America gets its first cannabis restaurant

America’s first cannabis restaurant will open in West Hollywood next month and will feature on-hand “budtenders” offering food and pot pairings.

The Lowell Café in West Hollywood is America’s first cannabis restaurant

As reported by The Washington Post, chef Andrea Drummer is set to open the 220-cover Lowell Café in September, which will specialise in farm-to-table food and terroir-driven marijuana.

Drummer, a Cordon Bleu culinary school graduate who has worked for Thomas Keller, recommends the pungent Kush strain of cannabis with strong savoury dishes like beef stew, while the Blue Dream strain pairs a treat with desserts.

Chef Andrea Drummer has devised a menu of dishes designed to pair with different strains of cannabis, including Kush and Blue Dream

The dishes, made from seasonal produce sourced from local farmers markets, have been specifically designed to pair with different cannabis strains.

“I’ve always looked forward to the day when what we do is counted among the critics and the James Beard Awards,” Drummer told The Washington Post.

The cannabis menu meanwhile will change daily based on the harvests available from the café’s network of growers.

When it opens next month, the Lowell Café will be the first venue in the US where customers can legally enjoy a joint with their meal in public.

The plant-filled space will also offer a “flower” service where cannabis buds are rolled into joints tableside for an added dash of theatre.

A number of similar weed-focused restaurants are in the pipeline, along with a cannabis spa. Antidote plans to open a high-end cannabis restaurant next spring.

In 2017, West Hollywood Council approved an ordinance allowing for the public consumption of cannabis in cafés and lounges with the appropriate licence.

While keen to serve dishes that incorporate the plant, like cannabis butters and oils, Drummer’s plans for a cannabis-infused menu are on currently ice as all weed products have to be pre-packaged and tested under state law.

The Lowell Café is also not permitted to serve alcohol, so all of the drinks on offer are soft, while last orders for cannabis consumed at the café need to be taken before 10pm, despite the venue being open until 2am.

Lowell Café is the first business in the US granted a legal cannabis consumption licence. Guests that enjoy a spliff while they dine will have to provide a valid ID. In addition to buds, the café will offer cannabis vapes, pre-packaged edibles, concentrates and extracts.