Eco-restaurants are becoming more and more popular with tourists as they’re both healthy and good for the environment. Yet these restaurants surprise very few people due to the common standards of such establishments. In this article, we will inform you of some eco-friendly restaurants but with a twist - these restaurants have extraordinary stories, beautiful architecture and interesting ways they prepare their food.
Delicious dinners in Berlin
Neukölln is a trendy district in Berlin. On a quiet street here, there’s a conveniently located historical restaurant. The restaurant is very unique with brick walls, various furniture and candles in jam jars. “Restlos Glücklich” is the first restaurant in Germany which opposes food waste and serves delicious dishes made from discarded products.
Restlos Glücklich was opened in July 2016 by a group of volunteers. They were quite ordinary people: a bank employee, engineer, and even an environmental scientist. There was a total number of 12 people in the team. The idea of the restaurant was the fact that people don’t value excess food, they instead go to their local supermarket and spend more money on more food.
Don’t think you’ll be served a dish which is made from rubbish. In fact, these dishes are prepared with ingredients provided by supermarkets, retailers and farmers. They mainly get fruit, vegetables and bread. The restaurant staff say themselves they mostly do not throw food out after the expiry date of the release or corruption of the product, as food can be used after these dates.
In addition, the restaurant hosts training courses and workshops for the preparation of delicious dishes from what’s left; rational purchase food.
In this restaurant you’ll find a unique menu of specialties from the chef, because the menu changes every week due to the presence of food. But as they the employees of the restaurant say, their chef works wonders. The main focus is on vegan and vegetarian dishes. Prices are low since the ingredients are purchased at almost nothing. The most popular dish costs €22 and includes: goat's milk, panna cotta with thyme and honey; rice cakes with coriander and smoked cauliflower cream; berries and chocolate cake.
This restaurant's main aim is not profit, but to fight against the senseless act of throwing away food. You can also make a contribution by having a meal here sometime. The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Saturday. We advise you to book in advance.
A restaurant on a volcano
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Summer barbecue season has already passed, but this restaurant made an unusual decision to make these dishes available all year round, and on a volcano! Forget portable barbecues in the park, and go to the restaurant El Diablo on the island of Lanzarote. This restaurant uses the mouth of the volcano to cook the meat, fish, beef and chicken as it releases heat of 450 - 500 degrees celsius!
The restaurant is situated on an extinct volcano but there is still occurring bursts of heat or hot vapors that rise through a hole in the ground which was perfect for them to build their grids for grilling. By the way, the last eruption here was in 1824.
Eduardo Caceres and Jesus Soto were the architects who created the unusual cooking system. In order to withstand the heat of the volcano, they used nine layers of volcanic basalt rock in the form of a lattice. There were also invited experienced scientists and volcanologists who conducted consultation and testing to see if cooking was safe. And in 1970 the restaurant opened, the guests were delighted with the idea and most importantly the taste of the dishes.
You will be happy to know that delicious beef steaks, chicken and deep fried crispy fish are cooked in a matter of minutes. Prices for main courses as of 2015 range from €12 to €18. In addition, all visitors are encouraged to pass the “volcanic tour” in all stages of food preparation - this is great as the architecture of the restaurant is amazing. It is specifically designed that when you're eating will enjoy the spectacular views of the Timanfaya National Park.
Canarian food is served from 12.00 to 15.30 hours every day, but it is recommended to book a table in advance - the restaurant is popular with visitors to the area. However, unfortunately the restaurant doesn’t have it’s own official site.
Solar Restaurant
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“A blessing in disguise” is how you can describe the appearance of this family-ran eco-restaurant in the village of Solar Valeska, Chile. According to science, in this part of the world the sun shines 310 days a year. Of course this means there’s a frequency of droughts and a shortage of wood which makes it hard to heat an oven in the kitchen. This resulted in residents of this village having to come up with a more clever way of cooking. Residents themselves said that before they had to spend a whole day searching for firewood and sometimes even stealing. But to help in this difficult situation, scientists from the National University of Costa Rica suggested an alternative method of energy production: solar cookers.
The villagers thought this idea was a joke, but over time they appreciated this thought. There are many pros to solar cookers, for example: solar energy is free, fats and oils aren’t necessary, it is beneficial to health, does not harm the environment in the form of acrid smoke around the neighbourhood, illegal logging will be abolished and finally the dishes incredibly delicious.
Today the restaurant is very popular, the owners of this establishment increased the capacity to seat up to 120 people. Meals are prepared by solar energy. This eco-restaurant will gladly offer their specials: fresh bread, stew, roasted pork casserole and pie for dessert. Unfortunately, this restaurant also doesn’t have an official website.
Greenhouse Restaurant
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Maybe today you will have lunch in a greenhouse? Restaurant De Kas will charm you at first sight. Frankendael park in Amsterdam is where the restaurant is located. It has glass on all sides of the restaurant like a transparent greenhouse .The history of its origin goes far into 1926 when these lands belonged to the municipal nursery of Amsterdam. But thanks to the great efforts and the help of family friends, Chef Gert Jan Hageman was able to break out of this nondescript place and build the most popular restaurant in Amsterdam.
As planned by the owner of the restaurant, the food is tastier and healthier when it is prepared with the freshest local ingredients. The workers are engaged in this extraordinary institution. Year-round individual teams of workers grow herbs and vegetables in greenhouses, as well as edible flowers in the gardens of the restaurant. The restaurant has farmland in the Beemster area.
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