Gunpowder team to open Himalayan restaurant

The husband and wife team behind Gunpowder, the Indian restaurant in Spitalfields which won a Michelin Bib Gourmand, are to open a new site focusing on Himalayan cooking.

Harneet and Devina Baweja and head chef Nirmal Save will launch Madame D’s down the road from their critically-acclaimed first site in May.

The 25-cover restaurant will sit above the Spirit of 76 pub and be lit by candlight, with long wooden benches lining the room for communal dining.

The menu will focus on sharing plates, priced from £3-£15, with flavours from Nepalese, Tibetan, and Chinese cooking. Dishes will include pan-fried Tibetan duck momo; garlic coriander steamed chicken; and prawn on toast, a take on the Chinese classic.

“I first discovered Himalayan food when visiting family in North East India where I spent my summers growing up,” says Harneet.

“The memory of the constant heat from the spices… it was food unlike anything I’d eaten before and on a recent trip back to the region, Nirmal and I realised we couldn’t return to London and face daily life without those intoxicating flavours!”

The Baweja’s opened Gunpowder in Spitalfields in 2015 in a bid to introduce a new style of Indian dining to the UK. The restaurant won a Bib Gourmand, awarded to sites serving three courses for under £28, in the 2017 Michelin Guide.

Madame D’s will open on 9 May.