Sally Abé is a celebrated chef, author, and the founder of Teal by Sally Abé. She is recognized as a winner of the Great British Menu and has published a book detailing her culinary journey.
Teal by Sally Abé is a British Bistro in Hackney, London, offering bold flavours and classic British dishes with a refined touch. It's chef Sally Abé's first solo restaurant, known for its intimate and cosy atmosphere and warm, friendly service. The name 'Teal' is inspired by Sally's favourite type of duck.
Customer Perception
Customers consistently praise the warm, friendly, and attentive service, often highlighting individual staff members. The food is described as superb, delicious, and expertly cooked, with many dishes receiving high acclaim, especially the starters and desserts. The atmosphere is noted as intimate and cosy, making guests feel welcome and special. While generally positive, one review suggested booking an earlier sitting for optimal experience.
Additional Details
The restaurant's name, 'Teal,' is inspired by chef Sally Abé's favourite type of duck. They also offer 'Penny licks' desserts, with proceeds going to charity.
One customer suggested booking an earlier sitting for the best experience, implying it might get busy or certain dishes might run out later in the evening.
I absolutely loved this restaurant, congratulations to Sally. The feel of the restaurant was friendly dining with counter seating, table seating both inside and outside. Staff are super nice and are willing to chat if you like and now the dishes, delicious. Savouries were wonderful bite sized eats and may favourite was the Angels on Horseback which is a fired oyster. Starters have so much to choose from, so we had three between two, my favourite was Knife and Fork. Now the mains, we had the Beef Rump Cap and the Corn Fed Chicken, both perfectly created and delicious. Lastly we saved enough room for dessert and again was super happy, we went for all four desserts. Buttermilk Pudding and Marmalade Ice cream Sandwich were the stand out for us. Amazing restaurant and we will be back soon. Thank you Sally and Abbie for saying hello.
We had a wonderful meal here! The service was warm and friendly so we instantly felt at home. The space is small but beautifully decorated. And then the food - definitely ordered way too much food but I’m glad we tried so much of the menu. Fantastic dishes and, even though I’m not usually a dessert person, I loved the marmalade ice cream sandwich!
5
This is a special place where both kitchen and front of the house work together to make you feel even more special.
Lovely British bistro, cosy room, welcoming and super friendly staff. Service was smooth and cheerful - our server, Victoria was attentive and helpful at all times… She made our evening even more special by asking Sally to come out and have a chat- I couldn’t help but fangirl when I saw her. Super talented and lovely!
Wonderful wine chat with the sommelier as well (sorry didn’t catch your name!) .
Food was (obviously) superb, the little starters were delicious (even got an extra one) and arrived just at the perfect time.
The asparagus tartlet was delicate and warm but to me the start of the meal was the knife and fork bacon, the pickle onion with it made the dish explode with flavour. We had the deer and the beef as mains, both meats melt in the mouth and the sauce was delicious, would’ve loved a bit more but not complaining… but the surprise comes on the side, a little faggett with the deer and the short rib on the beef dish were sensational and make the mains a bit more fun and a lot more satisfying.
We went for the classic rhubarb and custard dessert with a super refreshing sorbet but the absolute joy of what we now call it “The poshest Tunnok’s cake” made us giggle, dance in our seats and leave the restaurant with the biggest smile.
We will be back no doubt.
THANK YOU ☺️
4
Delicious food and superb service. Starters and desserts 10/10. Nice intimate atmosphere
Slight disappointment on the mains - given some of the amazing photos we had seen prior to our visit, expectations were high. Unfortunately it felt like we received the end pieces, and elements of both dishes appeared to be substituted or missing altogether from what we were expecting.
Overall, fantastic addition to the area. Would suggest booking an earlier sitting than we did, if you can.
5
We took a day off work to try Teal and we weren’t disappointed! We loved the location, not being locals, it was good to discover a new part of London. The restaurant feels like it’s been there for years and felt very homely. The menu was explained well to us and was full of choice. The dish of snails and bone marrow was a must try and was delicious and the asparagus tart was full of flavour. The lamb and haunch of deer were beautifully cooked. The desserts were fabulous. We marvelled at the lightness of the marmalade ice cream sandwich and I was delighted with the raspberry teacake. It was the perfect way to spend time together. Thank you to Sally and the team for making us feel so welcome; we will be back!
