These days, we’re all looking for ways to make our lives greener. We aim to eat more WA-grown food, buy environmentally friendly products and reduce energy use. Well, we try anyways.
A new Perth restaurant is doing more than merely trying. Greenhouse, located on St. Georges Terrace in the CBD, is not only dedicated to wowing taste buds, but being environmentally responsible as well. Restaurateurs Paul Aron and Jason Chan, and designer Joost Bakker have joined forces to create the ultimate eco-restaurant. It’s mission:
Greenhouse aims to harness the growing understanding of the human footprint to offer alternative solutions that tread a fine balance between functionality, sustainability and beauty… [It] hopes to be one of Perth’s most exciting destinations, with the emphasis on tasty, honest food and drink, and some simple ideas for a considerate and non destructive lifestyle.
This means that the construction and decoration adhere to rigid standards. Building materials are recycled and/or recyclable, no harmful chemicals are used and the structure was designed for easy assembly and disassembly. Recycled hay bales insulate the walls supported by 100% recyclable steel. Light shades are fashioned out of reclaimed fencing wire. Wafer board recycled from old wooden palettes was used to build the bar stools and tables. 4,000 terracotta pots housing strawberry plants line the exterior of the building – a welcome splash of green amongst the gray concrete of the CBD. Perhaps the most impressive fact is that construction was completed over a mere six weeks.
Naturally, the menu reflects a similar philosophy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner comprise ingredients sourced locally and even from the restaurant’srooftop garden. Water and organic waste from the kitchen and bar are recycled in the garden’s worm farm. Yep, above the dining room live thousands of worms that provide fertiliser for the plants. That somewhat off-putting thought will vanish from your mind once you taste Greenhouse’s delicious fare, prepared by Greenhouse chef Matt Stone (formerly of Pata Negra).
My partner and I visited Greenhouse on a mellow Saturday arvo in search of wine and nibbles. We shared a bottle of ’06 Yering Station chardonnay chilled in a recycled gas cylinder. We chose the chorizo pizza, and weren’t disappointed – the thin, wood-fired crust was perfectly crisp and the toppings delicious. Next was the indulgent three-cheese platter made up of taleggio, gorgonzola and pecorino – clearly Matt Stone is a fan of Italian cheeses!
By the time we were finished, the dinner crowds were starting to stream in. As we paid the bill we promised ourselves we’d return for lunch (the girls behind Perth Food Engineers gave it a rave review), or breakfast (I’m dying to try the intriguing watermelon, strawberries, labne & rosewater salad), or drinks on the rooftop bar, or dinner with a group of friends, or…
Great about Perth 
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