Inside the box

Shipping containers are no longer found only at ports or stacked up on huge cargo vessels. They now house some of the world most fabulous restaurants and food markets. Tapping into the trend for industrial chic design and sustainable living, these repurposed steel cuboids have become the world’s most incredible shipping container restaurants, from funky food halls to fine dining hot spots. Due to COVID-19, be sure to check national and local travel restrictions, and individual establishments’ websites for dine-in, takeout and delivery options before you visit.




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The Gulf, Orange Beach, Alabama, USA

Alabama’s coastline has some of the whitest, softest sand in the USA so it makes perfect sense to have a restaurant that spills right onto it. The Gulf, made up of shipping containers and other salvaged building materials, is a gloriously ramshackle spot serving up the freshest regional seafood, salads and grilled foods. Seating is arranged on various levels and it’s all right on the beach. There’s also a bar and a cute boutique. Basically, it’s the seaside dream.




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El Rey, Washington DC, USA

Enjoy tacos, tequila and margaritas in this funky jumble of shipping containers, a popular hangout spot in DC. El Rey is known for its menu of moreish Mexican street food, from elote (corn on the cob) to tacos filled with grilled fish, carne asada or a delicious mix of mushrooms, peppers, cheese and spice. The structure even has a retractable roof that opens to reveal a seasonal Margarita Garden.

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Träkol, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, UK

Träkol opened in 2018 as part of By The River Brew Co., a container hub in the shadow of the Tyne Bridge, and it’s fast become a favourite in the region. The food is cooked over a huge charcoal grill in a kitchen behind a glass wall, so customers can watch dishes like asado duck being grilled and smoked to perfection. Other occupants of the old shipping units, which are an apt nod to the region’s shipbuilding history, include a brewery and tap room, and a bike-building shop.




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Market 707, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Each of the restaurants in Market 707 is housed in a repurposed shipping container. The open-air hub has a mix of food vendors and teeny-tiny shops, and the mix of cuisines on offer is as vibrant as the colours of the containers. It’s pretty much all about street food here, from Japanese-style skewers at Gushi and delicious vegetarian and halal food at Mazar’s Afghan Kitchen, to BBQ chicken sandwiches and incredible mac ‛n’ cheese bites at Flame & Smoke.

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Future Food System, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The latest venture from sustainable food pioneer Joost Bakker and more than 25 years in the making, this incredible eco home/restaurant is built from repurposed materials and grows food on its soil roof and surrounding gardens. The dishes that make up the multi-course lunch and dinner experiences at Future Food System are expertly prepared by lauded zero-waste chefs Matt Stone and Jo Barrett, who will live in the home and survive off its resources for several months.




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Tare, Bristol, England, UK

This seasonally-focused restaurant, part of the Cargo hub of shipping container businesses in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, only seats 18 people and has an ever-changing set menu of five courses. And the food turned out from the tiny galley kitchen at Tare is incredible. Expect dishes like cured trout with Dorset wasabi, smoked ricotta with tomatoes, and whipped yogurt with rhubarb from the Wye Valley in Wales.




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Wahaca Southbank, London, England, UK

Something of a pioneer among shipping container restaurants, this Wahaca outpost is made up of eight repurposed shipping containers, brightly painted and arranged over two higgledy piggledy-looking levels like an enormous sculpture. It opened in 2012 and was supposed to be temporary but has now become a familiar sight on London’s Southbank, with Mexican-inspired street food dishes served up against a backdrop of the River Thames and passing foot traffic. It’s also popular for takeaways, with a truck usually parked out front.




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Mozza & Co., Paris, France

Mozza & Co. has several locations in France but this cute container spot by the Seine, close to the Musée d’Orsay at Port de Solférino, is the most eye-catching. The Italian trattoria-style menu centres around mozzarella (hence the name) with dishes like salads, pasta and panini – perfect for enjoying outdoors with a drink, seated at the picnic tables facing the river.




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Riley’s Fish Shack, Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, England, UK

Two rusting shipping containers filed together and sited on a beach at King Edward’s Bay make up Riley’s Fish Shack, which has been a runaway success since opening in 2016. The “shack”, around half an hour from Newcastle upon Tyne, specialises in regionally-caught seafood and other local produce. Dishes, served to deckchairs on the sand, include lobster, surf ‛n’ turf and kippers from Craster, a little further up the coast.

