Shipping Container Restaurants: 8 Unusual Venues Worldwide

Restaurants and chefs are under increasing pressure when it comes to sustainability on the plate, but how about sustainability of the place?

While Virgilio Martinez redesigns a state of the art "interpretation centre" in the Andes and the nordics embrace eco farm restaurants, there are other readily available restaurant and kitchen spaces with green credentials and ready to move into almost immediately: the shipping container.

Offering contemporary spaces with low overheads and a quick setup, repurposed containers are the ultimate in sustainable cool and urban chic. Fortunately for diners, this usually translates into the vibe of the space, and ultimately the food. Infact California's French Laundry famously adopted four shipping containers during the three Michelin star restaurant's rennovations.

So whether it’s a Michelin starred restaurant, a 20 foot container pop up cafe, an intimate restaurant or a container multiplex hangout destination, shipping container restaurants have got it covered when it comes to variety.

Here's a selection of shipping container restaurants and bars around the world:

8 Shipping Container Restaurants and Bars

1. Box E, Bristol

Containers make the perfect instant home for small scale independent businesses, and no more so than in this 14 seater restaurant in the west country - an exciting new entry on the city's dining scene by a couple looking to start small where most of the budget went on the stove.

A limited ingredient led menu with seasonally focused dishes includes smoked trout, charred leek and yoghurt and hake, Jersey Royals, monk's beard and anchovy butter on the menu.

Box-E, Unit 10, Cargo 1, Wapping Wharf, Bristol BS1 6WPWebsite

2. Smoky Park Supper Club, North Carolina

Boasting the title of the largest shipping container restaurant in the US this North Carolina restaurant comprises of a whopping 19 shipping containers. The innovative restaurant features a local farm-to-table menu built around wood-fired based cooking and classic American fare.

350 Riverside Dr, Asheville, NC 28801, USAWebsite

3. Pllek, Amsterdam

A hip and urban space created amongst strategically placed containers serves up lunch, dinner and snacks with an empasis on the organic and sustainable. The space doubles up as a community area for events, cinema and yoga.

Tt. Neveritaweg 59, 1033 WB Amsterdam, Netherlandswebsite

4. FrauGeralds, Zurich (top image)

A shipping container terrace forms the heart of Frau Gerold's garden, a summer venue with a restaurant and bar, a popular summer destination where city dwellers take some time out to linger over apperitifs, lunch and dinner. The seasonal menu boasts veg grown on the premises by Ms. Gerold's very own green fingers.

Geroldstrasse 23, 8005 Zürich, SwitzerlandWebsite

5. Pop Brixton, London

A lively venue with an eclectic mix of bars and eateries housed in a jumble of shipping containers in the heart of Brixton. With a selection of bars and street food stalls as well as sit down restaurants, there's something for most palates and wallets as well as regular live music and entertainment.

49 Brixton Station Rd, Brixton, London SW9 8PQ, UKWebsite

6. Box Park, Shoreditch, London

Modern street food and a pop-up retail mall co-exist in Boxpark in the heart of London’s Shoreditch to deliver a one stop destination for fashion and arts to food and drinks. It all makes for an affordable space for dining and shopping with an eclectic mix of eateries, ideal for weekends.

2-10 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6GY, UKWebsite

7. Pantone Cafe, Monaco

The annual summer sea front pop up on the French riviera adds a splash of saturated colour to Monaco's shorefront with its block colour and colour coded food menu.

8.El Rey, Washington

El Rey boasts the title of D.C's first shipping container restaurant. The 3,100 square foot space inlcuding a long bar, and a takeout window also serves up tacos, tequila and Mexican and South American varieties of beer.

El Rey 919 U St. NW Washington, DCWebsite