JKS Restaurants has announced that Ambassadors Clubhouse will open on Tuesday, 20th August, with booking lines open to the public from Wednesday, 14th August. The latest venture from Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi will celebrate food, drink, music and culture from the region of Punjab.
Punjabi-style hospitality will be central to the restaurant, bringing abundance, high spirits and generosity to its home on 25 Heddon Street in Mayfair. Named after the Sethi’s grandfather, a former Indian Ambassador, the interior will take inspiration from his summer house in Dalhousie and the abandoned party mansions of Northern India.
Designed by North End Design, the restaurant will nod to a time of opulence and celebration in these mansions. Detailed stencil and paint work is polarised against bright, classic fabrics and original artwork from Punjabi artists.
Carpet patterns, ceiling features, marquetry and inlay details on the furniture and the Verandah will nod to the original elements of the Ambassador’s residence. The restaurant will host 140 covers, including three private dining rooms (The Raja Rani Room, The Tamasha Room and The Jungle Room) and a heated Verandah.
The menu is inspired by the food of the undivided Punjab — India and Pakistan — and their shared food heritage. From roadside dhabas to the royal palaces of Punjab and family homes, influences have been vast and varied.
The region’s cuisine will be showcased in its purest fashion, reflecting rare recipes and traditional culinary techniques. The menu will begin with Papads and Chaat, the quintessential street food of the region, and Bitings, a word used to describe drinking snacks, before the main event of Kebabs cooked across the tandoor (clay oven), sigri (charcoal grill) and tawa (flat griddle).
Matka and Karahi will include classic curries cooked in iron woks and earthen clay pots, as well as Biryanis and Pilaus, served alongside an extensive list of tandoor-roasted Breads. Classic Indian desserts will also be available.
Key menu items include the Paan Patta, and Kala Chana Chaat, a popular street food Chaat featuring betel leaves served with masala black chickpeas, mint chutney and tamarind chutney. Signature Kebabs include the Mooli and Dhai Kebab, where mooli is combined with hung yoghurt and carom seeds.
Karahis include the Rara Rabbit Hariyali Keema: the ‘hariyali’ (green) coming from the fenugreek, spinach and fresh Pakistani chillies, and the Shahi Patiala Lobster Korma, which takes influence from the cuisine of the royal court in Patiala during the reign of Ranjit Singh.
The Tandoori Quail Barrah Pilau showcases quail cooked in the tandoor and served under a saffron and brown onion-laced pilau. Breads from the tandoor include the Amritsari Aloo Gobhi Kulcha.
Karam Sethi said, “For my family and Punjabis more broadly, food has always been love and life. The sharing of food in abundance is an integral part of our culture and distinctive from any other style of hospitality. Ambassadors Clubhouse will be built on the legacy of my family, showcasing our age-old recipes and visits to the region as children while paying homage to my grandfather and his life.”
The drinks list will further encapsulate the traditions of Punjab. All-day party drinks focusing on tequila and mezcal will be blended with regional ingredients, while large serves and a playful list of shots will bring a theatrical service style. Kingfisher Ultra beer will be an exclusive addition to the list, with Ambassadors Clubhouse being the sole importer in the UK. Hospitality and generosity will be celebrated through the sharing of fine liquor in abundance.
Ambassadors Clubhouse will also host AMBASSY, a late-night music programme featuring weekly resident DJs (from 10 pm to 2 am every Thursday to Saturday) and VIP DJ events.
Sukh Sokhal, Punjabi cultural curator who will lead the programme, commented, “AMBASSY will be joining London’s vast party landscape: providing a much-needed and previously unseen platform for Punjabi and South Asian artists to fuse the music of their heritage with trending UK genres. This fusion of music cultures, coupled with the food offering at Ambassadors Clubhouse, is unique to the London scene. A premium sound system from ‘L’Acoustics’ will ensure rich acoustics, pure sound and a hard-hitting bass to further elevate the late-night experience.”
VIP DJ events will be hosted from 28th September, featuring high-profile international artists, including DJ Yung Singh, with others to be revealed. Bookings will be available via the Ambassadors Clubhouse website.
Bookings for Ambassadors Clubhouse will be open to the public on Wednesday, August 14th, ahead of the restaurant’s opening on Tuesday, August 20th. For more information, visit www.ambassasdorsclubhouse.com.
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