Field & Green

With white-painted brick walls, wooden floors, and accent colours of pastel pink and mint, Field & Green is light, airy, and fresh.

At the 50-seat restaurant on Wakefield Street, there is an unpretentious bistro feel that belies the serious cooking going on in the kitchen. That serious cooking has garnered six Cuisine Good Food Top Hat awards for the restaurant, and a fanatic local following.

Field & Green offers ‘European soul food’. Founder and owner Laura Greenfield agrees the phrase refers to nostalgia: food to fill the soul. With risotto, pasta and soufflé often on the menu the European influence is clear. Laura enjoys mixing more traditional dishes into the offerings as well.

This ethos extends to the hugely popular weekend brunch menu. A revolving door of locals fuel up on local coffee and elevated breakfast comfort food. Think gourmet bacon sandwiches, smashed peas and avocado on toast, and French toast brioche (not to mention the outstanding cheese scones). Slightly unusual for an upmarket restaurant, Field & Green is also famous in Wellington for its ice cream. Laura is passionate about the sweet treat and loves dreaming up flavours inspired by childhood classics or sparkly aperitifs. Rotating flavours join staples like marmalade, lemon meringue, and honeycomb. Grab a tub to takeaway and enjoy at home, or by the scoop to slurp up on the spot.

An experienced chef, Laura spent much of her career in her home city of London. She had a 12-year stint running the restaurant attached to Sotheby’s auction house in the West End. With no formal training herself, Laura is happy to give any eager potential employees a go. She has amassed an efficient crew of 13 including four chefs.

Laura thinks food can elicit strong emotions in people and loves the nostalgia her cooking can conjure up in diners. Those diners have the chance to share their thoughts at a bar overlooking the kitchen. The space allows up to six people to watch the food preparation and plating. Interaction is encouraged with the chefs and makes for a unique dining experience.

So is Field and Green a ‘special visit’ restaurant? “Please no!” says Laura, “I don’t want to be a bucket list restaurant. I want people to keep coming back because the food reminds them of warm feelings from their past.”