Gymkhana

Whether you’re a Beckham or a bemused tourist, Gymkhana is a certified London landmark. From a distance, it’s a Mayfair restaurant dressed up in jade green glad rags, that’s perfect for celebrities and Baccarat Rouge-scented celebrations. But peer a little closer, past the marble and hunting trophies, and you’ll find some of the very best Indian food in a city that’s famous for it. The setting is special, but it’s the food that has us crawling back into Gymkhana’s arms like it’s our favourite rich aunt who makes the most comforting kid goat methi keema known to pao-loving kind. 

An exceptional, write-a-lamb-chop-a-love-letter meal starts in the upstairs, high society meets cricket club-inspired dining room. It’s a dark timber-clad space that makes us feel like we should be smoking a cigar and is filled with a ratio of 50:50 Londoners to tourists who have all been counting down the days to their booking like it’s a newborn’s due date. This is where you want to be for indulgent day-off lunchtime Gymkhana—because natural light will only add to the tear-inducing theatrics of the obscenely fragrant wild muntjac biryani arriving on its own tableside throne.

video credit: Emily Hai

video credit: Emily Hai

video credit: Emily Hai

Come evening, you should descend the mirrored staircase to the downstairs dining room that’s like being swallowed whole by the world’s most sensual Kashmiri red chilli. But upstairs, downstairs, or stupefied by the walnut chutney somewhere in between, the tandoori lamb chops will still sizzle in all of their garam masala splendour. Gymkhana’s blue plaque reading ‘London’s best lamb chops, 2013-present’ might still be pending, but we’ll continue to tell beloved out-of-towners and lifers looking for an anniversary spot—this restaurant landmark is one of the best places to eat in London.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jamie Lau

Kid Goat Methi Keema, Salli, Pao

Your mopping utensil for this warming, chilli-whispering methi keema is two shining brioche-style pao. Whether you make a formidable slider or tear, dip, and marvel is up to you.

photo credit: Jamie Lau

Wild Muntjac Biryani

Watching the seeded pastry lid of this obscenely fragrant biryani being ceremoniously removed tableside is, frankly, hot. The tender chunks of muntjac aren’t timid—there are proper bites of gently spiced meat amidst the rice and golden caramelised onions. It’s a generous, leftovers-pending serving.

video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley

Goan Prawn Curry

This is a deliriously creamy, Hermès orange-hued curry and it leaves your mouth with the tingles like a tiny two-stepping Kashmiri chilli is performing a jive on the tip of your tongue. Also, chonky prawn alert—we repeat, chonky prawn alert.

photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley

Tandoori Masala Lamb Chops, Walnut Chutney

These lamb chops are the flagship item at Gymkhana. It’s the Ferrari GTO, the Dyson Airwrap, the McVitie’s digestive. Order them, or live with the fact that you missed out on lamb chops that are thicker than your average thriller novel, charred, crisp, with a fragrant masala coating that’s about as shy as Liberace.

video credit: Emily Hai

Pomegranate & Mint Raita

Tragically for fans of yoghurt everywhere, a PhD in raita does not exist but if it did, it would go to Gymkhana and we would stand at the graduation cheering something along the lines of “so thick, and pomegranate too—simply genius, well done!”. It comes alongside several of the standout dishes but if you’ve gone rogue and ordered something that doesn’t come with this raita, be sure to get it.