What the Gina Team Actually Eats, Drinks and Talks About

A little while ago, Anna and I got chatting about what she did before she came to work with us at Gina, and it turns out that writing newsletters was actually part of her old job. Very convenient, considering I have been thinking a lot about all of the possibilities and ideas we can bring to life on Substack.

Anna joined our front-of-house team from the US and is someone who really loves hospitality for what it is. She loves going out to eat, finding new and interesting places around London and talking about food and drink. Her brother also happens to run one of the most acclaimed wine bars in the US, so it clearly runs in the family. Most mornings, she walks around the restaurant breaking up an orange and handing each of us a segment, which probably tells you quite a lot about her.

So, alongside my longer pieces - the rest of the pop-up series, longer form recipes, insights into running a business and a family, maternity and hospitality, and everything else I currently have half-written, Anna is going to be bringing you a free weekly newsletter from inside Gina.

She’ll be asking the team where they actually eat and drink in London, sharing the staff-food recipes we repeatedly beg one another to make, and giving you a closer look at what it is like to work in hospitality in London in 2026.

It feels like a really natural extension of what we already do here, and I’m excited to see what Anna makes of it. Over to her.

Last week, Rav shared her recipe for the perfect Greek salad for hot weather, so this week I’m taking care of the refreshments.

I have loved watermelon juice for as long as I can remember, although as a child “watermelon juice” mostly meant whatever ended up running down my arms and onto my clothes after eating a slice outside. At university, I distinctly remember asking my friends why nobody sold it as an actual drink. This felt, to me, like a major gap in the market.

Thankfully, the bar team at Gina have now resolved an issue I have apparently been carrying with me for years.

They have come up with not one, but two watermelon drinks for this seemingly endless summer.

First up is the Watermelon Fizz: homemade watermelon cordial, cucumber and soda water. It is cold, refreshing and alcohol-free, making it ideal for anyone avoiding booze, pregnant restaurant owners in their third trimester, for instance.

• 50ml of watermelon cordial into a highball glass with ice

• Top up with soda water and mix well

• Garnish with fresh cucumber ribbon

For the cordial:

1. Get a fresh watermelon (I recommend a large one from your local international Green Grocer) and slice it without seeds

2. Juice the watermelon in a blender

3. Strain it through a cloth

4. Add equal parts of sugar to the juice for a 1:1 ratio

5. Add 20g citric acid to 1000ml juice (you can buy citric acid pretty easily in the shops)

6. Add 10g malic acid (not 100% essential but a worthwhile ingredient to have if you like making drinks, buy it online)

7. Mix well until sugar and acid become diluted

Next up we’re serving an incredible Watermelon Paloma. This is turning out to be one of those cocktails customers order once and then end up getting about three more (not that I blame them).

• 90ml of Watermelon Paloma batch mix served in highball glass with ice

• Top up with soda and mix well

• Garnish with lime

Watermelon Paloma batch mix:

1. 600ml of watermelon cordial

2. 600ml of your favourite tequila

3. 300ml of lime acids

Lime acids:

1. 1000ml still water

2. 10g of citric acid

3. 5g of malic acid

4. Pinch of salt and sugar

5. Mix well until acids are diluted

That’s all from me for this week. I’ll be back next time with more from inside Gina- where we’re eating, what we’re drinking, and whatever the team has decided everyone else needs to know about.

Until then, make the watermelon drinks, keep them very cold, and please pace yourselves with the Paloma.

Anna