Gura Gura London: Disarray With Potential

London restaurants come and go, and there are only a few which manage to take up a permanent unshakable residency. Gura Gura in Covent Garden has potential to establish itself, but the newly-launched pan-Asian venue must iron out some wrinkles first.

You can’t beat a well-cooked fried rice – fond memories of which take me back to sunny beaches in Thailand where I convinced myself that making it my daily morning meal was perfectly acceptable. ”When in Rome…”….and I sure did.

So I was excited to be invited to the recently opened Gura Gura, found hidden behind Dishoom in The Yards, Covent Garden.

Gura Gura is the first UK restaurant of Gobind Chona, who grew up in the hospitality industry and started on his career path from an early age. Following in his family’s culinary food-steps, he studied hospitality in Switzerland, New Delhi and Tokyo, before opening his first restaurant in New Delhi in 2017, and then Gura Gura in London in December 2022.

I was seated at a table for two which was laid out for one initially. The floor was slippery and the chairs weren’t designed to accommodate this – so every time I moved, the chair moved. Once I settled and the table was adjusted to stop it from wobbling, my companion arrived and we studied the menu.

Each table was kitted out with a lamp which I think we were meant to press when we were ready to order. But who can be absolutely certain, that wasn’t explained.

We ordered a selection of dishes to share and sample. The intention was to start off with ‘Dragon Roll Uramaki’, which we’d expected to arrive at the start, before the hot dishes. Unfortunately it didn’t make an appearance and only when we were leaving, we were told our sushi was on its way.

We did share prawn tempura and crispy vegetable spring rolls – both from the ‘Small Plates’ section. From the Dim Sum menu we had the scallop and prawn Sui Mai and prawn gyoza; and from the ‘Larger Plates’ selection, we had green curry with vegetable and tofu accompanied by egg fried rice’ and flat noodles with mixed seafood and oriental sauce.

All the food that we sampled was delicious and freshly prepared and cooked; the green curry came with a decent spicy kick to it. Portions were plentiful, and even the small dishes designed for sharing were ample.

I really can’t fault the dishes, they were some of the best pan-Asian foods I’ve had outside of Thailand; and the restaurant seemed popular, with new customers flocking in all evening – a kudos to the kitchen.

Gura Gura has potential, once it polishes its service and irons out a few small wrinkles; and establishes its exact intentions. The whole experience felt a little disorganised, but I hope that, in a sea of competition, Gura Gura will stay afloat… because the food is great.

Address: Gura Gura, The Yards, Covent Garden, 19 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB

Nearest Tube: Leicester Square or Covent Garden

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday – 12pm – 11pm