"What were your first impressions when you arrived? Right on the canal in post-industrial London hipsterville Hackney Wick, and above popular brewery, bar and pizza joint Crate, sits one of the most unique spots in the city. This is the only restaurant we’ve ever heard of that has no garbage bin. Yes, Silo takes the idea of zero waste to the ultimate conclusion, reusing everything they can in unique and delicious ways, composting all food waste and creating an entire restaurant out of upcycled materials. You wouldn’t think it on entering the minimal monochrome loft space but the lampshades are made from wine bottles, the floor from wine corks, the bar is a stylish gray terrazzo recycled plastic and even the plates are made from old plastic bags. It’s all very clever and creative, and that’s before you even taste the food. What’s the crowd like? With a set menu full of things most people will never have heard of, this isn’t the place for fussy eaters. Instead the crowd is a pleasant mix of fearless foodies, groups of eco-conscious friends, eccentric older Hackney dwellers and dates tucked away in the corners. What should we be drinking? As you’d expect, the drinks list here is eclectic and full of unusual ingredients. Cocktails include a perfumed pine negroni, a cherry birch manhattan or a non-alcoholic wild apple, hogweed seed and sweet woodruff soda. There are beers from Crate (go for the Japanese knotweed sour for something different) and an extensive wine selection of carefully-sourced organic, natural and low intervention delights. The cheapest glass is actually a Catalonian natural fizz for £8 so start there before sampling some others as the menu progresses. There’s also a botanical wine alternative, Blurred Vines ‘Sharp’, which is also very satisfying and tasty. Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss. The menu is projected onto the large wall and available via QR code (no wasted paper here) and it’s a 10 course voyage of discovery costing £65 per person. It begins with the ‘Siloaf’, their signature sourdough made with house-milled flour (you can see the handsome wooden silo sat in the open kitchen) and cheesy homemade butter. From there on in it all goes totally wild: a sweet and sour miso crisp covered in treacle made from the vegetable peelings and grated frozen goats cheese, grilled garlic scapes (the shoots that grow from the top of the bulb) with cuttlefish garum, a rainbow chard dumpling with a sourdough wrapper and a ‘meta dairy’ sauce made from all the old bits of milk and cheese and smoky carrots with a chicken wing sauce. It’s brave, bonkers and very original. Things are fermented, pickled and often totally unrecognizable from their original form, but all very umami and utterly delicious. Each course comes with a lengthy explanation of the processes and producers and you’ll notice different ingredients popping back up, especially the bread. The highlight has to be the desserts—a sweet and savory panela ice cream with fig leaf oil and strawberries and a Siloaf (there’s that bread again!) ice cream sandwich covered in salty buttermilk caramel. If that all sounds a bit much, there’s a cheaper shortlist menu (£45 per person) available between 6 and 7 p.m. and on Saturday lunchtime which could be a good entry level foray into the wonderful world of Silo. And how did the front-of-house folks treat you? Chef Doug McMaster has an almost cult-like following and the staff here are his well-trained disciples. Dressed in black and with mustaches, mullets and tattoos, they passionately explain each dish and are happy to take you on a tour of the dining room and all its recycled materials. They really are on a mission to change the food industry and their enthusiasm is infectious. What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here? Silo isn’t for everyone, but for anyone feeling adventurous and after an unusual and exciting meal, this is a must-visit. It’s the dream date spot for sustainably-minded millennials and perfect for anyone bad at small talk as there’s so much to discuss about the food." - Sonya Barber
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