Azurmendi, Bilbao
Edible geometric bliss at Bilbao's Azurmendi
Sustainability is right at the heart of this three-Michelin-starred restaurant’s mission – not for nothing has it won the global Sustainable Restaurant Award twice. Chef Eneko Atxa and his team occupy a stunning hilltop structure made from recycled materials (it can also be fully dismantled) outside Bilbao, at once futuristic and rooted in the landscape. The same could be said of the menu, which revolves around the restaurant’s organic greenhouses, vegetable and herb gardens, and champions close working relationships with hyper-local farmers. Diners can visit the greenhouses for one of the courses, and taste ‘cherry tomatoes’ (chocolate truffles) straight from edible soil.
Barrio Leguina, s/n, 48195 Larrabetzu
azurmendi.restaurant
Lokal, Berlin
In a city not short on thoughtful, sustainably minded eating options, Lokal has built a loyal following for its reasonable prices and heartfelt commitment to cooking with less fashionable cuts and ingredients. The menu, which changes weekly and is completely dictated by seasonal, hyper-locally grown vegetables, might feature two colours of beetroot with watercress, creamy goat’s cheese and hemp seeds, monkfish cheeks with green asparagus and kohlrabi, or beef heart with celeriac, pear and red wine. Everything is served with homemade bread and vegetable dips.
Linienstraße 160, Berlin-Mitte
lokal-berlin.blogspot.com
Food Circle, Portugal
Almost certainly the hottest counter seat in Portugal / Image: Bárbara Tomaz
Part of the exquisite five-star Sublime Comporta resort south of Lisbon, the 12-seater Food Circle sits in the middle of its organic garden. More an experience informed by sustainability and the principles of permaculture than a restaurant, it’s a kitchen counter type affair: you sit under the stars and watch the chefs cooking the likes of suckling pig and scarlet prawns over fire, combined with ingredients grown mere metres away. And it’s all complimented by a selection of fine and unusual Portuguese wines.
EN 261-1, MUDA, CCI 3954, 7570-337 Grândola
sublimecomporta.pt/food-circle
La Chassagnette, Provence
Activity at this Michelin-starred destination restaurant in the heart of the Camargue centres on its lushly productive working gardens. Vegetables are harvested at their peak and taken straight to the kitchen, where they’re allowed to shine in the ‘Flora and Fauna’ menu or the lighter ‘Discovery’ one. Expect dishes like a velouté of bitter herbs, zucchini pulp and fresh mint, poached sea bream with potato tagliatelle, roasted peaches… this is farm-to-table cooking at its most stylish.
Mas de la Chassagnette, Chemin du Sambuc, 13200 Arles
chassagnette.fr
Noma, Copenhagen
Dinner as art (or vice versa?) at Noma / Image: Ditte Isager
Rene Redzepi’s site of gastronomic pilgrimage needs no introduction. Since opening in 2003 it has reshaped not just Nordic cooking, but what the rest of the world imagined a restaurant could fundamentally be. Where its predecessors just paid lip service to the cycle of the seasons, Noma is fully immersed in them: greens and flowers foraged by the team over the summer are preserved to be used in the autumn, for example, alongside just-picked mushrooms, berries and much more besides from the forests around Copenhagen. Entirely worth the digital assault course you have to clear to bag a table.
Refshalevej 96, 1432 Copenhagen
noma.dk
El Portalon, Ibiza
After moving to Ibiza in 2005, Anne Sijmonsbergen – chef and author of the seminal Balearic cookbook Eivissa – opened a hillside restaurant in a 600-year-old villa. All the fruits and vegetables for the restaurant are grown at Can Rieró, her own 450-year-old finca not far from Benirrás beach, and she’s cultivated close working relationships with local producers. Unwind on the vine-shaded terrace and enjoy seasonal plates like mackerel escabeche with pickled local vegetables and Ibizan watermelon in tomato water, or sautéed Ibizan black kale with local garlic and thrice-cooked potatoes.
Plaça dels Desemparats, 1, 07800 Eivissa, Ibiza
elportalonibiza.com
Meo Modo, Tuscany
Swooning Tuscan skies seen from Meo Modo's dining room
Nestled within Borgo Santo Pietro, an exquisite 12th-century Tuscan villa enjoying a second life as a five-star boutique hotel, Meo Modo revolves around its own farm, where the gardeners and the chefs work hand in hand. But it isn’t just the vegetables, fruit and herbs that are truly local: the meat comes from neighbouring free-range farms, while the sparkling turbot, red mullet and lobster on the menu are all caught on the morning of service. Even the flowers on the tables are picked right there in the 13-acre gardens.
Località Palazzetto, 110, 53012 Palazzetto SI
meomodo.it
Tramuntana Farm, Mallorca
Tucked away in the Tramuntana mountains with views of the sea and the capital of Palma, this is a farm-to-table restaurant with a difference. Rather than being open every night, the long tables host regular ‘dinner parties’, with menus showcasing the best produce from the farm. Guests can also book in for classes on smallholding, where you’ll learn about everything from growing vegetables to keeping chickens and the latest developments in regenerative agriculture. Go with a group of friends and settle in for a day – and night – to remember.
Bunyola, Illes Balears, Mallorca
farmtotablemallorca.com
