10 sustainable bars and restaurants to visit in Malaysia

Rakh is spearheaded by sustainability, allowing its eco-conscious ethos to guide its operation. Its cocktail menu blurs the line between food and drink, drawing inspiration from Indian cuisine and repurposing kitchen scraps. What would otherwise be discarded, Rakh ferments and distils to use in concoctions like The Rasam—vodka flavoured with fermented tomato puree, herbs, and the powdered leftovers of rasam. The culinary bar stands firm against the use of plastic straws, even forgoing garbage bags to reduce its carbon footprint. 

Sustainability encompasses so much more than living off the land and recycling. It is also a philosophy that supports local economies, ecosystems, and heritage. Akâr Dining is guided by this principle, breathing new life into Malaysian produce. The restaurant is guided by European cuisine but highlights provincial ingredients like gula apong and bunga kantan. Its menus shift with the seasons—each one an exhibition of culinary heritage. The harvest currently available at Akâr Dining includes bambangan, buah kulim, heirloom rice, jungle honey, and patin. 

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Sustainable practices inform every aspect of Dewakan, from its menu to its sourcing. The renowned restaurant champions overlooked endemic and Indigenous ingredients sourced from local farms and producers. Its menu aims to educate, encouraging mindful and appreciative consumption with inventive dishes that celebrate the inherent diversity of Malaysian cuisine. While Dewakan’s menu faces constant evolution, its current form takes shape with patin, eggs and kelulut honey, fermented rice with toddy, and banana leaf ice cream. 

Roost is a pillar of the Malaysian farm-to-table movement, with a decade of operation under its belt. The Bangsar eatery is known for its sustainable practices of prioritising local produce in favour of imported goods. It is driven by a farm-to-fork philosophy, paying homage to the ingredients of the Malaysian peninsular in contemporary European dishes. Pair its burnt cabbage with cauliflower puree, chimichurri-dressed free-range chicken, or sweet corn pakora and homemade whipped ricotta with a glass from its selection of organic and natural wines. 

Powered by charcoal and time-honoured culinary practices, Maillard Grill aims to foster a more sustainable dining scene. Sabah coral grass-aged steaks are its signature and make use of a lesser-known, regionally sourced ingredient. Its menu comprises produce sourced from local farms in Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, and Sabah to fortify provincial economies and showcase Malaysian agriculture.

Rambutan wood—a wood once used in traditional cooking medicine—is the restaurant’s main charcoal, lending each grilled dish a distinct, subtle sweetness. Find heirloom tomatoes served fresh and pickled, beef tartare with soft cured free-range egg yolks, and lamb with pomegranate tahini sauce alongside its signature steaks. 

Entier—French for wholeness or entirety. The restaurant’s name is an indication of its ethos that celebrates nose-to-tail dining. Dissimilar from farm-to-table experiences but just as sustainable, nose-to-tail dining is focused on protein, showcasing the versatility of the entire animal. It is informed sustainability at its best, aiming to reduce the waste produced by conventional meat consumption. The menu celebrates not only prime cuts of meat but also oxtails, duck lardons, and ox tongue. Produce on the menu proves a showcase of Malaysian terroir, with the restaurant platforming seasonal and sustainably sourced ingredients in dishes like its highland beetroot salad and Tanjung Malim caviar on house-made French waffles. 

A contemporary restaurant located in The RuMa Hotel & Residences, ATAS incorporates a curated selection of sustainably sourced ingredients into its menu. Its Flavours of Home menu draws attention to homegrown cuisine, with blue swimmer crab curry laksa, blue belly shrimp rojak, and cekodok with teh tarik ice cream.

Its commitment to sustainable practices spearheads its a la carte menu, equipped with barramundi, dry aged duck breast, maitake mushroom, and Kacinkoa 85 per cent dark chocolate—all of which are responsibly sourced. 

Uplifting the institution of hotel lobby bars, Woobar is dedicated to both expert mixology and sustainable practices. The bar champions Malaysian flavours, showcasing local accords with ingenuity. Its Malaysian Mule sees chilli infused vodka sweetened with rendang syrup, while its Kampung Kolada blends rambutan juice with rum and coconut liqueur. Its offerings are crafted with sustainability in mind, taking fruit scraps from W Kuala Lumpur’s other dining venues and repurposing them into the building blocks of its concoctions.

Orange peels are stored with sugar to create oleo, a potent aromatic used in place of artificial flavourings. Garnishes that go unused are dehydrated to form the bar’s fruit teas, served as welcome drinks to guests. This ethos is apparent in its food menu, equipped with fries crafted from banana peels. 

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Not only does Reka:Bar put the spotlight on locally sourced ingredients, it boldly showcases Malaysian flavours with creativity. Produce showcased in cocktails here are sourced from local farms, with the bar ensuring each ingredient is sustainably farmed and responsibly transported.

Drink programmes at Reka:Bar rotate seasonally or when inspiration strikes, with its latest collection being themed Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Its most renowned drink is a tempoyak tipple of tuak, tequila, jackfruit soy milk and chilli padi distillate. Its efforts in promoting sustainability extend to its interior, with an LED-lit bar to minimise energy use.

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