Sustainable Eats: The Green Michelin Stars Everyone Should Try
Sustainable dining is more present than ever, with restaurants all over the world doing their bit to cut back on food waste, reduce plastic consumption, cut emissions and source produce locally where possible. It’s not going unnoticed either, with the Michelin Guide now championing the restaurants at the forefront of the industry.
Back in 2021, the prestigious group introduced the Green Michelin Award, a celebration of the teams behind eco-restaurants doing their utmost for the environment. We’ve put together a guide of the best Green Michelin star restaurants in the UK, from farm-to-fork concepts to the Richmond favourite.
London’s Best Green Michelin Star Restaurants
Petersham Nurseries Café, Richmond
If we could think of anywhere that deserves a Michelin Green Star in London, it’s Richmond’s Petersham Nurseries Café. The restaurant and gardens pride themselves on respecting the natural world and improving their ecological footprint wherever possible.
The menus are centred around a slow food ethos, focusing on seasonal vegetables and fruits, all sourced as locally as possible. They source their meat, egg and produce throughout the year from Haye Farm in Devon, run by the son of Petersham’s founders. They cut down their waste as much as possible, recycling and utilising every part of their produce as much as possible.
where: Off Church Lane, Petersham Road, Richmond TW10 7AB
website: www.petershamnurseries.com
Apricity
London’s newest Michelin Green Star, Apricity is the brainchild of award-winning chef Chantelle Nicholson. On a mission to not only meet acceptable levels of sustainability, the restaurant also hopes to find the best practices and share these learnings with others.
Every ounce of the operation is thoroughly thought out, from the suppliers through to how they wash the dishes.
The menu champions British vegetables and features regeneratively farmed meat and sustainably caught fish from the British Isles.
The menu champions British vegetables and features regeneratively farmed meat and sustainably caught fish from the British Isles
where: 68 Duke Street, Mayfair, W1K 6JU
website: www.apricityrestaurant.com
St. Barts
There’s seasonality, and then there is hyper-seasonality. Restaurant St Barts serves up a set menu of sustainable, British produce in a sleek, Scandi-style setting. In line with the team’s sustainability ethos, local woodworker Archie Faber uses wood from fallen London Plane trees to create the restaurant’s handmade tables.
where: 63 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BF
website: www.restaurant-stbarts.co.uk
Silo, Hackney
Hailing originally from Brighton before its relocation to Hackney Wick, SILO is the world’s first zero-waste restaurant. How? Well, they eliminate waste by trading directly with farmers, using reusable delivery vessels and working with local ingredients. If there are any leftovers, they go directly into the compost. Their menu is regularly changing, utilising forward-thinking flavour combinations.
where: Unit 7 Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN
website: www.silolondon.com
Further afield
Angela’s, Margate
Over by the seaside, Angela’s is a seafood restaurant that serves up simple, homely and seasoned vegetable-led dishes. Keeping things uncomplicated, the restaurant works directly with growers, fishermen and suppliers who eke out the most of their produce while working to minimise its impact on the environment.
The menu changes daily depending on the fresh catches of the day, but expect simple offerings such as scallops, spinach and onion; thornback ray with brown butter; monkfish, clams and bisque; and blood orange pudding with raspberries.
It’s also got a little sister, Dory’s, a smaller seafood bar that looks out over Margate’s main sands.
where: 21 The Parade, Margate, CT9 1EX
website: www.angelasofmargate.com
Daylesford Organic Farm, Daylesford
Daylesford is celebrated across London and beyond for its organic produce, farm shops and restaurants dotted around the country, but it’s their original site in Daylesford where Michelin celebrates them for their sustainability efforts.
For lunch head to the Legbar for light bites and charcuterie, while the Old Spot serves up dishes from their wood-fired oven. For dinner, look to The Trough Cafe for a menu made from produce from their organic farms in the Cotswolds and Staffordshire.
Daylesford is celebrated across London and beyond for its organic produce, farm shops and restaurants dotted around the country
where: Daylesford, Gloucestershire, GL56 0YG
website: www.daylesford.com
Marle, Heckfield Hampshire
Over at Heckfield Place lies Marle, the sustainable restaurant delivering the best locally and responsibly grown food in the area. The menu is centred around seasonally changing ingredients, grown either at their estate or from their partners at Fern Verrow farm.
The restaurant doesn’t disappoint on the interior front either. Think marble, slate and wood touches with views that look out over the woodland and lakes.
Heckfield Place, Hampshire, RG27 0LD
www.heckfieldplace.com
OAK, Bath
Championing the best of fresh produce, Oak works with local growers, grocers and cooks to create something magical. The result? A place on the Michelin Guide Green Star list serving up some of the country’s best plant-based food.
They change their menu depending on the season and produce available but you can expect the likes of fermented cashew croquettes with aioli; leek risotto with chickpeas and smoked pine nut butter; and runner beans with shallot mustard vinaigrette and hazelnuts.
2 North Parade Passage, Bath, BA1 1NX
www.oakrestaurant.co.uk
Moor Hall
A mainstay in the top five of the National Restaurant Awards, it placed third in the latest edition. Chef Patron Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall champions the best in local produce with this ingredient-led restaurant. Located near Manchester and Liverpool, it holds two Michelin stars, a Michelin green star and five AA rosettes.
Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall champions the best in local produce with this ingredient-led restaurant
Prescot Rd, Aughton, Ormskirk L39 6RT
website: www.moorhall.com
L’Enclume, Cumbria
The flagship restaurant from Simon Rogan, L’Enclume can be found in Cumbria boasting a frequently changing menu brimming with passion, creativity and seasonal, local ingredients.
Much of the produce, from veggies and fruits to herbs and flowers is grown directly on the farm and guests are invited to tour the farm (at request) to see where their food comes from.
It’s also home to three Michelin stars so you know this really is the real deal.
Cavendish Street, Cartmel, Cumbria, LA11 6QA
www.lenclume.co.uk