You may not have heard of Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi, but if you love food and live in London, you probably have been to more than one of the places they back via JKS Restaurants.

They are the ones who saw the potential of Bao when it was just a stand around the corner from Broadway Market in East London. There are now seven Bao branches across the U.K. capital, serving modernized Taiwanese street food staples such as steamed bun filled with chopped, braised pork belly and pickled greens; beef noodle soups; pig blood cake, and lamb dumplings.

JKS Restaurants has also opened various takes on Indian fine dining. The first of them was Trishna, a Michelin-starred restaurant opened in 2008 with a focus on coastal cuisine from southwest India, nestled in Marylebone Village.

Then came Gymkhana on Albemarle Street, in the midst of London’s luxury shopping neighborhood. Inspired by Indian gymkhana clubs, where high society members socialize, dine, drink and play sports, it serves contemporary Indian cuisine using seasonal British ingredients. Gymkhana received its second Michelin star in 2024, having scored its first a decade before.

The latest addition is Ambassadors Clubhouse. Tucked in a quiet corner by Regent Street, the restaurant serves food and drink inspired by Punjab, a region spanning both India and Pakistan. It is named after the Sethi siblings’ grandfather, who was a former ambassador.

JKS Restaurants has also backed several successful chef-led projects such as James Knappett’s two Michelin star restaurant Kitchen Table on Charlotte Street; James Lowe’s one Michelin star British eatery Lyle’s on Shoreditch High Street, and Chet Sharma’s debut Indian restaurant BiBi on North Audley Street.

Karam Sethi, who serves as food and creative director at JKS Restaurants, says the group’s long-term success is about “spotting and nurturing the talent of those who have come to work in our existing restaurants.”

“Kian Samyani developed Brigadiers, [a restaurant in the City of London inspired by the army mess bars of India] before going on to open [Persian dining concept] Berenjak, for example. I also met Luke Farrell behind [Thai restaurants] Plaza Khao Gaeng and Speedboat when he did a stage at Trishna in 2008,” he recalls.

“Spending time with them, understanding their ideas, building a style, and helping and guiding them to develop those ideas over time eventually got to the restaurants you see open today,” adds Sethi, whose culinary intuition comes from growing up around great food and being exposed to different cuisines through travel.

Prior to launching JKS, Karam worked as a chef in places like Bukhara in Delhi, and Zuma in London. Jyotin spent most of his career in private equity with Barclays, investing in more than 20 U.K. businesses before joining the family venture full time in 2012 to manage and scale the business. Sunaina also came from a background in finance, but now she leads the people strategy at JKS and is an expert in wine and spirits.

While JKS Restaurants backs an array of dining concepts, Sethi says they follow a similar recipe.

“A strong brand that has a story that resonates equally through the menu, the service, the ambience, the decor and the location. After that, it’s consistency, quality and hospitality. Those are the ingredients that will drive loyalty,” Sethi says.

As to what helps a restaurant earn Michelin recognition, Sethi says it comes down to having a unique approach to the dining experience. “It’s about offering something more than just good food. It’s about creating a memorable experience,” he adds.

The success of Trishna and Gymkhana, according to Sethi, is the result of continuously challenging the preconceived notion of Indian food in the U.K. by serving “Indian food in its purest form with no-frills, full-on bold flavors in stylish surroundings.”

Sethi says Ambassadors Clubhouse is special because it is the first high-end Indian restaurant JKS has opened that focuses purely on a particular region.

“It’s a place of abundance, high spirits and generosity. We celebrate classic Punjabi hospitality through the sharing of fine food and liquor. From the classic papads and chaats to lesser-known kebabs and curries cooked in traditional cast-iron woks and clay-pots, to our cocktail list that captures the Punjabi spirit of generosity and theater with large-serve cocktails and playful shots,” he says.

Looking ahead, Sethi says they are not actively looking for any new categories. The priority would be to expand its current portfolio into international markets, specifically in North America and the Middle East, where JKS is already present in Riyadh, Dubai and Sharjah.

Restaurant-branded grocery is another area for growth. The Gymkhana Fine Foods range, which includes jarred cooking sauces, marinades and chutneys, has seen fast-paced success, both via direct-to-consumers and retail partnerships with U.K. retailers Waitrose, Whole Foods, Selfridges, Harrods and Ocado, according to Sethi.

They are looking to replicate that success with its other retail experiments, such as Sri Lankan curry powders from Hoppers, and Bao’s online convenience store Convni, which sells a selection of home and lifestyle products, as well as ready-to-drink cocktails and cooking condiments, which were recently sold at a trio of pop-ups across Dover Street Market in London, Ginza and Singapore branches as part of the retailer’s Lunar New Year global celebration.