Aria Resort and Casino scored big with Gymkhana. On December 3, London’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant opened its first U.S. location, a new addition to the city’s burgeoning fine dining Indian restaurant scene on the Las Vegas Strip. Gymkhana Vegas feels opulent: the expansive space seats 175 in richly colored rooms and serves as an ideal backdrop for chef Srikant Kumar’s traditional dishes, which feature a first for the chain — beef additions to the menu, including the beef short rib pepper fry in coconut and South Indian spices.
“We’ve been having discussions with the MGM team for the last decade,” says JKS Restaurants’ co-founder, and food and creative director, Karam Sethi, who operates Gymkhana and other restaurants with his siblings Jyotin Sethi and Sunaina Sethi, with 30 restaurants across the U.K., Middle East, and U.S. “They had a vision after Ari Kastrati [MGM’s chief content, hospitality, and development officer] first visited London in 2015. He believed that this could work in one of the MGM casinos.”
Although the menu focuses on northern Indian flavors, it also draws from the South and West regions, its contents divided by appetizers, kebabs and tikkas, curries and biryanis, and stewy sabzi: Starters include tamarind- and mint-chutney fried chicken, wagyu keema naan, and duck egg and lobster spiced rice. Four different types of pappadum are served with three different chutneys. Try Gymkhana’s yogurt-marinated lasooni wild tiger prawns, or butter chicken slow-cooked for hours with milk solids, fenugreek, and charred chicken in masala for a deeper flavor. Slow-braised pork cheek vindaloo gets filled with onions, chili, cloves, and palm vinegar, while pomegranate and mint raita dress venison biryani. The sabzi section leans a bit more traditional with vegetable dishes like chickpea masala. A $165 tasting menu is available.
In addition to cocktail punch service served tableside, Gymkhana took inspiration from an Indian chutney for a spicy mezcal margarita. Sip on the Pina Col-Lassi with Mount Gay Eclipse rum, Foursquare Probitas rum, and a clarified coconut and pineapple puree. The bar has some reserve cocktails that range from $60 to the $400 Boss Hogg Old Fashioned with WhistlePig The Boss Hog XI rye, gomme simple syrup, bitters, and orange oil. Try non-alcoholic drinks such as classic mango lassi or salted lemon nimbu pani lemonade.
U.K.-based interior design studio, North End, reworked the former Julian Serrano Tapas space. Upon entry, the bold forest green double doors open to a mirror-flanked foyer and dramatically warm interior with chili-hued red ceilings, a bar and lounge, detailed floral mirrors, and paisley carpet with hints of teal. The group created a dining area called the Vault, which can be made into a private dining area, plus the intimate, five-seat 42 Bar for cocktails.
The Vault is a section of the dining space and not solely a private dining area. The Vault can be used as a private dining area, but is part of the overall dining space/experience and not solely for private dining.
The restaurant group has had a busy 2025 with the opening of Berenjak in Los Angeles; it will also debut the Ambassadors Clubhouse in New York this January. For Karam, the focus remains on taking a simple approach to introducing Gymkhana to the U.S. “It’s a great honor to be able to introduce people to the cuisine and to really showcase the true Indian flavors we grew up eating and experiencing in India.”
Gymkhana Las Vegas is open Sunday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 3730 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89158. Reservations can be made via SevenRooms or the ARIA Concierge at (702) 590-9520. Due to high demand, future reservation dates will open on December 15.