the year.
Bookings for the tweaked The Sea, The Sea Hackney go live on Monday (24 July).
Shortening the journey from catch to kitchen
The changes to The Sea, The Sea have been propelled by developments within 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.
“We’ve filled a gap in the market by focusing on quality and transparency. It’s expensive, but controlling our own sourcing and logistics has really paid off,” Hunter says.
TSTS Wholesale directly oversees every element of its supply chain and is in the process of upgrading its infrastructure to allow more dayboat fishermen to land directly at its doorstep.
This follows the recent relocation to Looe’s former fish market, a 3,000sq ft structure positioned directly on the harbour front.
“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,” says Hunter, who established the wholesale business in 2021.
“We can now increase our stock and ultimately, to our wholesale customers and our own restaurants will have access to optimum quality fish, the best we’ve ever supplied.”