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AMP, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

New for summer 2021, this food hall takes over the former service bay of the Indianapolis Water Company, with everything from coffee to PB&J sandwiches served out of units in multicoloured shipping containers. Among the traders at AMP are Frankie’s Pizza Parlor, Tinker Coffee (pictured), Boba & Everything – serving bubble tea and bagels – and Venezuelan arepa bar Azucar Morena. There’s also an open-air bar and communal tables indoors and out.




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BOXPARK Croydon, Surrey, England, UK

Like BOXPARK in London’s Shoreditch, this Croydon hangout has a variety of businesses housed in shipping containers – but here, it’s all about the food and drink, rather than retail. Right next to busy West Croydon railway station, the hub has a central seating area with restaurants and bars arranged around the edges and across two levels. Some of the best include Fatto a Mano Pizza, Taiwanese street food spot Bao Bao, and vegan and vegetarian restaurant Bassal’s. There’s also outdoor seating for sunnier days.




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The Gulf, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA

The sister restaurant to The Gulf in Orange Beach, Alabama, this shipping container restaurant takes the concept to Fort Walton Beach on dreamy Okaloosa Island. Again, it’s all about seafood and local ingredients, and soaking up the soft coastal breeze. There’s often live music while people eat delicious dishes such as snow crab with corn and blackened mahi tacos.




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Spark:York, North Yorkshire, England, UK

In the city’s Piccadilly area, Spark:York takes a contemporary and very cool approach to community spaces. The mixed-use hub has a range of businesses housed in shipping containers, with independent boutiques, vintage stores and gift shops nestled among what’s primarily a food market. The range of tasty food on offer includes ramen and bao at Shori, Colombian street food at Tricolor and cookies and ice cream at Melk. It’s also home to drink spots including Bohemian, York’s smallest piano bar.




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The Oasis, Miami, Florida, USA

Opened this spring, The Oasis is a food and entertainment hub on the site of a former ship engine repair firm in Wynwood, arguably Miami’s most colourful neighbourhood. It’s made up of buttercup-yellow, lavender and sugar-pink shipping containers serving bao, gyros, pizza and Italian sandwiches, while drinks are poured in the 75-foot (23m) tall central Tower Bar. The space also hosts regular outdoor concerts.

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JÖRO , Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK

JÖRO means “Earth” in old Norse and, although the menu takes Nordic traditions as its starting point, the cooking techniques – and the building – are decidedly modern. The restaurant is made entirely out of reused shipping containers and beautifully decked out with a handful of tables and moody, atmospheric lighting. The food is equally appealing, with dishes like barbecued hand-dived scallops, Wagyu knuckle with wasabi mustard, and creamed sea leeks with yuzu and dashi.




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Federalist Public House, Sacramento, California, USA

Federalist Public House is one of the most popular spots in this north California city for wood-fired pizza, craft beer and just hanging out. The pub-style joint is built from shipping containers that have been cleverly retrofitted with semi-open sides to fill the space with light and create a flexible beer garden-style space, complete with picnic tables and bocce courts. Pizzas include California chicken, a vegan option with potatoes and “soyrizo”, and classic margherita.




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Container Coffee, Dublin, Ireland

In the heart of Dublin and close to the famous Guinness Storehouse, Container Coffee is a cute and characterful café that serves, erm, coffee and a range of locally-made baked goods. The multicoloured shipping container has just a few seats inside but there’s an outdoor area where people can eat the handmade pies, gourmet sausage rolls and sandwiches too.

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Cook House, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England, UK

Newcastle’s Ouseburn district has become known as a hub of cool bars and restaurants which have sprung up in the past decade or so, transforming an area once famous for shipping. So it’s apt that one of the favourite spots, Cook House, started out housed in two shipping containers. It’s now in a slightly bigger structure, but still has the same industrial-chic vibe and menu of seasonal, locally-sourced food that sings with vibrant flavours.




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Pinches Tacos, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Las Vegas’ downtown has become one of the city’s hippest spots and Downtown Container Park is one of the reasons why. The open-air shopping centre has a range of boutiques, bars and places to eat, all housed in repurposed shipping containers. At fun spot Pinches Tacos, which has two other locations in Nevada and four in California, the best tacos, burritos and sopas are served in a colourful container with seating that spills outside.




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SteelCraft, Long Beach, California, USA

The first SteelCraft opened in Bixby Knolls in 2017 and now there are two other locations in nearby Bellflower and Garden Grove. It’s easy to see why it’s a popular concept. Built using recycled shipping containers, the outdoor dining hub brings together a selection of local food vendors, coffee brewers, craft beer producers and artisan chocolatiers, with everything from gourmet burgers to waffles served in a space with communal tables and string lights.

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