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5 Best Rooftop Gardens In New York City, Because Farm-To-Table Dining Is A Trend That's Here To Stay
No doubt about it: Sustainable food is all the rage. But when you live in an urban area, it can prove exceptionally difficult to find fresh, locally-sourced ingredients — even for the city's most prominent chefs. Enter a new generation of New York City restaurants with rooftop gardens who are taking the matter into their own hands. From Flatiron to Brooklyn, there's a growing trend of restaurant owners turning their rooftops into sustainable gardens. Located within mere steps of the kitchen, these urban farms are bringing a new meaning to the phrase "farm-to-table."
Read on for Bustle's favorite rooftop farms, and the restaurants that till them.
Image: kkattalia/Instagram
ABC Kitchen (Flatiron)
Even the world’s most famous chefs — like ABC Kitchen’s Jean-Georges — have jumped on the urban farming trend. This rooftop garden hovers 10 stories above busy Broadway, and keeps the restaurant rolling in ultra-locally sourced produce.
Image: ABC Kitchen
Rosemary's (West Village)
A large portion of the menu at Rosemary’s includes fresh produce from their sustainable rooftop garden. Basil, radishes, and edible flowers have a less than 20 foot journey from farm to kitchen to plate — and you can taste the difference.
Urban farming enthusiasts can even watch the garden bloom IRL by visiting Rosemary’s rooftop webcam.
Image: Rosemary’s NYC
Bell Book & Candle (West Village)
Snuggled atop the roof of a 100-year-old brownstone, this aeroponic garden at Bell Book & Candle in the West Village is the picture of sustainable, urban farming. Producing everything from traditional produce (dill, chive, rosemary) to exotic treats (purple tomatillo, kermit eggplant, great white tomato), Chef John Mooney takes full advantage of this high-tech rooftop paradise.
Image: Bell Book & Candle
Eagle Street Rooftop Garden (Brooklyn)
Looking for some farm-fresh goods in the Brooklyn borough? Head no further than the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, which supplies chickens, honey, flowers, and produce to hotspots like Marlow & Daughters. You can also buy their goods for yourself at neighborhood farmers' markets — just check their website to see what’s in bloom.
Image: Eagle Street Rooftop Garden
The Waldorf Astoria (Midtown)
The famed Midtown hotel has a world class garden on the roof — complete with more than 350,000 bees that produce honey for both the hotel’s food and its spa (the home “grown” substance is used in several of their lavish facials).
The 20th-floor, open-air garden was repurposed to include trees, plants, and herbs with help from the city’s Horticulture Society. It’s an urban Garden of Eden, except you can actually eat the apples.
Image: Waldorf Astoria
