Winning The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Sustainable Restaurant Award is well deserved as Basque restaurant Azurmendi has been serving up fresh sustainability in the foodservice world.

With three Michelin stars, great reviews and a sustainable design built into the restaurant, Azurmendi combines energy efficiency with meals fixed for a fine pallet.

Located in Spain, Azurmendi is where environmentalism meets gastronomy and a hot spot for the green traveler who wants to enjoy a delicious meal at an energy-efficient, sustainable restaurant. For those interested in eco-tourism, Azurmendi should top the list for a sustainable eating destination.

Let’s talk about Azurmendi’s energy efficiency efforts

Set on a hilltop in Spain with its 40-hectare vineyard, the original building housing the restaurant now offers more casual meals while the new glass and steel building higher on the hillside features the main gastronomic restaurant.

While this restaurant is known for its incredible food, the building’s sustainable design and the environmental concerns at the core of it is what caught BizEnergy’s attention.

“The roof is half greenhouse, half vegetable garden and has solar panels providing the restaurant’s electricity. Many of the materials used were recycled or reclaimed,” reports the press release, “Geothermal energy provides 90% of the building’s required heat and rainwater gathered on the site is used whenever possible.”

With two renewable sources from geothermal heating and cooling as well as photo-voltaic cells generating power, sustainability was taken seriously during the design of this world-class restaurant.

When it comes to the menu even the ingredients are sustainable. With meats of the free range variety and only sustainable fish available for guests lucky enough to dine at Azurmendi — meals are complete with organic vegetables grown on site or ingredients sourced from local suppliers.

The restaurant didn’t win the Sustainable Restaurant Award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for nothing — in fact, Azurmendi earned the highest score in the SRA’s Global Sustainability Rating.

“According to our philosophy, sustainability is the foundation for our operations. Azurmendi was designed on sustainability principals from a holistic point of view,” Chef Eneko Axta said in the press release, “The environment is our source of activity and we have an obligation to help it, so it helps us; if you don’t look after what’s feeding your business, then it will not be sustainable.”

Behind Azurmendi is a sustainability visionary: Eneko Atxa

This chef wanted a restaurant that brought together sustainability, diversity and native produce — and he did it with such style. His energy efficiency efforts combined with his respect for the environment made his restaurant a perfect success story in the green scene.

For more on Eneko Atxa, check out this interview.

For businesses looking to get energy-efficient, take our interactive Energy Audit.

 

 

Image credit: PoLaKia