Grounded Kitchen selling ‘Korean inspired nutrient rich nourish bowls’ has just opened at Tudor Square in West Bridgford. Early reports were that the food was really tasty so I figured that I really should make an effort and check it out

Before we get down to eat I am just going to say that I knew that I am probably not the target audience in some ways for Grounded Kitchen, so called buddha bowls and nourish bowls which seem to be a fashion are not really my thing.

Having said that I love Asian food, I love authentic food offerings, love tasty food and will try everything and anything. I approached this visit with a little skepticism but a lot of hope and excitement.

I decided to check out the place by ordering a couple of their bowls for just under 10 quid each.

I opted for a spicy dish ‘Gochujang Sizzling Prawn bowl’ and a ‘Bulgogi Chicken bowl‘ just so that I could get a good idea of what the food was like

Let’s see what we thought

GOCHUJANG SIZZLING PRAWN BOWL

The menu tag for the Gochujang bowls was ‘Our secret blend using Korean red chillies made for those looking to bring heat and excitement to their bowl’

There certainly was quite a decent punch of heat within the coating on the prawns and if you ate the fresh chilli. Once you got underneath the top layer though it was a bit less exciting, so maybe would have been a good idea if I had stirred it all up a bit so that you got a bit of everything with each mouthful. I guess we live and learn

How did it eat?

GOCHUJANG SIZZLING PRAWNS

The first bites as you dig in to this ‘Nourish bowl’ are of the Spicy, plump succulent prawns and the soft almost wet rice. the scattering of the chopped up coriander herb leaf hits you adding momentary relief from the heat of the sliced red chilli.

Underneath at the bottom of the bowl you find carrot and beetroot, alongside green ‘spinach’ leaves. Tucked away to one side there are slices of avocado and what I believe to be kimchi but I have no reference point to confirm its authenticity seemed like pickled cabbage to me.

If I had this again I would take advantage of the options on the ordering system to exclude some of items. The best part was the spicy prawns and the sauce. I could have omitted some of the other stuff like the kimchi and avocado.

BULGOGI CHICKEN BOWL

The blurb on the menu says that this was ‘Inspired by the Korean classic, aromatic and mildly spicy; baked to give a tender flavoursome dish‘

It did smell nice and it was very mild spice wise, it was almost lost it was that subtle, but then again I had just been eating the spicy Gochujang prawns earlier so probably ate them in the wrong order.

How did it eat?

BULGOGI CHICKEN

A decent handful of small cubes of chicken, (perhaps a bit dry) sit on top of soft rice, a covering of scattered coriander leaf and a sprinkling of black sesame seed. As you dig further down you find the carrot, beetroot, and spring onion which all try to add some crunch to the bowl. Even further down Avocado, Spinach leaves, chopped red, yellow and green pepper lurk beneath the rice.

I didn’t find the flavours of this particular Nourish bowl to be particularly inspiring and once I had eaten the top layers of chicken and sauce I got a bit bored if I am honest. The lime was a nice touch to add a bit of zing to the dish I could have done with a bit more of that.

I was really hoping to be blown away by the flavours of the food at Grounded Kitchen and did ponder not even bothering to post my thoughts. Don’t get me wrong I kind of like the idea of the food and maybe I got them too early while they were learning the line and getting used to mass production.

The food does photograph really well and the menu does sound quite enticing. It certainly seems to be on trend and I guess time will tell how successful it will be in West Bridgford

The day I visited there were a lot of people on the pavement eager to try so it has launched well and I have read many positive comments.

I will have to come back and try again in a few weeks as they settle down, perhaps to try one of their breakfast toasted sandwiches , the Gilgeori Toast which sound like my sort of thing.

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Grounded Kitchen is located at 19 Tudor Square in West Bridgford, Nottingham HG2 6BT. All the ordering is online via an app at the moment, even when you visit in person and you have to wait outside, so as it is collection you may as well order before you get there.

You can check them out on their website, facebook page, twitter feed, and instagram profile