As I polish off east London’s smallest vanilla ice-cream, I can’t help but think I’ve been dosed with potion and wound up in an Alice's Adventures In Wonderland fever dream. This diminutive scoop comes at the end of a majestic meal pumped full of psychedelic Victoriana from chef Sally Abe.
More greens than a Beatrix Potter illustration
You might already be familiar with Teal, as this living room-like space on the quaint Wilton Way has already been home to two great east London restaurants; Michelin star-scoring Pidgin and scotched olive sensation Sesta. Yet the venue feels wildly different from its previous incarnations. It remains shoebox-like in size, but now possesses the gentle energy of a parochial bistro in the Cotswolds, with soft green walls, upholstered bar stools and marble-topped tables.
It makes for a bucolic backdrop to the freshest of veg, the meatiest of meats, and more greens than a Beatrix Potter illustration. Sally Abe’s progressive take on English country garden cookery casts her as a millennial Mrs Beeton, and with her years at game-tastic Harwood Arms (there’s a framed picture of her Fulham alma mater by the loo), the menu is rooted in tradition, but unafraid to give it a tender kick up the arse.
Our timewarp feast starts with ‘savouries’, i.e. salty little Victorian picnic snacks. Locket’s savoury is the best, a pissed-up Beau Brummell-worthy midnight feast where pears and stilton are served on toast, while a girthy brawn scotch egg hums even more vibrantly when dipped into the piquant sauce. Devils on horseback are a squishy mouthful of chicken parfait stuffed inside a gently yielding prune.
Starters are equally pastoral; a devilled crab tart is as arcadian as a Christina Rossetti poem, barely visible underneath a blanket of luminous herbs. That said, ‘knife and fork bacon’ is slightly confusing, four slices of stark meat with what appears to be a giant Frazzle on the top. But the mains make perfect sense, whimsy returns with al dente spears of English asparagus next to plump ricotta dumplings, as well as beef sirloin and a flourish of short rib atop a funky wild garlic sauce and sweet onion. It’s all rather magical.
As well as that petite penny lick for pudding, there’s a homemade raspberry marshmallow Tunnocks-style tea cake with a drizzle of Earl Grey custard. Never has dining in Hackney felt so much like eating in the V&A.
The vibe A countryside bistro in the middle of hipster Hackney.
The food Historic English cookery with a contemporary attitude.
The drink Lots of great wine and any classic cocktail you can think of.
Time Out tip Don’t skip the savouries, they’re small enough to enjoy as well as a starter.