When choosing a restaurant, we often think of atmosphere, food quality, and service. But what if I told you that ethical and sustainable cooking should also be on your list? I found Native at Browns in central London: a place where food and ethics meet, so you can feel better as a food lover and consumer.

Today, DOYOUSPEAKLONDON invites you to discover this hidden gem!

Native at Browns, Mayfair

Native at Browns is the new restaurant located in luxury retailer Browns flagship store on Brook Street, Mayfair.

You might be surprised to find this common white door while looking for the restaurant, but I loved the idea of some mystery and it only increased my curiosity about the venue!

The restaurant’s sustainable setting embodies an artisanal, handmade spirit throughout and celebrates traditional craftsmanship. The owners

Native was created by Ivan & Imogen, who both “have a strong passion in foraging and growing their ingredients to get the best of what nature has to give.”

While we ate inside that evening, there is also an alfresco option for warmer and sunnier seasons: Native at Browns Courtyard, which is said to have a gorgeous setting. Something to look forward to when I’ll come back…

Innovative tasting menu at Native at Browns

This is the most impressive thing about this place: whilst having strong ethical values that imply seasonal and sustainable produce, the restaurant manages to create small plates of innovative cooking!

Before even tasting the food, we ordered delicious “foraged cocktails” prepared by a very skilled woman (I could not help but feel happy to see a woman excelling in this field). Apple and sage mix very well indeed, and this drink was a promising start to the whole experience…

I should mention I was joined by three curious friends, and we all agreed to order different dishes, ensuring we could sample the full range of options on the seasonal tasting menu.

Next up were the starters, known as the Chef’s Wasting Snacks: a ‘zero waste’ selection made from ingredients many would consider discarded but are treated as treasures here. And trust me, these ‘non-compliant’ creations were absolutely worth it!

The smell of tomatoes was incredible here, and the cracker was exquisite with it!

This was absolutely divine – just a few bites, though! I could’ve easily had a second (or two!), but we had to save room for the rest…

I LOVED these little portions, with this crafty presentation…and the crab flavour was awesome!

Next, we dove into the main menu dishes, starting with…

I had just a bite of this dish (above), but it was said to be scrumptious…

This was my order (above) and I loved how the meat was cooked, the little sauces to accompany it, and the rest was simply freshly delicious.

Again, not my personal choice (above) but I had a try of a horse mackerel: so tasty!

This vegetarian dish (above) was far from simplistic despite its simple ingredients: the mix of flavours was perfect as well as the dressing!

Looking good, tasting good!

This was my personal choice and I enjoyed it until the last bite! The mix of textures was awesome with the softness of the fish and the crispy topping… I’m feeling peckish now, aren’t you?

Last but not least came the desserts…

This dessert was clearly indecent after one cocktail and a few glasses of wine, but it came as the perfect ending to this amazing tasting menu!

The ants were an unexpected twist to the sorbet, but surprisingly delicious. Definitely the most original ingredient on the menu! Who said ants were gross? I didn’t taste anything off, and the crunch paired perfectly with the butter tuile.

There’s still one dessert I haven’t tried, which is the venue’s speciality: the Marrowmel dessert, white chocolate and bone marrow caramel. Very special indeed, but why not try as I’ve been seduced by everything else on my plate that night? Who takes the plunge with me?

This tasting menu is not cheap but we ended up completely full and thrilled to have tasted scrumptious dishes. This was quite impressive to see that ethical cooking also rhymes with quality and originality. I would highly recommend eating Native at Brown on a special occasion.

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To go further:
Native at Browns: 39 Brook Street, London W1K 4AH
Website
Native Produce Store website

Check out my other restaurant recommendations in and around London here.