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10 Sustainable Restaurants in London

18/09/2018 | by Jil Carrara

Successful restaurants have historically been judged by their prestigious ingredients, often flown in from across the globe – the more exotic and rare the better. Little regard was given to seasonality, the environmental impact of flying a single ingredient around the world or the management of food waste. Luckily, the landscape has changed with guests more conscious and educated than ever about the ingredients on their plates and gravitating towards purpose-driven business.

Whether it’s restaurants cooking with local and organic produce, reducing or eliminating plastic from kitchen and table or creating magical dishes out of the industry’s food waste, here are the 10 best sustainable restaurants in London making an effort to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising on quality and taste.

Cub

Cub source from Indie Ecology, who employ a system whereby food waste is collected from restaurants around London, composted on their farm in West Sussex, and returned back into the soil from which new crops are grown for the kitchens the waste material originally came from. The tables are made from recycled yoghurt pots and the walls from recycled clay that filter minerals in the air.

Petersham Nurseries

Petersham Nurseries, based in Richmond and Covent Garden, uses local, seasonal, homegrown and organically grown goods (including their cut flowers) in an effort to connect to nature as much as possible. The restaurant also gives back to the community by supporting charities both local and abroad.

Spring

Located in Somerset House, Spring champions sustainability in its fight against plastic as well as food waste. In 2016 the ‘Scratch Menu’ was launched with the aim to create delicious meals out of leftovers, which means the menu changes everyday but never lacks in taste.

Farmstand

With a restaurant in Covent Garden, Farmstand’s menu is proudly 80% vegan, 5% sustainably sourced fish and 10% ethical meat. They produce 100% compostable waste, 0% landfill waste and have never sold bottled water making still and sparkling water easily accessible for guests through taps. The restaurant only source from UK-based sustainable suppliers, which are transparently disclosed on their website.

Clerkenwell Kitchen

Clerkenwell Kitchen aims to be as ethical as possible, sourcing ingredients locally, cooking seasonal dishes, and Meat and dairy products are free-range or organic. Fish is line-caught, where possible, and always responsibly sourced. The restaurant supports small-scale suppliers to ensure the highest quality and traceability of food.

Farmacy

The Notting Hill hotspot, Farmacy supports a plant-based diet, free from dairy, refined sugars, additives and chemicals. The menu is seasonal and waste, food and plastic, is kept to an absolute minimum.

Native

Native, located in Neal’s Yard offers an original dining experience that encapsulates the country’s best wild, natural, foraged and seasonal produce that is native to the UK.

Riverford at The Duke of Cambridge

Credits: Photo Credit: traveltop6.com

The Duke of Camridge Pub teamed up with family-run farm Riverford to launch Britain’s only certified organic pub. All ingredients are 100% certified organic and seasonal. With the goal to further minimise their impact, food wasre is collected in order to generate energy via an anerobic digestor and all furniture is second hand, repurposed or recycled.

Island Grill

Apart from the scenic view of Hyde Park, Island Grill, creates delicious seasonal recipes whilst keeping food waste to a minimum (old cooking oil is recycled into biofuel!). Fish is sourced from their own fishing boat in Kent and honey comes from the hotel’s own beehives that pollinate trees in Hyde Park.

Feng Sushi

Commited to only sourcing fish responsibly by only using MSC species when in season and otherwise only use sustainable farmed fish, fish from UK day boats and hook and line tuna from the Maldives. They use sustainable bamboo chopsticks and mostly biodegradable packaging.