North Beach offers meals that are tasty for you and good for the environment, too.Photo by Augusta Statz

North Beach Bar and Grill is “nestled between the lighthouse and the beach” on the North end of Tybee Island, said Kathryn Williams, one of the restaurant’s owners. It is not in a spot to be seen by all, but with its green efforts and “more vegan and vegetarian options than anywhere else on the island,” it should not go unnoticed.

The North Beach Bar and Grill reopened last August under new management and has taken a green stance ever since.

“All of our paper products, including to-go boxes are compostable. All of our plasticware is environmentally friendly, either made out of recycled materials or are able to be recycled,” said Williams.

Williams noted that she is an environmentalist, and that’s why she feels it is important for the restaurant to be green.

“We have a lot of people on staff that share that value [going green]. We just feel like it’s incredibly important. It’s more expensive, but at some point it has to be about your values and not about money,” she said.

When describing the atmosphere of the restaurant Williams said, The North Beach Bar and Grill is a “beach shack with a great menu; it’s very laid back.”

I found it hard to argue that the restaurant had a relaxing vibe while sitting on the outside deck under an umbrella and feeling whatever breeze could be felt on that particularly hot summer day.

I perused the menu and noticed the vegan and vegetarian options that Williams mentioned. There were vegan and vegetarian appetizers such as black bean dip and chips and plantains and salsa and also an entrée consisting grilled portobello.

The menu also offered chicken, pork, crab cakes, rib eye, shrimp, hamburgers and hot dogs for meat and seafood eaters.

When I spoke with Williams, she could not pinpoint a single meal that was her favorite. She did tell me to keep in mind what the specials were when I ordered, though. The specials for the day I was there were beer battered fish bites, a fried cod sandwich, roasted red pepper humus and Caesar salad topped with fried calamari.

Williams also raved about the hand cut fries, and for lunch that day, I chose to order a jerk chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries for $7.95. The jerk chicken had a sweet, yet spicy taste. The sweet potato fries were drizzled with a sweet sauce and were lightly sugared rather than salted. They were a perfect balance to the slightly spicy sandwich.

There is no doubt that the North Beach Bar and Grill is doing its part to stay green. As I finished my meal, I cleaned my hands with a napkin that was 100 percent post consumer recycled paper, making me felt good about my environmentally friendly meal choice. The North Beach Bar and Grill, with it’s green efforts and it’s unique menu, is a great spot to eat when on Tybee Island.

North Beach Bar and Grill’s Green Measures:

1. Recycling cooking oil
2. Using appliances by Energy Star, a government-backed organization specialized in creating energy-efficient consumer products
3. Using a tankless hot water heater and low temperature dishwasher
4. No air conditioning
5. Using only compostable paper products, including to-go boxes
6. Using environmentally friendly plasticware, either made out of recycled materials or capable of being recycled
7. Recycling all cardboard, aluminum, glass and plastic
8. Planting native and natural plants around the restaurant.