The Sea, The Sea’s latest venture set on Acton Mews in Hackney has released September reservations for the launch of its Chef’s Table. Led by Executive Chef Leo Carreira, the Chef’s Table will serve an omakase-style tasting menu from its open kitchen.
Serving just 12 guests per sitting, dining will be counter-styled, with the opening menus to include dishes such as aged turbot, hot dog pods, honeycomb tomatoes; horse mackerel, pine nut, sake, shallots; and langoustine ‘Wedding Cake’ – a year in development, the dish is a seaweed ‘egg cake’ baked in an artisanal Portuguese pot, seasoned with togarashi and stuffed with smoked langoustines and a sauce made from their heads. The cake is then glazed in homemade almond milk and topped with langoustine ‘floss’ before being sliced and served in front of the guests.
Overseeing the wine list will be Renato Costa, general manager of the Chelsea branch, who has a passion for interesting and approachable wines. He said: “For the chef’s table, we have focused on European wines and regions where water has a great impact on the terroir. We champion small family producers for their style, philosophy and dedication in the vineyard”.
The Chef’s Table will build on the legacy set by the Seafood Bar at their original site in Chelsea. The larger, highly-spec’d workspace at the Hackney site has allowed for a more expansive approach to the menu. The small ageing cabinet in Chelsea has been expanded into a large walk-in space at Hackney, and live shellfish are held in special filtration tanks on-site.
Set within the railway arches, the space is designed as an immersive experience where diners will pass through the wholesale and product development operations en route to the Chef’s Table. A glimpse behind the scenes as fishmongers process the morning’s catch, ahead of it being delivered to their wholesale customers that night.
Founder Alex Hunter and interiors designer Ben Wilkins have also put great care into creating a “spectacular, multi-sensory experience”. The Chef’s Table uses the arched space to create a dynamic, theatrical, highly focused and intimate atmosphere with the help of lighting designers Lighting Design Collective. The space will also lay host to named DJs on occasion, who will perform alongside the chefs from behind the counter.
