Cambodia, Mexico, and Canada Meet at This Creative New Mile End Restaurant [Updated]

Update (October 25): Fieldstone is now open for dinner service, Thursday to Saturday evenings (for now).

Mile End has a soigné new brunch, lunch, and (soon) dinner destination, with Fieldstone now open on the Main, near St-Viateur.

It comes from the duo of Emiliano Rivera and chef Chanthy Yen, as co-owners, plus Alanna Sager, managing front-of-house. Yen comes with some prestigious experience, having worked in the kitchen at San Sebastian’s famed Mugaritz. He then worked for Spain’s El Bulli Foundation (a kind of non-restaurant “successor” to Catalonia’s El Bulli), in a research position for their online food science and gastronomical reference resource Bullipedia. Most recently, Yen was at buzzy Vancouver Latin restaurant Cacao, which he helped open with his mentor Jefferson Alvarez; he was also sous-chef at The Mackenzie Room, also in Vancouver.

Rivera’s Mexican roots and Yen’s Cambodian ones both figure into the menu — for example, a soursop smoothie or a lemongrass beef and grilled rice dish; items like tomatillos and tamarind also make appearances. The produce leans seasonal and local, too.

Yen tells Eater that he calls his style “New Canadian” — and he has clearly put thought into defining that term.

“I’m born and raised in Canada but parents are refugees, and immigrated here. The reason we call it that is that we’ve been through so many countries...they’re basically memories and experiences that we’ve had in Europe, South America, Canada.”

Yen notes that the cuisines he’s drawing on also overlap surprisingly often.

“Mexican, Spanish and Cambodian flavours use the same ingredients [like tamarind] but in different combinations.”

Yen calls the brunches on offer approachable — salmon with a blue corn and potato cake; a mushroom hash. Fieldstone will also offer a weekend roast at the same time; with lunches and dinners featuring more experimental or playful dishes. The 25-seat restaurant in the former Soupcon Cochon is doing weekday lunches and weekend brunches for now, with dinner to be added soon (they’re waiting for a liquor license).

Fieldstone

A bar program is coming together — Rivera says that cocktails won’t be flashy or overworked, but will be original — a mezcal margarita with toasted cinnamon tamarind base, for example. Wine and beer are still in the works.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Fieldstone will be adapting to a new city where they don’t know the scene — Rivera had a brief stint in Montreal in the past, while Sager and Yen are both brand new as of a few months back, although Yen says it’s not daunting.

“They definitely see us as outsiders so it’s a challenge, but it’s a cool challenge...I’m sure we can charm them with our food and service.”

There’s one early chance to try Fieldstone at night — they’re offering a five and eight course tasting menus tonight (October 6), but with no alcohol service.

STATUS — Fieldstone is open at 5427 St-Laurent from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, evening hours to come soon.

• Fieldstone [Official]