Gymkhana Dubai Is Open. Here’s What Made the Flight

Dubai loves importing a famous restaurant. Once the launch party ends and everyone stops posting the same chandelier, there is one useful question left.

Is it actually worth booking?

Gymkhana Dubai opened on 1 September in Gate Village, Building 7. It is the restaurant’s first UAE address, following international openings in Riyadh and Las Vegas.

The original opened in Mayfair in 2013 and holds two Michelin stars. Quick but important detail: those stars belong to the London restaurant. Michelin distinctions do not travel with the furniture, and Gymkhana Dubai has not been awarded its own.

Good. Admin handled. Let’s discuss the lamb chops.

First, the Room

Gymkhana comes from JKS Restaurants, the group founded by siblings Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi. Its name and atmosphere draw on India’s historic private social and sporting clubs.

Thankfully, nobody asks to see your membership card.

The Dubai restaurant stretches across two levels, seating up to 137 diners, plus an outdoor terrace. Timber panelling, warm lanterns, patterned ceilings, stained glass and ornate chandeliers create the club-like mood without directly copying Mayfair.

Downstairs, the peacock bar provides the obvious photograph. The mirrored ceiling ensures your outfit also gets a fair hearing.

It is an elaborate room, but the point is still dinner.

The London Favourites Are Here

Gymkhana regulars can relax. The big hitters made the flight.

There is aloo chaat, kid goat methi keema, achari paneer tikka, chicken butter masala and the famous tandoori masala lamb chops with walnut chutney.

The menu is arranged for sharing rather than a rigid starter-main-dessert routine. It moves through nashta, kebabs and tikkas, game and chops, curries, biryanis and vegetable dishes.

Order across the sections. Pass everything around.

Trust no one near the final lamb chop.

Dubai Gets Its Own Dishes

This is where the opening becomes more interesting.

The Dubai-exclusive selection includes jackfruit ghee roast, imli black cod with peanut chutney, Wagyu beef sukka with bone marrow and makhmali king crab with malai pyaaz.

There are also pahadi chicken chops, tomato bharta and rasmalai served with Emirati qishta.

Dubai has not been handed London’s menu with a new postcode.

The Wagyu sukka is priced at AED 195, while the king crab costs AED 295. These are useful indicators of the territory. This is destination dining, not a spontaneous inexpensive curry.

Who Is Cooking?

Executive Chef Rahul Rana leads the Dubai kitchen under Global Culinary Director Chet Sharma and JKS co-founder Karam Sethi.

Rana previously led Avatara, Dubai’s Michelin-starred vegetarian Indian restaurant. He understands the city and, more importantly, how seriously it takes Indian food.

That local experience matters. A famous London name will fill the room during opening month. After that, the food has to do the work.

Who Should Book It?

Gymkhana makes sense for:

• Big birthdays where nobody is pretending the evening will be inexpensive
• Client dinners in DIFC
• Date nights with intent
• Groups willing to order widely and share properly
• London regulars curious about the Dubai interpretation

It is not the obvious choice for a quick curry or casual dinner that somebody suggested without checking prices.

The à la carte menu works if you want more control. The standard tasting menu is AED 695, while the vegetarian version is AED 595. Either way, this is a polished, full-evening restaurant.

Dinner currently runs daily from 6.30pm to 1am. Lunch was announced for October, so check the current booking page before organising a midday meeting around it.

The yapped Verdict

Gymkhana Dubai does not need to prove that London is famous. We know. We have seen the stars.

The real question is whether Dubai gets a restaurant of its own or a polished copy.

The answer looks promising. The lamb chops, keema and butter chicken provide the familiarity. The black cod, king crab, Wagyu sukka and Emirati-accented rasmalai give this kitchen something new to say.

Come for the London legends. Order the Dubai dishes to understand why this is more than a Mayfair import.