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Hackney Wick’s sustainability-forward floating restaurant Barge East has announced their summer menu, curated by their new Executive Chef Gavin Gordon (Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and Gordon Ramsay’s The Narrow). Based around locally sourced, ethical, and seasonal produce (much of which is grown and handpicked at their adjacent Barge East Gardens), the modern British a la carte takes a ‘nose to tail’ approach to produce, with trim, offcuts & waste products all creatively used throughout.
Starters include ‘homemade sourdough with wild garlic’, ‘British Asparagus, Dandelion, Chive Oil Dressing’, ‘Aged Beef Tartare, Smoked Marrow Croquette, Stilton, Focaccia Crumb’, with mains including ‘British Market Fish Over Coals, Bouillabaisse Sauce, Samphire’, ‘Glazed Aubergine, Mushroom XO, Cashew Cream, Seeds, Collard Green Shoots’, and ‘Wild Devin Rabbit Loin, Rabbit Boulangere, Rabbit Jus Gras, and Carrot’. To finish, choose from the incredible dessert offering including ‘75% Chocolate Ganache, Toasted Hazelnut, Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil’, and ‘Rice Pudding Crémeux, Forced Yorkshire Rhubarb, Stem Ginger’. Diners can also opt for Barge East’s weekly changing, ultra-sustainable specials chalkboard.
Diners at Barge East can choose from sitting in the light and airy canopy upper deck, with incredible views across the River Lee canal and the gardens, or the rustic main deck, a cosy sanctuary nestled within the lovingly restored hull. The space also features al-fresco seating above deck, perfect for sunny days and warm evenings and a captain’s cabin complete with a phone line straight to the bar – an 8-seat unique intimate experience for private dining with family and friends.
Barge East proudly works closely with a network of local and sustainable suppliers to source the best ingredients for their menus. These include Natoora for vegetables (pioneers of no plastic packaging), Original Bean for coffee (net positive carbon footprint for each bag used), and Ethical Butcher (working with farmers practising regenerative agriculture to supply exceptional quality ethical cuts of meat).
Barge East also offers a curated wine list sourced from sustainable European vineyards – all transported over land to minimise carbon footprint of transportation. All wines are vegan and sustainably certified (or working towards certification). The cocktail menu maximises use of produce from the Barge East Gardens, as well as using sustainable suppliers such as Discarded Spirits, a company who utilise products that would typically go to waste, such as cascara berry, Banana peel & grape skins from Pomace.
Barge East opened in 2018, after co-founders Tommo, Ryan, and Blandy sailed a 125 year-old Dutch barge across the North Sea, before making its home on the River Lee canal as a sustainability focused restaurant centred around high-quality, modern British dishes. In 2020, Barge East opened their adjacent on-shore space – the organic Barge East Gardens. Using a variety of up-cycled and repurposed materials, and featuring over 37 different types of plants and produce, visitors can enjoy alfresco dining while surrounded by the organic, growing produce and ingredients used across the menus, providing a farm to table service. Their sustainability credentials have earned them widespread recognition as a leader in the hospitality industry, and are listed on the 360° Eat Guide to pioneering restaurants in sustainability and gastronomy.
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