Ethical zero-waste restaurant Silo to open site in London

Following the success of his acclaimed restaurant Silo in Brighton, owner and head chef Doug McMaster is set to open a new venue at Crate Brewery in Hackney Wick.

Silo’s current site in Brighton will be retained with the new Hackney-based restaurant opening as a new operation.

The move is reliant on the success of a £500,000 crowdfunding campaign from craft brewers Crate Brewery in Hackney Wick.

Launched in 2014, Silo in Brighton followed the success of McMaster’s Melbourne restaurant in collaboration with sustainable artist and architect Joost Bakker.

Sustainable practices at McMaster’s Brighton restaurant include recycling the venue’s glass and using the sand to make ceramics for the restaurant.

Silo’s menu offers an à la carte lunch and brunch with a tasting menu for dinner, and vegetarian and vegan options on offer. Previously dividing the menu between plant-based and omnivorous dishes, Silo has since simplified this to one menu.

The current menu features a mackerel tartare with purple daikon and miso, a pink fir potato with sea kale and chestnut, and pollock with negi onion and crab emulsion. The desserts include a pumpkin seed ice-cream with fig leaf and furikake.

The wine list consists of natural wines, predominantly from European producers, alongside house craft ale and a selection of cocktails.

Silo is set to open in July, with crowdfunding launching on 28 February. Crate is raising money to help fund the refurbishment its current home. The money will also allow it to install a new pilot brewery, increase its outdoor seating area and install Silo at its premises.

If the campaign is a success, Silo will be based upstairs in the main white building. McMaster and the Crate team are also planning a series of workshops and talks in a new space next to the restaurant.