London’s best sustainable restaurants

The Pig’s Head keeps sustainability at the heart of everything it does. Its tagline reads: ”Here at The Pig’s Head, we are on a mission to prove that a quality pub and restaurant needn’t cost the earth.” Its aim is to become carbon neutral as soon as possible, and most of the décor, furniture, glassware, light fixtures, and cutlery is also second hand, sourced from antique fairs and vintage shops. In addition to this, the ingredients used for the delicious dishes are sourced from environmentally mindful farmers. The team here has even started their own no-dig vegetable patch, and they compost all their waste.

The Pig’s Head’s menu changes daily. However, you should still expect to be blown away when visiting them. Recent menu dishes included Hodmedod’s Fava bean hummus, Lyons Hill Farm “Aurox” South Devon beef Bourguignon pie, Beef dripping chicken salt chips, St Austells Bay mussels with cider cream sauce, Lamb meatballs, mash, onions and gravy, and Dark chocolate hot pot with salted caramel marshmallow.

Even better, their extensive wine list consists of wines that follow organic, bio-dynamic or sustainable farming practices, including a large selection of English still and sparkling wines. Fill your belly and help the planet in one go by dining at The Pig’s Head.

Jikoni is another restaurant that aims to achieve high levels of sustainability. The food is inspired by the flavours and cultures of South Asia, The Middle East, East Africa, The Far East and Britain, creating what they call mixed-heritage cooking. If you fancy a sneak peek into this unique world of cooking, then check out these dinner options; Crispy Aubergine, with Sichuan Caramel on Sticky Garlic Rice, Butternut Squash Moilee, and Porth Colmon Native Lobster Moilee. If you like the sound of these dishes, then you should also give the brunch menu a scan! Also, keep in mind that they have an equally unique and appealing house cocktails menu, too. We recommend keeping an eye out for the Mandarin Margarita.

Café Van Gogh is a community interest company, not a profit social enterprise. This means that they prioritise making ethical choices for their local community, the environment, staff, and customers over making a profit. So what does this look like in a practical sense? The team aspires to be zero waste by composting all its food waste, not using single-use plastics, and providing on-the-job training for people with disabilities or mental health problems.

Food-wise, there are plenty of choices; there’s dinner, weekday lunch, Saturday brunch, and Sunday and weekday brunch menus all available. Some of the dishes that we love are the Pulled shiitake mushroom cheese toast, the ‘Burrella, braised leeks and mustard crumbs, and the Pancake stack with vanilla blueberry sauce, pecans and butter maple syrup. Great food like this tastes even better when you know that it’s contributing to something bigger.

Pizza and doing the earth some good, what’s not to like? The Bethnal Green pizzeria sits proudly on the corner of Cambridge Heath Road, decorated to the max with greenery and quirky trinkets. Cosy up inside or lap up the sun rays while you dine street-side, either way you’ll be playing your part in helping Flat Earth Pizza’s reaching their ultimate goal – to challenge the status quo with zero landfill, and create delicious and filling pizzas with no meat.

All of Flat Earth’s ingredients are locally sourced and seasonal where possible, even down to what goes into their famous organic heritage grain flour dough. The menu changes monthly, with a highlight on which produce is best in season. Think Kimchi fiorentina with homemade kimchi, 3 cheeses, and Cracklebean egg (an award-winning flavour), the Mar-Burrata with a classic Margherita base topped with a whole burrata and chilli honey drizzle, and Creamy Garlic Mushrooms with walnuts, salsa verde, and a garlic oat béchamel.

Flat Earth Pizza also host a very impressive wine menu with vegan organic wines available on tap, in recycled bottles, or refillable wine bottles to take away. Feel good while eating good at Flat Earth Pizza!

The Spread Eagle has been making waves for a while now as the first fully vegan pub in London! Found in East London’s borough of Hackney, the pub is serving up all your traditional pub grub, plant-based and with minimal waste. The kitchen runs a seasonal menu, working with local foragers and producers to replicate all of your quintessential British cuisine.

The daily menu offers the likes of sausage rolls, flatbreads and hummus, polenta fries, arancini balls, whole baked camembert, Welsh rarebit, pie, mash, and liquor, katsu curry, and burgers and fries. But the real star of the show is The Spread Eagle’s vegan Sunday roast. Choose between their Beet Wellington, Walnut and cashew nut roast, or slow roast celeriac with crackling. All served with the usual trimmings, including a Yorkshire pudding and gravy.