Perched above the City Palace of Jaipur in the former royal audience hall, The Sarvato feels less like a restaurant and more like an open-air dinner party that unfolds under the stars. One with slow fire cooking, quiet grandeur, and a view that’s pure poetry. Now officially part of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux family, it opens each season from September to April with a six-course tasting menu that draws from Rajasthan’s royal kitchens and village fire pits alike. Here, culinary tradition isn’t staged. It’s lived, breathed, and delicately reimagined.
At the helm is Chef Vikram Arora, who leads with restraint, craft, and a deep respect for legacy. Each course nods to Rajasthan’s vast and often overlooked culinary spectrum: from age-old forest recipes to heirloom family spice blends. There are breads rolled by hand, marinades built over time, and dishes slow-cooked over open sigri flames. But there’s nothing heavy-handed here. The storytelling is subtle, sensory, and generous, designed to spark memory and conversation.
Cocktails lean into the same philosophy, reinterpreting palace pantry staples with a modern sensibility. The bar works with ingredients once reserved for kings: wild honey, khus, pickled mango, long black pepper. But instead of feeling ornamental, the result is thoughtful, layered, and entirely of-the-moment. Try the Rajputana Reviver or Diwan-E-Khas, and you’ll taste a region’s past reworked for the present.
“We wanted to create a space where tradition meets innovation,” says His Highness Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, who co-conceptualised the space with restaurateur Abhishek Honawar. The interiors, designed by Ayaz and Zameer Basrai of The Busride Design Studio — are an exercise in minimalism within opulence: soft, restrained, and quietly cinematic. Nothing distracts from the plate, or the palace itself.
But The Sarvato isn’t simply about royalty. Its strength lies in its ability to tell a bigger story. One that includes the many communities that have shaped Rajasthani cuisine over centuries. “The cuisine of Rajasthan is immensely diverse, and not so well-represented on a national scale, let alone internationally,” says the Maharaja. “We want every guest to feel the essence of Rajasthan and take a piece of it home with them.”
The menu is deeply researched and carefully curated. It reads like a map of the region: from the ceremonial dishes of the court to the earthy, resourceful meals served in desert homes. It’s nostalgic, but not dated. Experimental, but grounded. Every detail, from the plating to the music to the pacing — is calibrated to feel immersive, never overwhelming.
By day, its sister space The Gallery Café offers a slower experience. Set atop the central square of the palace compound, this 360° rooftop cafe serves chai, regional chaats, and Indian sweets. A softer ode to everyday Rajasthan with all the charm of a well-kept secret.
Now with its entry into Relais & Châteaux, The Sarvato joins a rarefied league of hospitality spaces around the world. And it does so on its own terms: grounded in warmth, layered in detail, and shaped by the kind of storytelling that lingers long after the last course.
All images: The Sarvato, Jaipur