Ambassadors Clubhouse Brings Punjabi Grandeur to New York's NoMad District

NEW YORK, May 31, 2026 — Ambassadors Clubhouse, the Punjabi restaurant from London-based hospitality group JKS Restaurants, has opened its first United States location at 1245 Broadway in Manhattan's NoMad neighborhood, bringing the operatic scale and North Indian culinary heritage of its Mayfair original to a two-floor space that has drawn immediate attention from New York's dining press and reservation-seeking public alike.

The New Yorker, The Infatuation, Time Out New York and Air Mail have all published coverage of the restaurant since it opened in February 2026, with critics noting that Ambassadors Clubhouse occupies a specific and underserved lane in the New York dining landscape large-format, high-production Punjabi cooking aimed squarely at a city that has never lacked ambitious Indian restaurants but rarely seen one built at this scale.

Ambassadors Clubhouse NYC: The Restaurant Behind the Opening

JKS Restaurants was founded by siblings Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi, the group behind Gymkhana, the two-Michelin-starred London institution that counts David Beckham among its regulars. The group operates more than 20 venues. After opening Gymkhana in Las Vegas in late 2025, JKS turned its attention to Manhattan for the first Ambassadors Clubhouse location outside the United Kingdom.

The London original earned a Michelin star in the same week the New York location opened, a timing that reinforced the brand's standing and added momentum to what was already a high-profile debut. The New York restaurant operates at 1245 Broadway, between West 31st and West 32nd Streets, in the NoMad corridor just north of Madison Square Park.

Chef Karan Mittal Leads the Kitchen

At the helm of the New York kitchen is chef Karan Mittal, whose previous experience spans Indian Accent and Ananda. His menu draws from the royal kitchens, roadside stalls and family homes of North India's Punjab region, with bold flavors handled through careful technique rather than restraint.

The menu runs to more than 50 items, arranged across a "Bitings" section of small plates, larger sharing dishes, breads baked in-house, biryanis and desserts. London favorites including chilli cheese Pakode and the Matka Beliram lamb curry made the Atlantic crossing intact. New York receives several exclusives, most notably the Warqi lamb seekh kebab pounded lamb shoulder wrapped tightly in flaky naan and finished with tamarind and red chili chutney which The Infatuation described as one of the best items on the menu.

Other standout dishes include the Beetroot Raj Kachori Chaat, in which beet-colored yogurt mingles with sev and tamarind chutney in a cool, crisp kachori shell; Patiala Chicken Pakode, buttermilk-marinated fried chicken thigh served with ranch; the Original BBQ Butter Chicken Chops, charcoal tandoor-cooked thighs glazed in a sweet sauce; and the Masaledar Lamb Biryani, a cardamom-heavy dum preparation unveiled tableside. The Ma Ki Dal, black lentils cooked to a deeply buttery finish anchors the menu's quieter, more classic end.

For dessert, the Cassatta Baked Alaska arrives tableside with rum-soaked meringue and tutti frutti ice cream. Kheer and a soft-serve with jalebi are among the other dessert options. The house old fashioned, poured tableside from an oversized Johnnie Walker bottle and flavored with sugar and saffron, functions as the signature drink of the room.

Two-Floor Space Styled After a Punjabi Party Mansion

The restaurant occupies two floors. The street-level parlor holds the bar itself a competitive reservation alongside perimeter dining tables, framed by ornate chandeliers, gilded ceilings and wall art by Punjabi artists. A commanding portrait of the founder's grandfather presides over the grand staircase that descends to the subterranean dining room, where coffered ceilings, inlaid furniture and patterned surfaces create an enclosed, theatrical environment.

The design concept takes inspiration from the party mansions of Punjab and the tradition of classic Indian hospitality. The Infatuation described the overall effect as "an operatic production, aiming to please," with nothing modest about the ambition or the execution. Air Mail summarized the atmosphere as lavish, with the décor reinforcing rather than undercutting the seriousness of what arrives on the table.

Reservations and Access

Ambassadors Clubhouse releases reservations two weeks in advance, with plans to extend that window to four weeks as demand stabilizes. Walk-ins are accepted but competitive. A host at the restaurant has indicated that arrival later in the evening improves the odds of securing a table without a prior booking. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., with weekend hours extending to include lunch service from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday before dinner service resumes at 5 p.m.

Ambassadors Clubhouse is located at 1245 Broadway, New York, NY 10001. Reservations are available through Resy. For further coverage, the full New Yorker review is available at newyorker.com.

More information about Indian cuisine and its regional diversity can be explored through Indian cuisine history and traditions.

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