London Indian restaurant rolls back prices to celebrate 10-year birthday
London Indian restaurant Gunpowder has marked 10 years since opening in Spitalfields by reinstating its original launch menu — and prices — for a limited time this January.
The restaurant first opened on White’s Row in early 2016 as a 20-cover neighbourhood spot. Within its first year, it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and quickly established a reputation for its personal, regionally inspired approach to Indian cooking.
Since then, Gunpowder has grown into a small restaurant group, with further sites in Soho and Tower Bridge, alongside the launch of a cookbook and an international opening in Lisbon.
To celebrate the milestone, the Spitalfields restaurant is rolling back to its original 2016 menu for one month only, giving diners the chance to revisit the dishes that helped define Gunpowder in its early years.
A return to the dishes that shaped Gunpowder
Founded by Harneet Baweja, with chef patron Nirmal Save leading the kitchen, Gunpowder’s menus have always drawn on Indian home cooking, shaped by flavours and techniques from across the country’s regions.
The anniversary menu brings back a number of long-standing favourites, including spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut, Karwari soft shell crab, Maa’s Kashmiri lamb chops and Old Monk rum bread and butter pudding.
Several dishes from the original launch that have since disappeared from the menu are also returning, such as chilli cheese toast, molten spice chocolate cake with masala chai custard and beetroot and balsamic vinegar granita.
As a further nod to the early days, Gunpowder is also reintroducing St John’s house wine at £5.50 a glass for the duration of the anniversary month.
Celebrating India’s regional diversity
Reflecting on the 10-year journey, chef patron Nirmal said the restaurant’s evolution has remained rooted in a desire to showcase the breadth of Indian cooking to a London audience.
He said: “Over the last decade, our menu has been journeying through the many regions of India, which is what we have always endeavoured to show London. From the serenity of the mountainous north to the palm-lined beaches and spice plantations of the south, each Gunpowder dish embodies the rich heritage and diversity of Indian cooking.”
That regional focus has remained central as the business has grown, helping Gunpowder retain a clear identity despite its expansion beyond its original Spitalfields site.
A decade built with the same team
Unusually for London’s restaurant scene, much of Gunpowder’s original Spitalfields team remains with the business today. That continuity has helped guide the development of the wider group, which now also includes neighbourhood curry house Empire Empire, Spitalfields market fried chicken concept Fortune Fried Chicken, and French-leaning bakery Moi et Toi.
Founder Harneet said the anniversary offered a moment to reflect on how the restaurant has grown without losing its sense of purpose.
He said: “When we opened in Spitalfields, we had no idea where it would take us — we just wanted to cook the kind of food we loved from home, in a space that felt honest.
"Ten years on, it’s amazing to still be working with the same team and to see how much we’ve grown, without losing what made Gunpowder what it was from day one.”
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London Indian restaurant rolls back prices to celebrate 10-year birthday
