Gymkhana, celebrated Indian restaurant from London, opening on Las Vegas Strip

If you stop to think about it (or research it), you’ll soon realize (or discover) what many will find surprising: The Las Vegas Strip does not offer an Indian fine dining restaurant.

Wait, what? Too true.

For one of the world’s great food and drink thoroughfares — where everything from beef raised in Japanese snows to live Alaskan geoduck to caviar pyrotechnics can be had for the asking — this lack of a great Indian restaurant is noteworthy, an absence made all the more present because the cooking of India ranks among the world’s oldest and finest culinary traditions.

But the Strip knows when to course correct, as it has done over more than eight decades, and so it is that high-style Indian dining is coming to the boulevard, as first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. And what a course correction it is!

Gymkhana of London, widely acknowledged as one of the best Indian restaurants in the world, with two Michelin stars to confirm that judgment, is slated to open this fall in the former Julian Serrano Tapas, which closed at Aria in February following the retirement of legendary chef Julian Serrano.

Having a legend like Serrano be succeeded by a legend-in-the-making like Gymkhana feels especially appropriate, said Patric Yumul, senior vice president of food and beverage development strategy for MGM Resorts International.

“When you are replacing such a beloved chef, you’ve got to make sure it’s not just an amazing restaurant with amazing hospitality, but also that it’s something moving the conversation forward on Las Vegas dining,” he said. “And I think Gymkhana certainly does that.”

A decade of discussions

Gymkhana takes its name from the term for elite private social clubs in India where members gather, eat, drink and play sports. The origins of the gymkhana date to India under the British Raj.

About a decade ago, Yumul said, MGM Resorts began efforts to bring Gymkhana to Vegas through discussions that Ari Kastrati, the MGM chief content, hospitality and development officer, had with JKS Restaurants, the parent company of Gymkhana founded by the Sethi family. Serious negotiations only started in early 2024, with an agreement reached by the end of last year.

“It took a little time,” Yumul continued. “We wanted the JKS family to feel comfortable. This is the crown jewel within their empire. It was important to establish a relationship so they trusted us that their crown jewel is in good hands and that we would be good caretakers.”

In the end, “Gymkhana was what we wanted, and we were dead set on getting it.”

Global draw

Part of that honed enthusiasm, Yumul said, was the culinary hole the restaurant would fill for diners and for the Strip as a whole.

“Diners today are much more familiar with Indian ingredients and techniques — not just wanting but demanding nuanced and elevated versions of that. We’ve got such a growing segment of tourists coming globally and a good population of Indian-American travelers.

“Gymkhana certainly has a global following and crowd with their six-month-long waiting list. Now, you won’t need to take a plane over to London to experience Gymkhana.”

In the club

In London, Gymkhana spans two floors, variously mixing jewel tones, polished woods, nods to northern Indian architecture, opulent textures and patterns, and even hunting trophies from the Maharajah of Jodhpur.

In Vegas, Gymkhana will occupy a single floor and seat about 170 across three spaces: a front bar and lounge after the bar in London, a main dining room, and a third dining area that draws inspiration from the private dining vaults in the original Gymkhana.

“There’s not a very great departure from London,” Yumul said of the look and feel in Vegas. “We’ve really tried to respect a lot of the design language and intention. The JKS family has been very involved in the design, which echoes many of the principles and sensibilities from London.”

On the menu

JKS Restaurants, in a statement for the RJ, described the Gymkhana menu as classic Indian. “So, by classically Indian, we mean that flavours are bold, rooted in tradition, richly layered in spices and comforting. Regionally, Gymkhana’s dishes are pan-Indian, predominantly Northern Indian with hints of the South and West — classic and contemporary in style”

Yumul said the London and Vegas menus would be similar, with many dishes making the trip from Mayfair to the Strip. Look for chaats, kebabs, tikkas and other curries, naan filled with spiced wagyu and cucumber cumin yogurt, tandoori masala lamb chops, Kashmiri-style lamb shank braised with fennel and ginger, and venison biryani with pomegranate and mint raita.

Only-in-Vegas dishes are still being developed. Cocktails will call on Indian ingredients and references.

In the U.S., Indian restaurants often present a standard parade of hits, in deference to American tastes and expectations. The decor sometimes proceeds along these lines, too. Gymkhana will be different.

“It will be dramatic, dynamic,” Yumul said. “It won’t be the night out you might have expected you were getting with an Indian restaurant.”

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.