Pioneering east London zero-waste restaurant Silo is closing

Silo, the east London restaurant that prided itself on a ‘zero-waste’ ethos, is set to close this December.

The restaurant started life in Brighton in 2014 and moved to London in 2019, opening up by the River Lee Navigation in The White Building above Hackney Wick’s Crate Brewery. The trailblazing restaurant was known for its dedication to sustainability – it didn’t have a bin, its furniture was upcycled, and hosted its own fermentarium. The restaurant said: ‘We churn our own butter, roll our own oats and support a root to leaf ideology, meaning that if an animal dies or a vegetable is harvested for food we will maximise its entire potential, respectfully.’

Silo’s founder Douglas McMaster announced the closure on Instagram, writing: ‘Silo is not just a restaurant. It’s an idea, an artwork, a zero-waste blueprint… But exhibitions don’t last forever. Silo was never meant to be static. It was meant to provoke, to inspire change.’

He added: ‘And we’re not disappearing. By closing the doors of Silo London, we open the way for a Silo World Tour – a series of collaborations and pop-ups that will bring our zero-waste philosophy to new cities and communities around the world.’

The last service at Silo will take place on December 20. 

The best sustainable restaurants in London, according to Time Out.