The Sea, The Sea, Chelsea

When news breaks that Alex Hunter, co-founder of acclaimed seafood restaurant Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack, is opening a new restaurant, we listen up. Hunter’s latest catch, The Sea, The Sea – named after Iris Murdoch's Booker-winning novel – is opening on Chelsea’s Pavilion Road in April 2019. Self-described by Hunter as a ‘fish shop and seafood bar’, The Sea, The Sea is a fishmonger and deli by day, restaurant and champagne bar by night.

Just like traditional seafood restaurants perched on the shore’s edge, the menu at The Sea, The Sea is expected to change daily, depending on which fresh catches come in. While this means the dishes themselves may be improvised somewhat, Hunter has already reeled in an impressive line-up of guest chefs: Jeremy Chan of West African restaurant Ikoyi has signed up to do a stint in the kitchen; as has Leandro Carreira, founder of Portuguese-British restaurant Londrino.

Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack has already won the favour of critics and customers alike with its offering of small plates paired with informality. Grace Dent went so far as to describe Bonnie Gull as ‘perfect’ when she reviewed the original branch for the Evening Standard back in 2012. The restaurant was such a success, the team opened a second branch in neighbouring Soho five years later.

Those who’ve dined at Bonnie Gull will recall the theatricality of its menu, which presents the best of British fish through a contemporary lense. Here’s hoping much of the same flare – not to mention the Bonnie Mary (aka a Bloody Mary served with an oyster on top) – drifts over to The Sea, The Sea.