British Indian Restaurants Are Heading Stateside

Last month we delved into the uptick in New York restaurants opening branches in London. But it looks like there’s a similar pattern going on in the other direction, specifically when it comes to British Indian eateries. A flurry of London’s buzziest spots have US launches confirmed, while others are hosting pop-ups and eyeing up potential spaces for permanent ventures. 

JKS Restaurants founder Karam Sethi has been planning a US expansion for over a decade, he tells us. But the group wanted to wait to make its entry ‘with the right brands, in the right cities, at the right moment.’ That time has now come, with two big names primed to open their doors. 

This autumn, glitzy Punjabi restaurant Ambassadors Clubhouse – which opened in Mayfair, London in 2024 – will arrive in Manhattan’s NoMad neighbourhood. Then, a little later in the year, the restaurant group will launch the second branch of Gymkhana in ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Since opening in 2013, also in Mayfair, Gymkhana has grown to become one of London’s best-loved upmarket Indian restaurants, recently scooping up a second Michelin star, and no doubt it will inspire a similar buzz in its new location.

Ambassadors Clubhouse

Meanwhile, cult favourite Dishoom, beloved for its take on Bombay comfort food, recently confirmed it will open in New York in 2026. There have been murmurings about this for a few years now, fuelled in particular by the restaurant’s 2024 pop-up at Pastis in the Meatpacking District. This proved a massive hit, with over 7,000 New Yorkers queuing to get a taste of the signature black daal and gunpowder potatoes – and another cool 20,000 on the waiting list. This was the confirmation the group needed to amp up its hunt for an investor to fund the move.

‘With the Pastis pop-up we feel like we’ve got an interesting validation of some of the demand we might experience,’ said Shamil Thakrar in an interview with Restaurant Online. ‘We’ve got a lot of US customers. We’re super excited about the States.’

Another London favourite, Kricket, is dipping its toe into Stateside waters with a two-night pop-up at Mexican-inspired restaurant Comal in the Lower East Side of New York this week. The idea is to ‘see how our food resonates with a new audience’, founders Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby say, with a multi-course menu on offer featuring signature dishes as well as some newbies that blend Indian and Mexican cooking. ‘We’re using it as an opportunity to test the waters and see how our brand is received. If it’s a success, we’ll be actively looking for opportunities to open a permanent location, with the goal of opening something in the next couple of years.’

So what’s sparked the trend?

A Tough British Climate

Kolkata-born chef Asma Khan, who founded London’s Darjeeling Express in 2017, is currently scouting out locations for a US restaurant, in New York as well as other cities. She suggests the struggling climate of British hospitality could be pushing restaurateurs to look Stateside. ‘It could just be that the economic climate in the UK is challenging, so people are looking at alternatives. The taxation, the increase in national insurance contribution, also the fact that people are eating out less.’ 

The figures are there to back this up: recent research shows the number of UK hospitality venues fell by 374 in the first half of 2025, equating to two closures per day. Plus, figures show Brits are increasingly opting for early dinner bookings, which doesn’t bode so well for restaurateurs, leading to dwindling spends and a lack of evening buzz. Meanwhile, the landscape looks more optimistic for cities like New York, which saw a boom in restaurant openings post-Covid, and is notorious for its late-night scene. 

An American Fanbase

The appetite is clearly there: Americans have long been dining at Britain’s Indian eateries, whether they’re expats living in the UK or visiting from abroad. Around 30 percent of JKS Restaurants’ customers are from America, according to Sethi, while Kricket welcomes many North American guests every week. ‘They love what we have to offer, and so it gives us confidence that we’d be a welcome addition to a cosmopolitan city like New York,’ says Bowlby. And if Dishoom’s sell-out pop-up is anything to go by, the restaurant group clearly already has a loyal US fan base too.

New York’s Food Scene

For many chefs and restaurant owners, opening in New York is a lifelong dream – the city is known globally for its thriving food scene. ‘The diners are adventurous and open to new ideas,’ notes Kricket’s Campbell. ‘We’ve always been inspired by the energy there.’ 

This was a big draw for Sethi, too: ‘Its dining scene, much like London’s, is global, ambitious and shaped by travel.’ He also points out that it’s an exciting time for Indian restaurants specifically in New York, with buzzy restaurants like Semma and Bungalow ‘redefining perceptions.’ 

Karam, Jyotin and Suniana Sethi, founders of JKS Restaurants

Changing Attitudes

But it’s not just New York, ideas about Indian food have shifted dramatically across the US in recent years. ‘There’s a new generation of restaurants showing the breadth and sophistication of Indian cuisine and diners are more curious and receptive than ever,’ Sethi says. ‘London went through a similar transformation 10 – 15 years ago and now we’re seeing that same wave in the US.’

Khan, too, has noticed a shift. She was inspired to open an American eatery after hosting a pop-up at Dhamaka, a restaurant celebrating the ‘forgotten side of India’ located in New York’s Essex Market, last March, where she noticed a greater understanding of regional cuisine. 

As Sethi adds, Indian food is ‘no longer seen as a single cuisine, but as a tapestry of nuances and traditions that vary from region to region, even kitchen to kitchen.’ When Gymkhana first opened, Khan remembers many guests saying it transformed their expectations of Indian cooking. ‘In the US, we’re seeing a similar shift, with places like Unapologetic in New York and Musafeer in Houston bringing the flavours of India to life in their own way for American diners.

‘For us, it felt like the right moment to contribute to that momentum.’

Openings To Look Out For

• Dishoom – New York, 2026, dishoom.com
• Ambassadors Clubhouse – New York, Autumn 2025, ambassadorsclubhouse.com
• Gymkhana – Las Vegas, Winter 2025, aria.mgmresorts.com
• Kricket – TBC, kricket.co.uk
• Asma Khan’s restaurant – TBC