EDIT

Low-waste, sustainable, hyper-seasonal, plant-based cooking is a lot for any restaurant to commit to, although there are plenty of places in London balancing them all to successful avail. Another to join the planet-conscious restaurant ranks is EDIT, an unashamedly on-trend, veg-forward restaurant in the ever-hip land of Hackney.

Like other restaurants of its kind, the food is intended to appeal to an audience beyond just vegan-eaters by showcasing innovative ideas and cooking techniques. Case in point: a nourishing twist on a mushroom risotto replaces starchy rice for a nuttier equivalent (carlin peas – similar to spelt or pearl barley), and is enriched with oat cream and beautiful oyster mushrooms. It's well-seasoned, rich and comforting to eat - tick. There’s a rather delicious bread platter that’s not to be missed, featuring charcoal bread made in-house, as well as a squashy rye number sourced from just minutes down the road. Chunky roasted squash with homemade dukkah was almost there, but needed something sauce-based to bring the dish together. We did count one ‘I can’t believe its vegan’ moment with dessert, a sweet and silky chocolate mousse scattered with toasted quinoa and chopped nuts. A concise, low-intervention wine list completes the experience, spanning more affordable on-tap options to higher-value bottles sourced from small scale producers.

The plates are beautifully presented and one gets a real sense of the attention to detail in every dish, from style and sourcing to execution. Nothing about this place feels contrived though. The dining room for one is comprised of a cacophony of natural materials and textures, from a striking tomato-red floor and rescued terracotta tiles covering the bar and kitchen, to exposed brick walls and industrial ceilings. Tables don’t feel packed in either, allowing diners room to breathe and socialise, while low-level lighting pitches the tone firmly in date night territory. EDIT is a well-executed, approachable and thoughtful addition to London’s restaurant scene, aiming to change the plant-based landscape one vegetable at a time.

London certainly isn’t short of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, but plant-based dining still only makes up a marginal section of the capital's restaurant scene as a whole. Here to add their two cents into the mix is EDIT, a hyper-seasonal, veg-forward restaurant in Hackney from former architect-turned-restaurateur Elly Ward. The idea behind the name comes from its deep-rooted ethos – namely to challenge traditional ways of thinking and to reduce wasteful practices in the industry.

It serves a daily-changing menu in line with seasonal availability of produce, which means no two days are the same at EDIT. It also harnesses root-to-fruit cooking techniques in the kitchen so as to minimise the amount of food waste it produces. As such, guests can expect its ingredients to be of the highest quality and sourced from producers who practice organic, sustainable and regenerative methods of farming.

Examples of small plates on the sharing menu include roasted salsify with smoked aioli, crispy kalettes with purple potato mash, and beetroot à trois. While larger dishes might feature 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, expect plenty of comforting and traditional options made with seasonal fruits, while savoury-lovers will enjoy the plant-based cheese board with homemade chutneys and breads.

The interiors continue the sustainable theme with bare brick walls, original cast iron columns and reclaimed furniture and tables made from recycled wood. While the rear bar, where drinks and small plates are prepared, and the kitchen wall are both covered in rescued red terracotta tiles. Elly Ward and husband Joe Morris (of award-winning Morris & Company) are the creative brains behind the look and feel, wanting to showcase circular design concepts that reflect the food.