#WeAreTesting Sustainable Venues: Sisu London Rooftop Retreat

Bag-laden Oxford Street shoppers can rejoice this summer, for finally a rooftop retreat has opened that doesn’t involve navigating the perfume section of John Lewis. A security man, an un-marked door and four flights of stairs are the only things lying between you and your next summer drinking hole, but is it worth the climb? 

Words: Kyra Hanson @kyra_sian

Sisu London off Oxford Street. 

Sisu London off Oxford Street. 

Sisu describes itself as a 'utilitarian nature reserve' with a 'greenhouse' restaurant offering 'organic vibes' and 'Scandinavian surrounds'. After reading the press release I was all but ready to grab some binoculars and settle in for a bird watching session. However, rather than the 'smörgåsbord of leafy green plants' promised, the spider plants were dry as a bone and the poor potted plants on our table were dead beyond recognition. The shrivelled leaves flaked off in my hand as I sipped a very strong Old Fashioned from the coin-operated cocktail tap – the most expensive drinks vending machine you’ll encounter at £8 a token. So, nil pois for green fingered bar staff.

If it’s cocktails you’re after opt for the Swizzle, a fizzy mix of Appleton Estate Signature blend, pineapple juice and Velvet Falernum (a spiced-citrusy-sweet liqueur). It’s a little on the sweet side but doesn’t arrive in a jam jar, so you get more booze for your buck. There’s also a drinks selection from Camden Town Brewery. Food was perfect for a light bite but I wouldn’t recommend turning up here ravenous. Before ordering, I searched the food and drinks menu for those 'organic vibes' to no avail. The aubergine taco with chili and fried onions would have benefitted from some sauce. The cauliflower cheese arancini was tasty but titchy, at least the chicken waffle was free range.

We were informed via email “the whole menu is not entirely organic, however the food mainly uses organic ingredients, and the drinks also strive to use organic produce whenever possible.” If this is the case why not make mention of it on the menu? Surely it’s a selling point for the health conscious, eco-consumers of today?

This rooftop is surrounded by taller buildings, which hogged the sun on our visit, however the RetrEAT (design by DENLDN) was a welcome addition. More shed than greenhouse (it being constructed of wood not glass), the thick blankets, chilled playlist and use of natural materials did manage to meet the relaxed, Scandi-cool brief. Heated concrete seating was a nice surprise though not exactly ethical. And there are two tiny toilets in which no matter where you stand you will set off the hair dryer.    

"More shed than greenhouse (it being constructed of wood not glass), the thick blankets, chilled playlist and use of natural materials did manage to meet the relaxed, Scandi-cool brief." 

So, does Sisu get any sustainability points at all? Well, we were told the plates are biodegradable and the furniture has been upcycled by the Sisu team. This is a well-located urban hideaway, which you’d be pleased to stumble across after navigating the snap-happy tourists and queues of Primark shoppers below, just don’t turn up for the organic vibes. 

Sisu serves food and drink between noon and 10pm every day, from now until late September.

http://www.sisu.london/

#WeAreTesting Sustainable Venues: Bustling Grow in Hackney Wick, London

Tucked into spray-canned corner of a Hackney Wick carpark is Grow, a venue, bar and popup restaurant which also doubles up as ‘an experiment in ethical and sustainable business’. 

Words: Kyra Hanson @kyra_sian
Photography: Martin Ruffin - martinruffin.co.uk
 

On arrival, I ordered a bottle of the Organic Roots Bordeaux Blanc. One glass. Though I was offered a straw by the bemused barman. (Thrifty winos settling in for the night know a bottle makes more financial sense than ordering by the glass). Feeling only slightly sorry for my liver, I returned to the stage to survey my surroundings. There’s something about being by the water that is instantly relaxing and totally moreish – maybe it’s the pace of life offered by the main mode of transport; people in boats always seem to be happy and waving; people in cars always seem to be angry and swearing. At any rate, Grow’s staff and regulars are certainly of the happy and waving variety – an amicable, dressed down sort had gathered under the main space’s luminescent green hue for ‘Have Love Will Travel’, an evening of ‘60's soul, trashy rock 'n' roll, glam gems & cult pop’. Grow doesn’t have the self-important, you’re-not-cool-enough-to-be-here vibes, which sometimes emanate from Crate (further up the river) and on paper, it certainly contains all the buzz words for a green-fingered, guilt-free night out. 

"Grow’s business model is centred around ‘the sharing economy’, this means the chalked-up walls were probably doodled by a local artist, the cute terrace planting involved community gardeners and, importantly, they like to keep events free."

At resident restaurant ‘Slow Fire London’ you can chow down on shoulder of pork or leg of Spring lamb, safe in the knowledge that both pig and sheep were roaming around a field somewhere nearby before they ended up on the canal-side smoker. All dishes are available as veggie options, at lower prices, a nice touch. However, I was left waiting an hour for a lentil and kidney bean wrap with a couple of limp lettuce leaves in tow, either they were growing the lentils in a back room to order, or they’ve taken the concept of ‘slow cooking’ to a whole new level. Two plastic forks arrived with my food, suggesting they haven’t quite figured out how to make cutlery sustainable, yet. (Oops! I later discovered, it's Vegware, not plastic, so all good). But what of the drinks? Although limited, the drinks menu is pleasant enough, there are just three wine options (red, white or rose), but all are organic, as is the prosecco and cider. Coffee is fair trade. Grow’s business model is centred around ‘the sharing economy’, this means the chalked-up walls were probably doodled by a local artist, the cute terrace planting involved community gardeners and, importantly, they like to keep events free. 

I even managed a self-conscious twirl beneath the spider plant-lined dancefloor and I don’t know if it was the lentils lining my stomach or the organic booze, but I certainly didn’t have the usual pounding-head-sick-bucket scenario on Saturday morning. Sort out the slow service and this could be one experiment that takes off in a big way.