Grounded Kitchen — Restaurant in Gateshead

At the time I was quite new to Korean food but I've started to go down the healthier eating route.

I heard about Grounded Kitchen and thought I would give it a shot. Im very pleased I did, the manager who I believe may or may not have been called Andy (forgive me if I'm wrong) was very helpful in guiding me through the menu and the waiter who served me called kirb was equally as informative and welcoming. Their hospitality is why I'm coming back, they took the time to listen to what I wanted and delivered with flying colours. You can tell they are really passionate on what they prepare.

They food itself was amazing!

Being the fatzo that I am I had to go and order extra beef because MEAT which was juicy and succulent. The dish was called the 'firebowl' which was a well balanced combination of fresh and vibrant flavours that made for a song and dance in your mouth.

I also had the pancakes with fruit which was a nice send of to the meal.

Mad...

Quite pricy for what it is. Paid 40+ pounds for a bowl of rice, very small portion of ssambapp, few baos and a small portion of chicken wing. Price wouldn’t have been the issue, if the food served were true to its value. I’d say the food are only very ever so slightly Korean ‘inspired’. For those who are familiar with south East Asian flavours, you’d probably find this menu very very toned down to suit western pallets, and merely resembling the real thing. Service was rather slow too - was surprised how long it took as when the variation of food arrived, they all seemed ‘ready made’ ingredients just mixed and assembled in a different way e.g., salmon bao’s ingredients exactly the same as the salmon rice bowl, etc. - so, sad to say i wont be back. Nearly missed a train journey cause it took them so long to prepare the food! There was a dude or the owner around but dont see him mucking in to help the staff much sadly despite a few customers...

Now. I must firstly admit, I’m a pasty white boy from the North of England so I may overestimate the quality of the food offered at the Grounded Kitchen - but damn - that udon noodle bowl was utterly fantastic!

Seriously, after a mystifying experience with their table based orders system (needing an account first), a pricey menu, and a lacklustre offering of beverages I was ready to be disappointed. The udon bowl had different ideas.

Maybe it’s the standard of offering’s in the north east, maybe it’s my palate attuned to beige chinese buffet food, but whatever the reason, the Grounded Kitchen has set a new bar for flavour and will remain a firm favourite over the pale and stale offerings available county wide.

Slap me with some table service and mood lighting and I’ll...