The best eco-friendly restaurants in the world
Here is our pick of the resourceful chefs redirecting the supply chain at innovative kitchens all over the world. These restaurants are striving to spotlight locally-grown produce on zero-waste menus and oversee initiatives to address inequalities in food and social justice – with delicious dishes we can't get enough of.
Sam A HarrisSILO, LONDON
THE UK’S ONLY TRULY ZERO-WASTE RESTAURANT
Douglas McMaster isn’t just on a mission to reduce waste in his kitchen – he wants to get rid of it entirely. Originally founded in Brighton in 2014, Silo is his so-called ‘restaurant without a bin’. The project, which has since relocated to London’s Hackney Wick, is a complete ecosystem: McMaster buys goods package-free from local farmers and uses the on-site aerobic digester to compost any leftovers (it can create up to 132lbs in just 24 hours). The set menu changes daily and, despite the impressive eco credentials, the plates are lavish and creative – never puritanical. Supper starts with the signature Siloaf, using flour milled on site, and a slab of raw butter. That isn’t the last you’ll see of the bread: the sourdough may be reincarnated, for example, as a rich miso sauce paired with sweet golden beetroot and salty ricotta. Other delicious pairings include Jerusalem artichokes with Stichelton blue-cheese sauce and treacle made from vegetable peelings; pink-fir potatoes with caramelised whey (an umami taste revelation); and tart sea-buckthorn snow with crème fraîche. It’s not only the food that’s sustainable, of course. The biodynamic wine list leans into producers that do refills; any bottles that can’t be reused are turned into ceramic glass for light fittings in the restaurant. Even the plates are recycled – you’d never know you were eating off old plastic bags. McMaster was ahead of his time in 2014 but is still the only chef in the UK cooking with no waste at all. By Sonya Barber
Address: Silo, Unit 7, The White Building, 1st Floor, c/o CRATE Bar, Queen's Yard, Hackney Wick, London E9 5EN
Website: silolondon.com
Diego Arenas GosendeHAOMA, BANGKOK
CLOSED-LOOP DINING IN THE THAI CAPITAL
After stints in hotel kitchens and a roving food truck, Indian-born chef Deepanker Khosla turned his home on a leafy Bangkok backstreet into a restaurant that’s a modern ode to the flavours of his motherland. Feasts start with a tasting tour of the back garden, which is filled with large, spacious seafood tanks – home to main courses in the making – that feed nutrient-rich freshwater into reclaimed-wood planters and vertical hydroponic farms growing herbs, edible flowers and vegetables. Kitchen scraps return here, too, either as fish food or fertiliser, while rainwater is collected for later use. What doesn’t come from these grounds Khosla sources from his organic farm in Chiang Mai and carefully vetted suppliers around Thailand – but not without having personally inspected and tested their soil first. The signature nine- and 13-course menus cover a pan-Indian potpourri of curries, dahls and chutneys – deconstructed, infused, compressed or jellied, and served on seashells, coral or tree trunks. Keep an eye out for the aptly named Haoma in a Bite, a fishy roll-up of which every single component, from the Nile tilapia to the dashi and herbs, has come from the garden. With South-east Asia’s growing waste problem, it’s brazen chefs such as Khosla who are taking action and ushering in serious change in a city that needs it. By Chris Schalkx
Address: Haoma, 231 3 Soi Sukhumvit 31, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Website: haoma.dk
Cory SmithAMASS, COPENHAGEN
NOMA’S FORMER HEAD CHEF IS LEADING THE LOCAVORE CHARGE
For California-born Matt Orlando, the main appeal of the site for his restaurant, founded in 2013 in a bleak industrial zone on the outskirts of Copenhagen, was that there was space out front for him to grow his own produce. Refshaleøen has since become one of the city’s coolest and most interesting quarters, and Orlando’s inventive, outward-looking take on the New Nordic tenets of local, seasonal and sustainable is at the heart of this shift. A true pioneer, he was reducing food miles to zero from the off, has worked hard to minimise water usage and turns any organic waste into mulch. He also really understands hospitality; how to welcome guests and make them feel relaxed and happy. But, above all, he knows about deliciousness, blending Nordic game, seafood and plants with an iconoclastic American approach to token further-flung ingredients. Orlando is a whizz with herb-infused oils and potato peels, and has a drinks list to spin the head of the nerdiest natural-wine freak. Who else would think to weave together duck, smoked almonds and shishito peppers? Or come up with habanero dulce, a mild chilli with a tang of mango and caramel, and then pair it with brill and preserved-cucumber juice? The fish is always excellent here, certified sustainable, and every part of it is used. And, as diners learned during the restaurant’s post-lockdown pivot, the man can make very good fried chicken, too. By Michael Booth
Address: Amass, Refshalevej 153, 1432 Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: amassrestaurant.com
Tommi AnttonenBLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS NEW YORK STATE
THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL FOOD-WASTE ADVOCATE KEEPS ON CAMPAIGNING
Part of President Obama’s plan to improve American nutrition and known for his ground-breaking work with seed breeders, Dan Barber has arguably done more for food and agriculture than any chef in recent times. In 2015, after reports that a whopping third of the planet’s fare goes uneaten, he launched WastED to show consumers how to turn leftovers into delicious dishes and teach people about protein alternatives. At his pop-ups in New York and London, he made juicy hamburgers out of beetroot pulp and veal nuggets from male bull calves that otherwise would have been shot at birth because they can’t produce milk. But even for Barber, 2020 was a wake-up call, highlighting inequities in food and social justice. Small farmers were in danger of bankruptcy; Covid-19 disproportionately affected the underprivileged and communities of colour. He quickly created ResourcED, selling grocery boxes to support independent producers, and the Kitchen Farming Project, a now-global initiative to educate and help out-of-work chefs. Next up he is transforming Blue Hill at Stone Barns, his flagship restaurant set on a sprawling organic farm in upstate New York. Throughout 2021, it will host events, including a residency for a diverse mix of chefs adversely impacted by the pandemic, such as Philadelphia-based Shola Olunloyo, who specialises in Nigerian plates, and Omar Tate, whose flavours are influenced by Black playwrights, authors and artists. The guest cooks will have free rein to showcase their own cultures, provided they use ingredients from Blue Hill’s grounds, as well as 100 per cent wholegrain wheat and every part of the animal. Expect plenty of surprises. By Laura Price
Address: Blue Hill At Stone Barns, 630 Bedford Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, United States
Website: bluehillfarm.com
Gustavo VivancoMIL SACRED VALLEY, PERU
A MOUNTAIN RESTAURANT PRESERVING THE COUNTRY’S NATIVE INGREDIENTS
Virgilio Martínez’s Lima restaurant Central is consistently ranked in the world’s top 10. But it’s his Sacred Valley outpost that really proves he’s on a mission. Sustainability permeates every aspect of Mil, from the Andean architecture to the research centre – which explores the diversity of produce from the extraordinarily varied landscape. It sits on the edge of the circular, terraced Moray archaeological complex, an area fittingly once used by the Incas for agricultural study, at an elevation of more than 11,483ft. With the help of Peruvian craftspeople, Lima-based Estudio Rafael Freyre revamped what was previously a breeding centre for vicuña (the wild ancestor of alpacas) into a modern space with earthen walls and an ichu grass roof to blend in with its culturally significant surroundings. Four wings around a central courtyard house the Mater Iniciativa research hub and the restaurant where botanical art hangs on the walls. The menu is made up of eight courses representing the ecosystems at different elevations including the plateau, Andean forest and Central Andes. The Frozen Cordillera course of wild muña (Andean mint), tumbo (banana passion fruit) and kjolle (a flowering Peruvian tree) is served as a granita, while duck comes with black quinoa, blue-green algae and wheat from extreme altitudes. The Mil Immersion experience takes this gastronomic story beyond the plate with a pre-dinner visit to meet the farmers cultivating colourful potatoes and tour the plant-rich hills and on-site distillery lab where experiments with roots and herbs take place. The ultimate destination dining. By Lauren Hill
Address: Mil, Vía a Moray, Maras 08655, Peru
Website: milcentro.pe
Carol GherardiCORRUTELA, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
WINNING OVER MEAT-LOVING DINERS WITH A SOLAR-FUELLED, VEGETABLE-CENTRIC MENU
In a country where the recycling rate is nowhere near that of many European nations, 29-year-old chef César Costa is blazing a trail with his no-waste, low-carbon-footprint São Paulo restaurant. Having trained under sustainability champions Alice Waters and Christian Puglisi in his early 20s, the Brazilian returned home determined to change the local food scene with the opening of Corrutela. Set on a quiet street in bohemian Vila Madalena, the industrial-style room feels a little like a factory, with exposed overhead pipes, concrete floors and an obtrusive silver composting machine near the entrance. But this is Costa’s plan – by showing patrons his transparent open kitchen and eco- conscious toolkit, he is educating them about planet-friendly dining. Named after the tiny hamlets found beside motorways leading to big Brazilian towns, Corrutela broadly translates as ‘between the city and the countryside’. Everything here is seasonal and organic, with a locavore approach and ingredients mainly sourced from the south of São Paulo state. Costa cuts out plastic by buying raw produce in bulk, including cocoa beans that arrive in sacks before being turned into chocolate and corn that is transformed in his mill. Forty per cent of the restaurant’s energy comes from solar panels, while any waste is composted and donated to nearby public gardens. The menu here is simple with dishes such as assorted courgettes and risotto-style rice with romanesco broccoli and cashew nuts. But the star of the show is Costa’s spin on île flottantes, a French-inspired floating-island pudding of whipped, light-as-air meringues in a soup made with jenipapo, a Brazilian fruit that turns food a striking blue. By Laura Price
