A Grelha At The Gun,
Al fresco bar and restaurant
A Grelha at the Gun, West India
Dock
27 Coldharbour, Docklands,
London
E14 9NS.
0207 515 5222
Eating outside has always been
a dodgy option in the UK. We’ve
all tried it on holiday and got
a taste for it, but like the wine
at those sun soaked al fresco meals,
it doesn’t seem to travel
well back home.
But over the last few years, with
the onset of warmer summers and
the emergence of gas powered ‘patio
heaters’, more and more restaurants
have opened their gardens and courtyards
in the summer months, and have
even installed roll-back roofs
for those balmy evenings we all
dream of. Being extensions of the
restaurant, these open-air spaces
serve the same food outside, as
they do inside. But not A Grelha
(the grill), at The Gun.
Owned by Tom and
Ed Martin, The Gun has already
made a hot name
for itself as a stylish gastro
pub in Docklands, adjacent to West
India Dock, and right on the river.
Now the duo have created an alfresco
restaurant
and bar. Next to, but
separate from, The Gun, with
a distinct southern Portuguese
barbecue
menu, it is born from the owners
love of this style of cooking,
resulting from their annual visits
to the Algarve since childhood.
The sunny south facing space is
dramatic, with wide skies and thrilling
views across the river to the O2
Dome. A Grelha is understandably
only open ‘weather permitting’,
so if you are not sure, a call
is essential to see if your idea
of barbecue weather is shared by
the restaurant!
The night I went was almost cloudless,
but with a bit of a cool breeze,
made bearable, by the heaters and
the evening sun. So much so, that
many of the clientele - mostly
Canary Wharf banking types - were
happy in their shirt sleeves!
Food served outdoors cannot be
too effete, but needs to have a
strong character and be rustic
in flavour and texture, and this
is exactly what A Grelha serves.
Just walking towards this place
puts you in a holiday mood, as
the evocative smell of a serious
barbeque wafts along the cobbled
street ; you are already in the
Algarve before you set foot in
this stylish sun-trap!
The secret of barbeque is top
class ingredients, and A Grelha
does not disappoint . All the fish – a
speciality here -is sparkling fresh
from nearby Billingsgate fish market
and is sold by weight. You choose
your own from the ice encrusted
shiny display which includes whole
seabass, dourade, red snapper and
the essential Portuguese sardines.
On the menu too is Cataplana – a
fish and shell fish stew, served
in a copper pot, and traditional
Algarvian seafood rice. The meat
here is also of fine quality – and
includes such classics as chicken
Piri Piri and, skewers of lamb
Espetada..
All mains are served
with ample portions of new potatoes
dressed
in garlic and olive oil and a pleasantly
subtle tomato, onion, green pepper,
oregano and mixed leaf salad –which
could have been bigger to counterbalance
the generously sized main dishes
.
To start, I chose that spicy
Iberian sausage – Chorizo – brought
to the table flaming in Medronho
and my companion went totally native
with salt cod croquettes with aioli.
The former pleasantly smoky and
spicy, the latter – essentially
mini fish cakes – had a creamy
inside with a crisp outer coat,
and not at all over salty as you
might expect, with the aioli providing
a perfect counterpoint.
Baby squid, king prawns, mussels
and clams were the alternatives.
A main course dourade – a
gilt head bream – from the
whole fish selection, was cooked
simply on the grill - fresh, succulent,
mouthwatering; what more can one
say!.The traditional chicken piri
piri came served with chips rather
than the new potatoes provided
with my fish - which incidentally
were rather too al dente for my
taste. The chicken was aromatically
spiced and ‘juicy’ – and
the eight large pieces quite a
challenge to consume!
To drink we kept it ‘local’ with
a wonderfully scented ‘Stella
Blanco’ dry Muscat, Terras
Do Saldo 2005 – flowery,
rich and infused with the fragrances
of Portuguese summer meadows. A
bargain at £15.
In theory, A Grelha offers the
kind of food that can hardly go
wrong - grilled fish and meat with
potatoes and a salad - but if you
add in the great riverside location,
the familiar Mediterranean barbeque
but with its delightful touch of
the Algarve, and above all, top
quality ingredients – which
includes the serving staff! – then
you have a winning formula. It
is a ‘must- go’ location
for both lunch and dinner on warm
summer days – which can only
get warmer and more frequent with
global warming. Thus I see a great
future for A Grelha. Meanwhile,
take a pullover – this IS
England after all.
Starters range from £6
- £9..95 ( for the King Prawns)
and the meat main courses are a £12.50
- £12.95. Most of the fish,
remember, is sold by weight – averaging £3.50
per 100 grammes, but the Portuguese
specials – Cataplana , Seafood
Rice and Fish Espetada are £15,
or £28 for two.
A Grelha is open – weather
permitting – from 12 noon
-3 pm and 6pm -10pm Monday to Saturday,
and from 12 noon -4pm and 6pm – 9.30
pm on Sunday. It is also a bar
and is open for drinks all week
from 11 am to 11 pm.
A Grelha at the Gun, 27 Coldharbour,
Docklands, London E14 9NS. 0207
515 5222
Stephen Higginson, July 2007
