Gymkhana reservation tips

Yes, you can get a table at Gymkhana, but not without planning. This is one of London's most competed-for Indian restaurant bookings, and the window between a reservation opening and selling out is short. The most reliable route for most readers is booking directly through the restaurant's reservations system as early as the platform allows. Walk-ins exist but are a gamble. Here is what actually works.

Inside Gymkhana's Mayfair Dining Room

Interior of a restaurant with green banquettes, framed artwork, and a boar's head.

Gymkhana sits at 42 Albemarle Street in Mayfair, occupying a bi-level room that draws on the members' clubs of colonial India: dark wood panelling, ceiling fans, taxidermy, and a bar that takes its cocktails seriously. The format is mainly à la carte, with a tasting menu also available, which matters for how you plan the evening. You order from a menu built around the tandoor and the grill, with dishes that reference the cooking of the Indian subcontinent's sporting and social clubs, kid goat methi keema, dal makhani, Chettinad duck, and a rotating selection of game when the season allows. The room holds 80 seats across two floors, which is precisely why demand outpaces supply most nights. Dinner is the main event; lunch is quieter and, for most readers, the smarter entry point if flexibility is limited. The bar area at street level takes walk-ins and is worth knowing about, more on that below. The tasting menu is priced at £155 per person; à la carte runs from £26 for chicken tikka to £42 for venison biryani, with sides at £12.50. The set lunch menu is £25 for two courses or £30 for three courses, the clearest value entry point in the building. Opening hours are 12:00 to 14:45 and 17:30 to 22:45. The cooking is run by the Sethi family's JKS Restaurants group, the same team behind Brigadiers and Trishna, a group with a track record of running serious operations without letting standards slip as the portfolio grows. The crowd skews toward Mayfair regulars, finance and media professionals, and a contingent of international visitors who have specifically planned around the booking. On any given evening, you are likely sitting next to London professionals celebrating something, tourists who did their research, and a handful of people who eat here often enough to know the staff by name. It is not a scene restaurant in the way that some Soho openings are. The room does not perform formality. Pacing runs roughly 90 minutes to two hours for a full dinner. Order the dal makhani if it is on the menu; it is slow-cooked overnight and is the dish most regulars cite first.

Why a Gymkhana Table Is Harder to Get Than the Cover Count Suggests

A long private dining room at Benares Mayfair with a white tablecloth, place settings, and amber-toned artwork on dark walls. — Benares Mayfair Private Dining, located in Berkeley Square House, offers an elegant alternative to Gymkhana for Indian fine dining.

The core problem is simple: 80 seats, two Michelin stars (first awarded 2014, second awarded February 2024), and a Mayfair address that draws both London's regular dining population and a constant stream of international visitors. Gymkhana does not have the cover count of a large brasserie, and it does not need to, the demand is structural, not seasonal. JKS Restaurants runs a tight operation. They do not expand Gymkhana's footprint to chase revenue; the room is the room. That constraint, combined with the restaurant's reputation as the benchmark for upscale Indian cooking in London, means that any given Friday or Saturday dinner slot is competing against a large pool of people who all had the same idea. Friday night bookings are likely at least a month away and probably post 10pm, which tells you everything about the demand curve. Compared to other Michelin-starred Indian restaurants in London, Gymkhana sits at the top of the booking difficulty curve, harder to get than Benares or Quilon on a typical week, and roughly comparable to Jamavar for weekend slots. The difference is that Gymkhana's Mayfair address and its specific cultural cachet (the room, the history, the JKS name) mean it draws a broader range of diners, not just Indian food specialists.

When Gymkhana's Reservations Open, and How to Time Your Attempt

Elegant dining room with red decor, chandeliers, and a set table

Bookings open two months in advance at 6am GMT. Set a calendar reminder and be at the booking page at that exact time for any weekend dinner slot. For the private dining room, the window is longer: private room bookings open three months in advance. What is consistent across multiple accounts: weekend dinner slots fill quickly once they open, and the gap between "available" and "sold out" for a Saturday evening is measured in hours, not days. Weekday lunches and early weekday dinners move more slowly. You can also reach the restaurant directly by phone, the number is 0203 011 5900, and calling well in advance remains a viable route, particularly for groups or special requests.

