Gunpowder

The food was amazing, service just as good! We practically ordered everything on the menu and I’d order every dish again. It’s especially fun because it’s like tapas and they’ve thought outside the box with their menu. I’ve been to many indian restaurants in London and this is certainly my favourite after 12 years in this city. If you like indian food, go here before it’s get crazy busy!

Gunpowder is fairly new to the London Indian restaurant scene; located near Spitalfields Market with seating for only 20ish people, it is an intimate family run restaurant that differs to your usual Indian curry house (bucket curries and naan). It has a nice buzz; full of happy, content people enjoying their evening meal and has a simple yet stylish décor. Unfortunately Gunpowder doesn’t take reservations and being so small it can make it tricky to get a table! When I visited, on a weekday at 7pm, there was a 45 minute wait for 2 people. I think the food is worth it so prepare for this and head to a bar once you’ve put your name on the waiting list. As with quite a few places they take your name and number and text you when your table is ready. We received our message dead on 45 minutes and by the time we got there our table was just about ready for us to sit down.
The menu consists of lots of small plates and a few larger more pricier dishes, all of which are fab for sharing (no naan or tikka masala in sight!). This means you get to try lots of their dishes which are all inspired by traditional Indian home-​cooking and are all jam packed with flavour. For me, each dish was quite spicy so I downed a lot of water throughout the meal but everything was cooked and flavoured so well I just HAD to keep eating. Between the 2 of us we ordered 5 dishes; 3 small & 2 large (spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut — £4.5, porzhi okra fries — £4.5, chettinad pulled duck served with homemade oothappam — £5, saag with tandoori paneer — £11 and wild rabbit pulao — £14.5) which came out as and when they were ready. First up we got the venison doughnut which was delicious, then the okra fries. These were crispy, with a lovely spicy batter and were incredibly moorish however they neeeed to be served with a sauce or dip as they were very dry. The most disappointing dish was the pulled duck — this was the least flavourful, with a bland doughy bun with a small amount of duck inside. Finally we were served the large dishes — paneer and rabbit. Be warned the rabbit comes on the bone hidden within a massive pile of rice, fried onions and cranberries. You have to work a little too hard to get the meat and dispose of the bones but the whole dish was SO good it was worth it. The size of it is easily enough to share between 3! The paneer was by far my favourite dish, with 4 massive slices of paneer in a beautiful creamy, spinach curry. After allll that I couldn’t have eaten another thing although tbh I don’t think their desserts sounded nearly as intriguing as their mains — they were also quite heavy sounding which is something I didn’t need any more of!
The staff throughout the whole meal were efficient (continuously topping up my water) but not overly friendly. When the bill was brought to us I was rather impressed with the cost vs the amount of food we had, although we didn’t drink.
I would definitely recommend this if in the Shoreditch area and will be back to satisfy my next curry craving!

This is not really a review of the food but rather a review of the rather innovative entry system that stopped us from even entering the restaurant.
We went to Shoreditch last night to try the new version of Som Saa but were told the wait for a table was nearly two hours so we Unilocaled it and thought we’d try here, after all it had 8 five star reviews!
We were told by a very helpful staff that a table was perhaps 45 mins away and that they would text us when a seat was available. We duly gave our number and received a link to where we were in the queue. That part felt like magic! The rest not so much.
Having seemed to be permanently at number five in the queue we went back after a drink after 45 mins. We were told that in fact were at queue number 3 but next in line for a table for two and that it should only be ¹⁵⁄₂₀ mins. So off we go for another drink with the app still wilfully saying we at number 5.
We wait, then we wait a little more at a bar with Som Saa tempting us across the road, we still waited, and we waited still as the app remained on queue number 5. With the time approaching a full hour and a half wait we decided to try Som Saa where we able to walk in and grab a table.
I’d really love to repeat the straight five stars of this place but they need to fix their entry system or staff estimates as we did feel like our time had been wasted. For now Gunpowder will have to languish at a mere two stars (one for the service), let’s hope we can get in to change that.

So. Fucking. Good!
Best indian food I’ve had outside of India (I have extensive Indian cuisine eating experience in New York). Pretty high up in flavor. I am a huge fan of Dishoom but this place takes the cake.
Tip: You can’t go wrong with the lamb, Okra fries, aloo chat.

Welcome — ⁵⁄₅ — Nice friendly welcome, offering to take our coats if we wanted.
Atmosphere — ⁴⁄₅ — It’s quite a small place. We got there as soon as it opened, quiet to start but was buzzing a lively once it filled up.
Cleanliness/​Décor — ⁴⁄₅ — Very clean. Simple décor. Tables of two that could be pushed together to make larger tables, a table with high chairs also. Was a bit tight trying to squeeze past people when trying to leave.
Service — ⁴⁄₅ — Helpful. They were able to explain anything on the menu we didn’t understand. We’re extremely polite. Good came out pretty quick too. Only small downside is that it got pretty relaxed as soon as the restaurant was full.
Food — ⁴⁄₅ — The menu comprising of lots of little tapas style sharing dishes, which is great as there’s a lot of things on there you would want to try. There is also a great choice of vegetarian dishes which suited my sister who was eating with me. My favourite had to be the Venison Spicy Vermicelli Ball. Nice and crispy with great flavours. The pulled duck roll was ok, it was nice but didn’t really stand out. I was hoping for it to have a bit of a kick. We shared the larger paaner dish. That was lovely but I’m not sure it warranted the higher price. All of the food comes out as it is cooked. However, the rice came out last. It would’ve been nice that this was pushed first, so it could have been an accompaniment to all the other dishes.
Would I recommend — Yes
Would I come back — Yes, only if in the area.
Visit — 12/​04/​2016 (Evening)

