‘Hyper-seasonal and sustainable’ restaurant to open in Hackney in January

A new “hyper-seasonal and sustainable” restaurant is to open in January on Mare Street in London’s Hackney.

Edit, described as a “veg-forward” restaurant, is being launched by architect-turned-restaurateur Elly Ward and “will challenge traditional thinking and wasteful practices in the food industry” with a menu that champions organic and sustainable produce “with a circular, low waste philosophy”.

The kitchen will be led by chefs Fabrice Jacquet and Beth Olivier, who with Ward have designed a modern British plant-based menu. Ingredients “will be sourced from small-scale farms, foragers and independent producers using regenerative and minimal intervention methods”.

The menu will change daily according to seasonal availability and will aim at minimising waste in the cooking process. In January, the restaurant will serve small plates such as roasted salsify with smoked aioli, crispy kalettes with purple potato mash, and beetroot à trois, followed by larger plates of wild mushroom fricassée with creamed barley and wilted chard, salt baked turnip with lentil ragu, and seaweed-cured celeriac with oyster leaf and radish.

For dessert will be traditional puddings combined with seasonal fruits and homemade chaga ice cream and blood orange granita, as well as a plant-based cheese board with homemade chutneys and breads.

Alongside the main menu, each day the restaurant will offer the ‘daily Edit’, a six-course tasting menu paired with natural wines and ciders.

The interiors of the restaurant follow the concepts of circular design and have been created in collaboration with Ward’s husband Joe Morris of Morris + Company.

The 30-cover dining room will have bare brick walls with the original cast iron columns of the former factory building, reclaimed furniture and tables made from recycled wood waste and a tomato-red floor. The rear bar and kitchen have been covered in reclaimed red terracotta tiles. Behind the counter, the restaurant will have a 12-cover private dining room available for hire, and a plant filled internal courtyard seating area for warmer months.

Ward said: “I’m so excited to take my team with me on this next stage of our journey. With Edit we plan to take our hyper-seasonal and low waste approach to the next level, putting amazing local produce where it belongs, at centre stage; celebrating those farmers and growers that share our ethos, and ultimately creating delicious, sustainable food and a fine dining experience.”