The Booking Channels That Actually Work

Elegant restaurant interior with white-clothed tables and warm lighting

Direct reservation (primary route): Gymkhana takes reservations through its own website. Check the current booking surface at the restaurant's reservations page and set a reminder for when your target date enters the bookable window at 6am GMT. This is the channel that gives you the widest selection of times and table sizes. The bar: The ground-floor bar at Gymkhana operates on a walk-in basis and serves the full food menu. This is the insider's route for solo diners and pairs who want the food without the reservation stress. Arrive early, before 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, and you will usually find a seat. On weekends, the bar fills faster; aim for 6:00 p.m. or accept that you may wait. Lunch: The £25 to £30 set lunch is materially easier to secure than dinner. If your goal is the food rather than the specific dinner experience, lunch is the practical answer. The menu is largely the same, the room is the same, and the booking difficulty drops considerably. Hotel concierge: For guests staying at Mayfair's larger hotels, Claridge's, The Connaught, Brown's, a concierge call to Gymkhana can occasionally surface a table that is not visible on the public booking system. This works better for weekday slots than weekend dinner. It is not a guaranteed route, but it is worth asking. Card programs: American Express Centurion and similar high-tier card concierge services occasionally hold or access tables at Gymkhana. If you hold one of these cards, it is worth a call before you assume the restaurant is fully booked, but do not rely on this as a primary strategy.

Gymkhana Reservation Tips: What Regulars Do Differently

An overhead shot of a spread of Indian dishes, including pani puri, a bean dish, fried items with chutney, papadums, and naan. — Indian Lunch dishes at Gymkhana in Mayfair, including pani puri and various curries, are part of the weekday set lunch menu.

The people who eat at Gymkhana consistently do a few things that casual visitors do not. First, they book lunch. The food is identical, the room is the same, and the booking is easier, there is no rational argument for fighting over a Saturday dinner slot when Tuesday lunch is available. Second, they use the bar as a default. The bar counter is not a consolation prize; it is a genuinely good way to eat at Gymkhana, and regulars treat it as such. Third, they book as far in advance as the system allows, at 6am GMT on the day the two-month window opens, for a weekday slot. They do not wait to see if a better time appears. Seasonal access calendar: The hardest months to book Gymkhana are October through December, when London's corporate entertaining season peaks and the restaurant fills with work dinners and celebrations. January and February are the easiest months, post-Christmas, pre-spring, and with fewer international visitors in the city. Summer (June through August) sits in the middle: tourist volume is high, but corporate demand softens. If you have flexibility on timing, a February weekday lunch is the lowest-friction entry point of the year.

Who Should Make the Effort, and When

Go to Gymkhana if: you want the benchmark for upscale Indian cooking in London and you are willing to plan ahead. It is the right choice for a special occasion dinner with someone who knows the city's restaurant scene, for a business lunch where the room needs to do some work, or for a solo meal at the bar when you want to eat well without ceremony. Skip the effort if: you want a spontaneous evening out, or you are a group of more than four (larger tables are harder to secure and the room does not lend itself to big parties).

Gymkhana vs. London's Other Michelin-Starred Indian Restaurants: Booking Difficulty at a Glance

Restaurant	Michelin Stars	Booking Difficulty (Weekend Dinner)	Walk-in Option	Best Entry Point	How to Book
Gymkhana	2 stars	High, slots fill within hours of opening	Yes (bar)	Weekday lunch (£25 to £30 set menu) or bar	Direct / restaurant website; opens 2 months out at 6am GMT
Jamavar	1 star	High (weekends)	Limited	Weekday dinner	Direct / OpenTable
Benares	1 star	Moderate	Bar available	Weekend lunch	Direct / OpenTable
Quilon	1 star	Moderate	No	Weekday dinner	Direct
Brigadiers (JKS)	No star	Low, Moderate	Yes	Walk-in at bar	Direct / Resy

*Booking difficulty ratings are editorial assessments based on publicly reported demand and reservation availability patterns; individual experiences will vary. Competitor booking mechanics are not independently verified, confirm directly with each venue.*

Where to Go If Gymkhana Is Fully Booked

An upscale restaurant interior with dark wood paneling, leather and cane chairs, and a black-and-white marble floor. — Jamavar Mount Street, a Mayfair dining room with a colonial-club atmosphere, is an alternative to Gymkhana.