Gunpowder’s a tapas-​style Indian restaurant. Very different from the usual Indian fare you get all over London. The dishes are small, shareable, and immaculately prepared. We had a ton of things but the one’s that stood out are the rasam ke bomb (spicy broth served in shot glasses that you’re supposed to full into the accompanying deep fried chickpea canapés and shove into your mouth), aloo chat (tangy potato-​based Indian street food), raw papaya salad, and the softshell crab.
Our server was very knowledgeable and even though I had the impossible dietary constraint of being a vegan, he suggested alternatives and even stopped me from ordering something I thought was vegan.
The only downside was the long time. We had to wait 90 minutes for our table. But the food was totally worth it.

Since Gunpowder opened recently I have wanted to give it a try, I finally got round to it and wasn’t disappointed! A couple of people told me they preferred it to Dishoom… Quite a bold statement.
I love places where it’s all about sharing and Gunpowder is a prime example of one… They suggest around 3 dishes per person, depending on the sizes of the dishes, we ordered 4 each so we could give as much as possible a try. The place is tidy, seating about 20 people and has a really cosy feel about it which was great, people chatting and enjoying their evenings around you always make dinner a better experience!
Some of our favourites included–
gunpowder aloo chat
spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut
chettinad pulled duck served with home-​made oothappam
maa’s kashmiri lamb chops
everything was really nice, the lamb chops were really spicy was could be a bit much for some people. Everything is reasonably priced and dinner for 2, with a couple of drinks will be around £35/£40 per head.
The only negative was we got a couple of things we didn’t order, and not knowing the dishes well enough to know what was what sometimes it caused a bit of confusion. However the staff took the items off our bill and all was fine!
So comparing it to Dishoom… I put them on par. Gunpowder has a much more homely, fresh feel to it. But Dishoom has a slightly better menu. As I rate Dishoom very highly this means Gunpowder is a must try and I will certainly be making another appearance!

Fantastic food and charming service. A small modern Indian restaurant — no chicken tikka masala here — serving a variety of delicious small plates of street food. Try the venison donuts — a flavour sensation. The saag and home made paneer is also a revelation. And the lamb chops are fabulous. And the aloo chaat. Every dish is great. Try it before it becomes impossible to get a table.

Best Indian food I’ve ever had. Warm and intimate atmosphere with a cocktail menu offering new and exciting flavours. The food is simply delicious and the staff is very friendly.

This new opening by Spitalfields Market came highly recommended by a friend who had just been a few weeks earlier. It’s on a side street that doesn’t seem to see much activity besides large groups of Jack the Ripper tours walking by, but is really just a block from the buzz of the market and only a few minutes’ walk from a number of tube stations. It’s a cozy little restaurant, not at all like the grunginess of Brick Lane or the large scale curry house operations of Whitechapel; rather, this seats about 28 people in a combination of low tables, a few high tables, and two seats by the window. We were at the low tables and I’d say that this was a bit cramped, to the point where you had to carefully edge between the gaps to use the restroom, and we didn’t even have to pretend to not watch everything being served to the table next to us. But the décor is all new and pretty trendy, and I would think this is easily a place you could imagine was in Soho.
The food is tapas style and we were recommended 2 – 3 plates per person. Some of them seem like they can serve only 2 people, like the spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut and the lamb chops, so for those we just ordered two of them. Of the things we got, they weren’t kidding about the spiciness of the doughnut and the lamb chops also have a serious kick to them. I also really enjoyed the soft shell crab (wish we got a second!), the saag with tandoori paneer, and the broccoli that unexpectedly blew us away. There wasn’t a standard veggie centric dish, but this was the closest thing and the table next to us chimed in and said we should definitely get it. The sauce was incredible, but we still couldn’t finish more than half of it between the four of us! We also got the aloo chaat, half baby chicken and the pork belly: the aloo chaat is supposed to be one of their most popular dishes and it was great; the chicken also very spiced and tasty; but the pork belly was rather missable, as I didn’t like that it was cured and served cold.
Another thing I really liked about this meal was that it didn’t require the standard rice or naan to accompany the dishes. The uniqueness of the preparation and the quality of the ingredients carried the meal rather than carbs and sauces. Their wine list was simple and only had 3 choices for red wine, so it was easy to choose and we paired this all with two bottles of Malbec. I thought the service was great and for now, the restaurant seems to have a reasonable amount of business but it is not packed or impossible to get a table. I made our Saturday night reservation only a day before, and then was able to add two more to the reservation by calling the day of. During our meal, there were many groups coming and going, but it wasn’t uncommon to see two or three empty tables in the small restaurant at one time. I hope this restaurant does well and I would definitely recommend coming before the crowds do!

Fantastic new spot just 2 blocks west of Brick Lane is vastly superior to what you will find in the normal tourist hangouts. This is a small space seating perhaps 20 so each table gets a lot of TLC from the excellent staff. In particular the lamb chops are excellent — you get 2 per order but they are very small and good for sharing. The broccoli is served whole and is fantastic as well. Been 3 or 4 times since it opened in the fall and can’t recommend it highly enough!

Fantastic new spot just 2 blocks west of Brick Lane