Since opening on the bustle of Pavilion Road in 2019, The Sea, The Sea has been on a journey. Now, owner Alex Hunter is ready for a new chapter.
Hunter opened a sister restaurant in Hackney in 2021 and closed it in late 2025, and also built then sold a wholesale business that supplied the likes of Kol and Ikoyi. Now he’s bringing his focus back to Chelsea with a new bistro mere metres from the original site.
“More than anything, it’s about me focusing,” Hunter tells Broadsheet. “I’ve been pulled across a lot of different areas, so when this came along, it was an opportunity to focus everything in.”
At the previous site across the road, there was no full kitchen – “no real extraction, no grilling, no frying, no roasting” – which limited the team to serving mainly raw dishes.
The new expanded restaurant and chic, “no wellies” fishmonger will allow head chef Nick Marsden to cook anything he likes. Set over two floors, the space combines a warm, airy upstairs bistro with a sleek downstairs seafood bar and fish shop, complete with dry-ageing cabinets and oyster shucking, as well as shellfish, molluscs and whole day-boat fish displayed on a striking central table. At night, the shop becomes a 10-seat seafood bar, while outside there’s a large sunny terrace on Pavilion Road.
Hunter was keen to not abandon what locals loved about the original. “We’re trying not to take anything away, we’re trying only to add … the chefs deserved a proper kitchen and now they’ve got one.”
Marsden joined in 2024 after taking part in The Sea, The Sea’s Untapped series, a chef residency spotlighting emerging talent. Before that, he worked at Dovetale, Pitt Cue and The Laughing Heart. “Nick’s personality comes through in the food,” Hunter says. “There’s no bullshit, there’s no showiness. He’s understated, but his food is so impactful.
The menu changes based on what fishermen catch each day. So far, there’s langoustine and crab consommé; oysters with cucumber and apple vinaigrette; cuttlefish ragu with salsify and green almonds; and palourde clams with spring greens and tarragon. Larger dishes include silver mullet with emmer and mussels, or whole plaice with wild garlic capers and pickled dulse cooked simply on the grill.
Mediterranean octopus, which fishermen are currently catching by the tonne each day, will soon feature on the menu, and is already available in a lobster roll and edamame bean salad to take away.
With plaice served at £6.50 per 100 grams, and a whole gurnard for £30, it’s clear that bang for your buck is also important to Hunter. “I know value probably isn’t what you expect in Chelsea, but we’re really focusing on it,” he says. Because of the sourcing methods The Sea, The Sea has built over the years, he says the restaurant is able to get to seasonal produce “through the least pairs of hands possible … You’re getting a lot for your money”.
Hunter prefers scallops hand-dived by a man named Joe on Isle of Skye over “disco scallops” (caught using LED light) for quality and transparency. “Divers can be super selective,” he says. “They can actually go down there with a measure.”
The Sea, The Sea has its own caviar, and diners can add it to oysters for £1 each. Nevertheless, Hunter is weary about putting it on everything. “Sometimes when I see these huge dots of caviar on things, I find it a little bit over the top, grotesque,” he says. “It’s a delicacy, it’s a seasoning, it’s a privilege, and it shouldn’t be the main news for me.”
The drinks list gives white wines most of the room, with plenty of English producers. “Food isn’t travelling far to get here, so we should understand that philosophy with drinks.” There is also sake, a basil-infused Gimlet and a briny oyster-shell Martini.
The room has been designed by Benjamin Wilkins, who also worked on The Sea, The Sea’s original Chelsea site and Hackney space. “I don’t want it to have to feel stuffy, hence we call it a bistro,” says Hunter “I don’t love the term fine dining anyway. Some of the food, certainly the quality of it, would be considered fine dining, but we want a bistro atmosphere.”
The Sea, The Sea
243 Pavilion Road, SW1X 0AW.
Hours:
Tue to Sat midday–3pm, 6pm–9.30pm
Sun midday–3.30pm
