Sydney is finally starting to get a number of cute bars like Melbourne and the latest one getting a lot of attention is Greenhouse. Greenhouse is a waste free pop up bar which will be in Sydney until March 28. According to Joost, “The restaurant/art installation is built out of recycled materials and promotes sustainability and a waste-free philosophy” (you can read more about the philosophy here).

As soon as I heard about Greenhouse I wanted to visit, especially because of it’s prime location – the bar is situated right on the water on Campbells Cove just at the end of the rocks.

My workmates and I decided to head down one night after work. When we got there we were told that it would be about a 45 minute wait for a table but that we were welcome to have a few drinks on the roof top bar and they would call us when the table was ready.

Greenhouse roof top bar

The roof top bar

Rooftop bar

Rooftop bar view and herbs

The view from the rooftop bar

We got to the roof top bar and worked out that the queue for drinks was almost as long as the bar itself due to having only two staff (one running back and forth to grab things from downstairs). However we queued up and got our drinks – I opted for the cocktail of the day, basically a mojito. Other drink options included Little Creatures Pale Ale, moscato or red wine. I originally thought the cocktail was rather pricey at $16, however it did have two shots of alcohol in it and therefore worked out to be very reasonable. The wine and cocktails were served in jam jars which gave them a quirky touch!

The finished result

The view from the bar was great and every now and then someone from the restaurant came up to pick herbs for the dishes they were preparing.

Picking the herbs for the restaurant downstairs

Less than 45 minutes later we got the call that our table was ready and made our way downstairs.

The restaurant

The kitchen

Unfortunately the restaurant, like the bar, was understaffed and it took awhile to catch the attention of someone to order drinks and food however the service did get better as the night went on.

I opted for a white wine with dinner and we ordered some chilli almonds, chilli prawns and spiced cauliflower to share for entrees. As my main I ordered the mullet with tomato salad (most of the items on the menu were gluten free which was great!). All of the dishes were amazing.

The almonds had only a slight chilli flavour, just enough to give them a kick.

Chilli almonds

The chilli prawns were small and crispy and you ate the whole prawn, head and all, I also loved these.

Chilli prawns

I especially loved the spiced cauliflower and highly recommend this dish.

Spicy cauliflower

We then got our mains – the fish was roasted with fennel seeds which gave it a great flavour and the tomato salad was simple but refreshing – the tomatoes, which were tossed in balsamic dressing, were very fresh.

My main - mullet and tomato salad

My work mates opted for the pizza for their mains and were a little disappointed due to the limited toppings (however that is probably the way it is supposed to be made!).

Dinner and two drinks each came to $45 per person – not bad when you consider the view and how good the food was!

If you are in Sydney make sure you get along to the bar before they dismantle it and take it somewhere else.

The view from the restaurant