★ Michelin · Modern Punjabi · Mayfair
By Monty Khas, Anonymous Critic. Pays every bill.
Most restaurants that win a Michelin star turn the volume down. Ambassadors Clubhouse, which picked up its first star in February 2026, has shown no sign of doing anything of the sort, and that's exactly why we love it.
This is the JKS group (Gymkhana, Trishna, BiBi) doing Punjab, and doing it loud. The menu draws on both sides of the old border, Indian and Pakistani, and the restaurant's own description of itself, a place of abundance, high spirits and generosity, turns out to be a pretty accurate summary.
The room
It took over the old Momo site on Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, in 2024 and turned it into a jewel box of maximalism. Upstairs there are bar stools and brown leather booths, with a covered, heated veranda out front that's the most coveted spot in the house. Downstairs leans hard into tiger print and mirrored surfaces around a circular bar under a domed ceiling, with bhangra and desi hip hop at a volume that makes conversation a contact sport. Nobody seems to mind. On a Friday it feels less like a dinner reservation and more like the best wedding reception you've been invited to all year. There are also three private dining rooms for when your group needs a door that closes.
What to eat
Everything is built for sharing, and portions are generous, so bring numbers and order widely. Start with the beetroot raj kachori chaat, a crisp, hollow puri piled with color and crunch, and the shami bun kebab, a goat patty in a soft bun that's Lahore street food dressed for Mayfair.
The Original BBQ butter chicken chops are a clever flip on the most famous dish in the diaspora: salty, creamy, smoky and impossible to stop eating. The Shahi Patiala lamb nalli barrah, lamb shank grilled until it pulls from the bone, is the order that makes a table go silent. The Matka Beliram lamb curry, slow-cooked and served in a clay pot, is deep and savory with the kind of patient cooking you can't fake. Finish the mains with the masaledar lamb biryani, and get an Alphonso mango lassi on the side; it's rich enough to double as dessert and cool enough to reset your palate between bites.
Drinks and dessert
The bar program is as much fun as the room. There's a whole section of Punjabi margaritas (the masala and tandoori versions are the standouts), a tamatar martini built on tomato, a sandalwood old fashioned, and the Patiala Peg, a generous whisky serve finished tableside with some ceremony. Masala chai is on hand for the designated drivers.
Desserts are worth the extra few minutes. The banana, peanut and dark chocolate kheer is the most inventive, the mango angoori rasmalai the prettiest, and the gulab jamun with pistachio rabri the most comforting. An Amritsari fig kulfi rounds out a list where almost everything is vegetarian.
Before you go
The smart move for value is the lunch menu, served daily from noon, or the early pre-theater slot from Monday to Thursday, which deliver the same cooking at a noticeably gentler price than dinner à la carte. Book online; tables are still easier to land than at Gymkhana, though a star tends to change that quickly. Early evening is calmer and better for tasting the food; late weekend sittings are when the room truly comes alive.
If Gymkhana is the black-tie dinner, Ambassadors Clubhouse is the after-party, and since February, the after-party has a star of its own.
The Quick Fix
What to order: Beetroot raj kachori chaat; goat shami bun kebab; BBQ butter chicken chops; Shahi Patiala lamb nalli barrah; Matka Beliram lamb curry; masaledar lamb biryani; Alphonso mango lassi; banana, peanut and dark chocolate kheer
Pricing: Upscale at dinner; the lunch and pre-theater set menu is the best-value way in.
Best for: Group celebrations, birthdays, high-energy date nights, and anyone who wants Michelin-level cooking with a soundtrack
How it compares: Louder and more fun than Gymkhana, and easier to book (for now); more Punjab-focused than BiBi; the most party-ready Michelin-starred Indian room in London
See where Ambassadors Clubhouse ranks: The Best Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Restaurants in London: Our Top 10 for 2026
The food was always this good. We're just paying attention.