Ivan Tisdall-Downes, the chef behind several versions of itinerant sustainable restaurant Native, has opened a new venue in London Fields – this time under a different name.
Field Notes, close to Mare Street Market, occupies similar culinary territory to Native, with Ivan saying it is “about exploring sustainability as a global conversation. But at its heart, it’s about serving food that people want to eat – flavourful, surprising, and welcoming to everyone.”
The drinks offering – which Ivan calls a ‘Living Drinks Progamme’ – follows the same sustainable principles, featuring wild sodas, botanical cocktails and low-intervention wines from across the globe.
A self-taught cook born in London, Ivan launched Native initially as a pop-up in Neal’s Yard nine years ago. From there it moved to a permanent site next to Borough Market, then to Osea Island on the Essex coast, back to Mayfair where it took residence in fashionable store Browns, and finally to Pensons restaurant on the Netherwood Estate in Herefordshire, where it came to a close earlier this year.
Along the way, Native picked up numerous devoted fans and a succession of high ratings in the annual Harden’s survey – for instance, the 2022 Harden’s guide hailed his “really brilliant food” with the comment, “Ivan must spend every waking moment conjuring up new creations”.
