Gymkhana

“An incredible dining experience”; “unmissable”; “the finest Indian food I’ve ever eaten” …  readers regularly reach for the superlatives when talking about Gymkhana, and we’re also huge fans of this “hip” contemporary restaurant from the multi-talented Sethi family (Trishna, Bao, Lyle’s et al).

As a Michelin-starred Mayfair thriller, the venue channels colonial clubbiness over two floors on Albemarle Street, and readers love the fact that you can eat food of the highest quality in the atmospheric basement bar as well as the beautifully designed brasserie-style dining room.   

The kitchen happily accommodates all palates and preferences, whether your taste is for a gently spiced wild mushroom, asparagus, morel and truffle pilau or a fearsomely fiery pork cheek vindaloo.

Some of the best things are the nashta appetisers, from chettinad duck dosas to beetroot chop pao buns with sesame and peanut chutney, but you shouldn’t ignore Gymkhana’s celebrated game dishes – perhaps partridge pepper fry with Malabar paratha or wild muntjac biryani accompanied by a pomegranate and mint raita.

If you’re content to have a bar snack, the choice runs from venison keema naans to Amritsari shrimp and queenie scallops with dill raita, while creative desserts (‘meetha’) are often whizzed-up contemporary twists on the Indian classics – think rasmalai with pineapple chutney or black carrot halwa with white chocolate and rose-petal ice cream. 

Happy customers are treated to “great customer service”, while thoughtfully chosen wines and specially brewed Gymkhana lager get top marks from imbibers. There’s also praise for the east-west cocktails (anyone for a Quinine Sour infused with curry leaves?), while those in the know also single out the “inspired” saké pairings with some dishes. “Outstanding flavours, well worth the money!” declares one fan – and we concur.

Mayfair restaurant Gymkhana originally opened its doors in 2013 and is often considered the jewel in the crown of JKS Restaurants’ impressive portfolio (which counts Bao, Trishna, and Brigadiers among its collection).

Just one year after opening, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, which it retains to this day. In the summer of 2019, Gymkhana was struck by disaster when a fire in the restaurant forced the Mayfair hotspot to close down – luckily, no one was injured in the blaze. Gymkhana underwent a significant refurbishment and reopened in February 2019.

Restaurant guests can expect to find a new-look dining room which is the creation of designer Samuel Hosker (the first in-house interior project from the JKS Restaurants team). Gymkhana’s dining room is now kitted out in tones of jade green and polished dark timber, matched with metallic accents and colourful printed fabrics. It’s not all change though, as Gymkhana’s intimate booth seating which offers privacy (and is part of the reason the restaurant is such a celeb-magnet) is still intact, while original features such as hunting trophies from the Maharaja of Jodhpur and cut-glass wall lamps from Jaipur are still on show.

Gymkhana’s basement bar also boasts a new look, sporting a colour palette of peach and chilli red, while the bar itself offers a jewel-box shaped counter area with rattan shelving and leather-clad scalloped fascia.

When it comes to the menu, you can still expect to find all of the usual Gymkhana staples, although there are a few new additions to tempt diners. Dishes from the reinvigorated menu include the likes of Keralan toddy shaapu wild tiger prawns, vegetable cutlet served with masala ketchup and game bird Baida roti served with girolle achaar. The drinks list has had a refresh too, with cocktails such as the Peach Blow Fizz: a blend of green mango and citrus flavours, paired with gin, frozen yoghurt, egg white and soda.