The charisma of recycling has finally affected the restaurants as well! It is a well-known fact that greens are healthy and nutritious for consumption. And now, houses of consumption too are being made ‘green’! This is a refreshingly new trend and restaurants made of recycled materials are popping up in all parts of the world. And people have got really creative in transforming recycled materials into memorable food joints. Join us as we explore five such restaurants that will leave your mouths gaping wide open for matters other than the food too!
1. Airplane Restaurant
Coming up on the radar is this wonderful way to give a flying start to your vacation in Switzerland – a dinner at the Runway 34. The Soviet Iluyshin IL-14 plane has found a perfect retirement as it plays home for a fine diner at Zurich, just opposite its former workplace, the Zurich International Airport. The restaurant has been completely modeled for a flight-of-fancy experience. A jet-bridge serves as an entrance, the menu holders are shaped as tail fins and some of the chairs are decommissioned aircraft seats. The hangar area is the main restaurant featuring Mediterranean, Asian and Swiss cuisines. The luxurious cigar lounge is located within the aircraft! The Wingwalker Bar is sheltered under a wing while the other wing is home to the Aviator lounge which is the waiting area and seating area for large groups. Flight attendants seem to be serving you at this restaurant which is very affordable with a price range between $25-100.
2. Pop Up Restaurant London
We have heard of pop up ads and pop up spaces. Who would have imagined a pop up restaurant! Studio Dining East proved to be just that when it disappeared as fast as it came in just three weeks after its opening. London pop-up experts Bistrotheque had London designer Carmody Groarke build this restaurant with materials borrowed from an Olympic construction site in London. A star shaped layout thus arose from borrowed scaffolding. Caisson wooden planks became the floor and walls, translucent polyethylene covering the structure became the natural light filter and filler while construction lamps doubled up as the illumination. It served wonderful food for three weeks and after that, like a dream, the whole restaurant vanished and the materials were all recycled!
3. Floating restaurant
While the Great Pacific garbage patch is symbolic of the blatant ecological damage plastic is doing to our planet, the ‘SS Plastic Dining Room’ in Vancouver symbolizes hope and sustenance through the reuse of plastic. This floating diner which is docked in the False Creek Yacht Club marina offers a filling and fulfilling six course meal for $200. Recycled Cedar has been made into the frame of the boat-restaurant, 1675 recycled plastic bottles keep it afloat while recycled plexiglass constitutes the see-through floor. By serving only sustainable seafood and locally grown materials, the SS Plastic seeks to spread awareness about the dangers of over-fishing. Raising funds for the School of Fish Foundation, the ‘floaters’ of the restaurant are ‘buoyant’ about graduates from the culinary school who would develop into responsible and ‘green’ chefs.
4. Bloodwood Restaurant
Newtown designer, Matt Woods has fashioned the Bloodwood from a lot of recycled wood! That is quite a woody statement to describe a foodie place. Look up and you will notice doors of all sizes, shapes, colors and contours neatly arranged against the ceiling. Look down and you will notice massive sleepers recycled into frames for the lower level open kitchen. Look all around and you will notice vintage chairs that have been reclaimed. The restaurant’s menu satisfies the palate of a global clientele with its Thai, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Western cuisines. It’s a restaurant for sharing food that is served in large quantities and a concern for the planet that it embodies.
5. Slowpoke Espresso Cafe
The Slowpoke Espresso Cafe can be a wonderful way to spend a lazy holiday in warm settings if you happen to be in Fitzroy, Australia. The unique aspect of this homely restaurant is that it is built entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials. Offcuts from recycled door timber decorate the walls and the doors, loos, ceiling and signboards are made of recycled doors! The cuts on the wall often double up as condiment shelves and all the furniture and table tops are from local flea markets. Even the menu and business cards of the restaurant are made of recycled cardboard and the window sign for the shop is lit by solar energy. Adding to the charm of the restaurant is a host of organic foods and coffee.
