Gymkhana, the Mayfair restaurant that has become a reference point for modern Indian fine dining, opened its first UAE outpost on Tuesday 1 September 2026 at Gate Village 7, DIFC. It has a main dining room of 137 seats, tasting menus, and a dessert of rasmalai made with Emirati qishta. For Gulf diners who know the London original, it is the season's most anticipated arrival.
It is the fourth Gymkhana and the first in the UAE, following openings in Riyadh and Las Vegas. The Dubai debut was first announced in July 2026.
From Mayfair to DIFC
The founders are Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi of JKS Restaurants. The London original opened in Mayfair in 2013, won its first MICHELIN star within nine months and a second in 2024. It is styled on the colonial-era Indian gentlemen's clubs that give it its name.
Dubai is the first Gymkhana in the UAE, but the Gulf is not new to the group: the Riyadh opening came first. Bringing a London two-star restaurant to DIFC is a bet that the district's diners, many of whom travel often, will want a familiar name cooked in a fresh setting.
The room
The main dining room seats 137, and a private dining room takes up to 14 seated guests or 30 standing. The restaurant spans two levels plus a terrace, with warm timber and light green accents, according to Curly Tales.
It is about a three-minute walk from Financial Centre Metro Station, which makes it easy to reach by metro. Bookings are taken through SevenRooms. Opening hours are 6:30pm to 1am.
The menu
The menu is North Indian cooking with southern and western influences. Its sections are Nashta, Kebabs and Tikka, Curry & Biryani, Game & Chops and Sabzi. Nashta is the Hindi word for a light early meal, and Sabzi refers to vegetable dishes, so the structure moves from small plates to grills, to rice and curries, and to vegetables.
Prices reported by Tbreak give a sense of the range:
- Aloo chaat: AED 85
- Kid goat methi keema: AED 95
- Chicken butter masala: AED 155
- Wagyu beef cheek vindaloo: AED 255
- Tandoori masala lamb chops: AED 365
The tasting menu is priced at AED 695, and a vegetarian tasting menu at AED 595. Desserts are AED 65.
Among the desserts, the standout for a Gulf audience is a rasmalai made with Emirati qishta, which Tbreak lists at AED 65 like the other sweet dishes.
Rasmalai with Emirati qishta
The most telling dish for a Gulf audience is the rasmalai. Rasmalai is a dessert of soft cheese dumplings in sweetened, thickened milk. Qishta, the Emirati clotted cream, is a familiar ingredient in the UAE's own sweets and breakfast tables. Placing it in a classic Indian dessert is a way of connecting the London kitchen to its new home.
This is the kind of adaptation that suggests a restaurant is not simply transplanted from London. The sources read do not describe how the dessert is made or how it differs from the original, so the details of the dish are best discovered at the table.
Why it matters in the Gulf
Indian cooking has a long presence in the Gulf, from home kitchens to neighbourhood restaurants. What Gymkhana adds is a fine-dining frame for it: a tasting menu, a carefully designed room, a London pedigree with two MICHELIN stars. Its arrival is a sign of how much confidence the group has in the Gulf appetite for Indian fine dining.
For the UAE, the opening also brings another international chef-led group into DIFC, a district already known for formal dining. It joins a busy run of September arrivals in the city.
Planning a visit
- Where: Gate Village 7, DIFC, Dubai.
- When: open from 6:30pm to 1am, according to Curly Tales.
- How to book: through SevenRooms.
- Getting there: about a three-minute walk from Financial Centre Metro Station.
- What to order: the tasting menu at AED 695 or the vegetarian one at AED 595, or the à la carte dishes above. The rasmalai with Emirati qishta is the one that exists only in Dubai.
What comes next
Gymkhana Dubai opened only yesterday, so the question now is how the restaurant settles into the city. The London restaurant won its first MICHELIN star within nine months of opening, but nothing in the sources suggests a timeline for Dubai, and it would be speculation to offer one. What is certain is that the booking system is open and the rooms are ready.
For now, the Dubai menu is Gymkhana's kitchen with a local sweetness: rasmalai made with Emirati qishta.
Sources: Tbreak, BBC Good Food Middle East, Curly Tales, The Pro Chef ME