With our centre, Brick Yard, conveniently located in Shoreditch, with quick access to Clerkenwell and Spitalfields Market, there’s a whole host of tasty restaurants, cafes and eateries within a short walk or cycle, for those breakfast and after work lunch feeds. We’ve rounded up some of our favourites to inspire you.
Here are our top 6 choices for best ethical restaurants in and around Shoreditch:
The Clerkenwell Kitchen
With sustainability at the heart of their ethos, this is a cafe after our own hearts, the food is absolutely delicious, too! There’s a healthy selection of breakfast goodies for a pre-work boost, and a wonderful fresh lunch menu that changes regularly, featuring high quality produce from small scale and artisan suppliers, who also believe in traditional farming methods, animal welfare and fair trade.
The cafe’s use of biodegradable packaging, and recycling of as many materials as possible, earns them a well-deserved place in our list of ethical eateries.
The Clerkenwell Kitchen
27-31 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R 0AT
https://theclerkenwellkitchen.co.uk
Hawksmoor Spitalfields
With that delicious mix of seafood and sustainable British beef, it’s hard not to be tempted by the menu at Hawksmoor. Three of their restaurants are in close proximity to our Brick Yard building, but Spitalfields is a mere 15 minute walk, or hop on your bike and you’re there in under 5.
Hawksmoor has earned a reputation for positive social contribution - the business ranked 12th in The Sunday Time ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list in 2016, received the Marco Longari Award for Changing Lives, for supporting One Water Foundation, and recognised by Action Against Hunger for passing £500,000 in fundraising and donations.
Hawksmoor
157a Commercial Street, London E1 6BJ
https://thehawksmoor.com
Andina, Spitalfields
20 minutes by foot or 5 by bike, Adina is sister restaurant to Cevice in Soho and part of an award-winning micro chain of modern ‘picanteria’ – all-day, informal restaurants. In addition to this, the restaurants support the Amantani charity, which supports disadvantaged children in the Peruvian Andes by helping to provide boarding houses and education.
Inspired ‘by the Peruvian Andes with a healthy London twist’, Adina offers menus from breakfast through to dinner, along with Peruvial coffee, smoothies, and cocktails. Another welcome addition to this list.
Andina
60-62 Commercial St, London E1 6LT
https://www.cevichefamily.com/andina
Paper & Cup
Within 10 minutes by bike or foot, the beautiful blue exterior will make this one super easy to spot.
Paper & Cup is a wonderful coffee shop serving delicious cakes, pastries, second-hand books, clothes, and vintage items. But there’s more to it than that - the cafe is a not-for-profit social enterprise, created by the Spitalfields Crypt Trust, supporting individuals in recovery from addiction and homelessness. The enterprise does this by providing a safe place to work, with plenty of training and support, it’s a wonderfully intimate space to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee too.
Paper & Cup
18 Calvert Ave, London E2 7JP
https://www.sct.org.uk/social-enterprises/paper-cup
Waterhouse Restaurant
There's a lot to love about Waterhouse - its tranquil canal-side location, its European brunch-based menu, and its social enterprise status are the standouts for us.
In addition to a hearty menu, Waterhouse has a whole lot of heart. Founded in 2008 by Shoreditch Trust as a social enterprise, the restaurant does much to support the environment and local community. Waterhouse Restaurant plays host to Shoreditch Trust’s Blue Marble training scheme, enabling young people who have faced challenging life circumstances an opportunity to enter the food and hospitality industry. In addition to this, the building uses solar panels to help heat water for the kitchen and uses biodegradable materials for its takeaway packaging.
Waterhouse Restaurant
10 Orsman Rd, London N1 5QJ
https://www.waterhouserestaurant.co.uk/
Cafe from Crisis, Spitalfields
Homeless charity, Crisis, has two cafes - one in Oxford, and its original one on vibrant Commercial Street, a straight 20 minute walk from Brick Yard.
The social enterprise and award-winning training café work with socially-focussed suppliers, and offers ethically sourced coffee, which is sold online and in shops and cafes across the country. The homely food menu features fresh and seasonal salads and soups alongside tasty treats to see you through the day.
Crisis’ Skylight Café, as it’s known, gives homeless people and ex-offenders service industry training, and opportunities for hands-on experience, with a view to helping them start their careers.
Cafe from Crisis
64 Commercial Street, London E1 6LT
https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/cafe-from-crisis/london/
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