The restaurant manager and chef duo opened the doors to Field on 10 January and are hoping to bring their experience of Michelin-star quality service and food to the 22-cover site on West Nicolson Street in the Southside area of the Scottish capital.
No pretensions
The launch reunites the pair who worked together when Conway was maître d’ and then manager of Tony Borthwick's Plumed Horse and Craig was working as a sous chef in the kitchen of the Leith eatery.
In a press release, Conway said the venture would aim to offer simple and fresh food of Michelin-star quality but without pretensions and at a value-for-money price point. The restaurant will, for example, feature 'world class wines at prices which will shame Edinburgh’s top-end establishments'.
Speaking to BigHospitality, Conway explained he believed the pair had the experience to compete with some of the city's more established venues.
"I don't see why, as a restaurant, you have to charge a GP of 80 per cent on a wine that costs us £40 to buy in - to sell that for £130 is just ridiculous," he argued.
"Our concept is to make a cash margin on the expensive wines which is just the same as with the house wines - whether you buy a château cure wine or a Chilean Sauvignon I make the same amount of money, it doesn't make any difference to me."
Also involved with the restaurant is Conway's wife Rachel who is managing the books for the business.
It was a change of circumstances that originally led Rachel and Richard to develop plans to open a venue together - the process took about two years with Craig and Conway originally looking at ventures in Dundee once they had decided to open the business together.
Michelin-starred
Craig most recently worked for Alain Roux at his legendary three Michelin-starred Bray restaurant the Waterside Inn. He has also worked at the Gleneagles Hotel and Cheltenham's Champignon Sauvage.
"Field will serve the food I like to eat myself,” said Craig. "It’s similar to the food I’ve helped create at Michelin-starred restaurants, simplified for a small bistro and with some playful elements added."
The Field menu, which has a low-medium price point with mains averaging £12, includes roast chicken breast stuffed with haggis and slow-cooked pork belly with chorizo.
If successful, the duo have plans to extend the restaurant into a basement within the existing building.