Teal by Sally Abé

Sally Abé promises bold flavours, classic foundations, and dishes that feel familiar, but sharper, lighter, and more considered, and she has certainly delivered on her ambitions with Teal winning early praise from the critics.

Abé, who has spent time cooking in top kitchens including The Ledbury and The Harwood Arms has used her fine dining experience to full effect with dishes that demonstrate strong technique and creativity, but at her own place she has also softened her style of cooking and made it more generous, saying she is cooking food she wants to eat herself and which is 'deeply satisfying'.

Teal is unmistakably a bistro, albeit a high-reaching one, evidenced by dishes such as the brawn scotch egg; devils on horseback; baked bone marrow with snails, garlic, parsley and malt; and English asparagus with ricotta dumplings, hazelnut and lemon with a finesses and purpose to it that allows Abé to show off her culinary talent. Dishes that have become her signatures in the past also appear, including a Dorset crab royale and a marmalade ice cream sandwich, and Abé has also revived the penny lick ice cream, a homage to the affordable nineteenth century confection that predates the ice cream cone, that sells for just £1, with proceeds donated to Hackney Food Bank.