Gunpowder
2026? More like 2016.
We’re all a little obsessed with the year that was a decade ago, and for a lot of people felt like the last time the world was “normal”. Before unprecedented events became the norm, and once-in-a-lifetime moments became a regular occurrence, i.e. the good times.
One place that’s jumped on the bandwagon of doing a throwback - Gunpowder. For all of January 2026, their prices are those of 2016. It’s a “small-plates” arrangement (yawn) ranging from £4 to £16. They are running two set menus, alongside their a la carte menu, one vegetarian and non-vegetarian both at £35pp. Beware that some items in the set menu are not available to order a la carte.
My dining partner and I opted to go a la carte. Our plate selections were:
Aloo Chat
Sea Bass
Porzhi Okra Fries
Maa's Kashmiri Lamb Chops (x2, as you only get one chop were portion)
Spicy Venison & Vermicilli Donut
Sag with Tandoor Paneer
Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Masala Chai Custard
Total spend £68.77 including tip. Only tap water was drunk.
The service was excellent. The waiters are attentive and someone was at my table pretty swiftly to ask me if I wanted water and then later if I wanted to order a drink. All before my friend arrived 10 minutes after me. The food was served fast and any empty plates were cleared in a reasonable amount of time.
Now the food; the sea bass was disappointing. Wrapped and grilled in banana leaves it looked promising but it was dry as the Sahara and the flavour of that beautiful fish was nowhere to be found. The portion was also tiny. I have a frustration with the small plate concept when the portions are also tiny. It’s all a cost cutting exercise, and if anyone tries to argue with me that it’s for any other reason, honestly that’s BS.
The okra fries despite the excellent flavour looked more like shavings. I’m in favour of skinny fries but honestly it looked like the detrious that you find at the bottom of a bin after sharpening pencils. Not appealin, fortunately still tasty, but the okra to the okra fries seems to have been scared away just like the bass.
The saving graces? The venison donut (don’t get too excited it’s more of the scotch egg family than donut), sag paneer and the fondant.
The paneer was pillowy soft. We ordered the paneer late in the meal as we realised we were still hungry, did I mention the small plates? Ideally combining the donut with it’s crunching vermicelli crust with the saag would have been excellent and given it more textural interest.
The chocolate fondant was the best one I’ve ever had. The perfect ratio of squishy, gooey, sticky chocolate outside with a perfect molten centre. I had flash backs to the scene in the film “Chef /El Jefe” where Jon Favreau yells “IT’S MOLTEN”. The custard was fine. On the thin side but the chai flavour came through.
A solid four out of five. Would I go back if we went back to the present to 2026 prices? Probably not. I will have dreams of that molten cake though.