Address: Corrutela, R. Medeiros de Albuquerque, 256 - Vila Madalena, São Paulo - SP, 05436-060, Brazil
Website: corrutela.com.br
Francis Kokoroko / @accraphotoMIDUNU, ACCRA, GHANA
INDIGENOUS GOODS AND SELL-OUT SUPPER CLUBS IN WEST AFRICA
While imported rice has long been the first choice for affluent Ghanaians, Selassie Atadika is bringing more eco-friendly food to the fore while fighting climate change. At Midunu, she champions local grains including sorghum and millet, which are better suited to the arid weather and cope well with erratic rainfall, requiring less water and no fertiliser. Having returned to her home country after many years studying and working in the USA, Atadika dedicated herself to testing out such ingredients and tackling the stigma around traditionally low-status crops. Taking her exploration of African produce a step further, she set up the Midunu Institute, a not-for- profit aimed at investigating, documenting and preserving community recipes, food and knowledge. Diners can experience her colourful creations at quarterly communal, multi-course pop-ups held at secret locations across Accra, or in weekly tasting-menu suppers served at Midunu House. At the beautiful, leafy villa, she whips up 12 courses using low-maintenance proteins such as goat, slow-cooked for four hours and served with spices. Responding to the issue of lactose intolerance in some parts of Africa, the chef often uses coconut or cashew milk to create creaminess in her dishes. She also favours plantain, breadfruit and jackfruit, which are beneficial for the environment as their trees don’t require irrigation, but all of which are currently underused in Ghanaian cooking. Look out for the domo, a foraged fungus that Atadika says is so unique and rare it deserves to be as prized as the truffle. By Laura Price
Address: Midunu, 21 Sixth Road, Accra, Ghana
Website: midunu.com
SAINT PETER, SYDNEY
A SEAFOOD BUTCHERY LEADING AUSTRALIA’S GILL-TO-FIN MOVEMENT
When it comes to fish restaurants in this city, it’s hard to make a splash, but Saint Peter and its scale-to-tail ethos is different. Headed up by sustainable-seafood advocate Josh Niland, whose book The Whole Fish has become something of a bible for like-minded cooks, the sleek marble-bar restaurant, currently seating 14 people, feels like a performative masterclass with chefs on show shucking, filling, scaling, grilling and wasting very little. Here, lesser-known Australian species are celebrated, often wild-caught, and 90 per cent of the fish – eyeballs! guts! blood! – are put to use, in comparison to an average of less than 50 per cent in most seafood restaurants. Niland, who has worked with leading names in culinary innovation including Heston Blumenthal, has taken the blueprint of meaty techniques, such as nose-to-tail cooking and dry-ageing, and applied it to fruits of the sea in a number of new-to-the-industry, waste-saving ways. Delicate kingfish stomach is served in a saucy fish-heart and offal XO sauce; tartare-style yellowfin tuna is topped with a yolk; ’nduja-like mackerel is plated up on toast; and cured fat-belly swordfish comes as bacon. Nilan’s philosophy is to minimise waste and maximise taste, meaning bones could be ground into a powder and sauced, leftover cod fat used in chocolate slices and fish eyes dehydrated, fried and turned into crisps. A few doors down at the Fish Butchery, a high-spec, gallery-like fishmonger, he shows off his true moxie with a takeaway menu of sea-urchin crumpets, swordfish katsu and buttermilk-fried sandos. But it’s his transformation of classic surf staples, such as the firm-fleshed pink-ling fish and chips – a new take on his old boss Blumenthal’s recipe – battered in a holy trinity of vodka, honey and beer with a side of tangy yogurt tartar, that makes him truly the best seafood chef in Australia. By Chloe Sachdev
Address: Saint Peter, 362 Oxford Street, Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
Website: saintpeter.com.auKeep scrolling for more images...
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Diego Arenas GosendeThe dining room at Haoma, Bangkok
Sam A HarrisSilo’s Douglas McMaster
Gustavo VivancoCorn dishes at Mil, Peru
Diego Arenas GosendeFermented mushrooms at Haoma, Bangkok
Cory SmithA garden at Amass, Copenhagen
Francis Kokoroko / @accraphotoMidunu's Selassie Atadika
Gustavo VivancoMoray archaeological centre at Mil, Peru
Carol GherardiCorrutela's seating at the floating-island
Josh NilandFried Newcastle bugs at Saint Peter, Sydney
Diego Arenas GosendeYellow lentils with oyster and corn chaat at Haoma
Cory SmithSungold tomatoes with raspberries, fennel flowers and lobster oil at Amass, Copenhagen
Diego Arenas GosendeSeafood madras at Haoma, Bangkok
Misper ApawuForaged mushrooms at Midunu, Ghana
Cory SmithFava beans in green-plum broth with petals at Amass, Copenhagen
Josh NilandMarlin ’nduja on toast at Saint Peter, Sydney
Carol GherardiCured fish with watercress and orange at Corrutela, Brazil