Jamavar (Mount Street, Mayfair): One Michelin star, similar price point, and a room that competes directly with Gymkhana for the upscale Indian dinner occasion. The cooking leans toward northern Indian and the room is more formal. Slightly easier to book on weekdays. The right alternative if you want the same Mayfair register. Benares (Berkeley Square): A long-running Michelin-starred restaurant a short walk from Gymkhana. The cooking is more fusion-inflected than Gymkhana's, which will suit some readers and not others. Booking is considerably easier, particularly for weekend lunch. Quilon (Westminster): A Michelin-starred restaurant focused on the coastal cooking of southwest India, a different regional tradition from Gymkhana's north Indian and game-focused menu. Worth the trip if you want to eat something genuinely different rather than a like-for-like substitute. Brigadiers (Bloomberg Arcade, City): Also from JKS Restaurants, so the same group as Gymkhana. The format is Indian barbecue and beer, the room is louder, and the booking is far easier. Not a direct substitute for a Gymkhana dinner, but if what you want is JKS cooking without the reservation stress, this is the practical answer.

Worth the Chase?

Gymkhana is worth the effort, with one condition: you need to approach it strategically rather than hopefully. The restaurant is not impossible to book, it is just unforgiving of last-minute planning. Reservations open two months out at 6am GMT, and being at the booking page at that exact moment for a weekend dinner slot is the difference between a confirmed table and a waitlist. The bar route removes the reservation problem entirely for pairs and solo diners, and the £25 to £30 weekday lunch is genuinely underused by people who could easily secure it. The JKS group runs the operation with consistency, and the 80-seat room delivers on the promise of the booking. For upscale Indian cooking in London, this is the reference point, not because nothing else is good, but because Gymkhana has maintained its standard long enough that the reputation is earned rather than inherited. The table is gettable, the food justifies the chase, and the bar means you are never truly locked out. For anyone who takes London's restaurant scene seriously, Gymkhana is worth booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance do Gymkhana reservations open?

Gymkhana bookings open two months in advance at 6am GMT for standard tables. For the private dining room, the window extends to three months in advance. Set a calendar reminder and be at the booking page at exactly 6am GMT on the day your target date enters the window, weekend dinner slots fill within hours.

Can you walk into Gymkhana without a reservation?

Yes, but only at the bar. The ground-floor bar at Gymkhana operates on a walk-in basis and serves the full food menu. For pairs and solo diners, arriving before 6:30 p.m. on weekdays gives you a reasonable chance of a seat. On weekends, aim for 6:00 p.m. The main dining room does not take walk-ins in any reliable way.

Does Gymkhana London offer a tasting menu, and what does it cost?

Gymkhana does offer a tasting menu, priced at £155 per person. The restaurant also operates à la carte, chicken tikka at £26, venison biryani at £42, sides at £12.50, and a set lunch menu at £25 for two courses or £30 for three courses. If a structured tasting-menu format is your primary interest, the £155 tasting menu is the option to book here.

Is Gymkhana easier to book for lunch than for dinner?

Yes, materially so. Lunch reservations are significantly easier to secure than weekend dinner slots, and the set lunch menu at £25 to £30 covers much of the same kitchen output. If your goal is the food rather than the specific dinner occasion, lunch is the practical and lower-stress route.

Which Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in London is easier to book than Gymkhana?

Benares on Berkeley Square and Quilon in Westminster are both Michelin-starred and generally easier to book, particularly for weekend slots. Jamavar in Mayfair is a closer competitor in terms of difficulty and price point. Brigadiers, from the same JKS group as Gymkhana, has no Michelin star but is far easier to book and serves a different style of Indian cooking, Indian barbecue rather than the tandoor-and-game format Gymkhana is known for.

Can You Actually Get a Reservation at Gymkhana?

Inside Gymkhana's Mayfair Dining Room

Why a Gymkhana Table Is Harder to Get Than the Cover Count Suggests

When Gymkhana's Reservations Open, and How to Time Your Attempt

The Booking Channels That Actually Work

Gymkhana Reservation Tips: What Regulars Do Differently

Who Should Make the Effort, and When

Gymkhana vs. London's Other Michelin-Starred Indian Restaurants: Booking Difficulty at a Glance

Where to Go If Gymkhana Is Fully Booked

Worth the Chase?

Frequently Asked Questions

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