Multi-cuisine cooking under candlelight, then a velvet-draped bar for the hours after. What to expect from dinner at ORNATE Lucknow, how the two rooms work together, and how they fold into a celebration.
Lucknow has been arguing about food for a few centuries now, and it argues well. The city's kitchens gave the subcontinent its slow-cooked meats, its breads, and its particular patience with spice. Amrkh takes a wider view of the table, and Saakiya takes over when dinner is done.
Amrkh is the multi-cuisine restaurant at ORNATE Lucknow - an intimate, candlelit room of 36 covers serving mouth-watering dishes, perfect for small gatherings. Saakiya is the bar alongside it, built for the hours after dinner with a premium collection of liquor, special cocktails and mocktails. Both take private bookings and both fold into larger events on the property.
What does a multi-cuisine table look like?
Lucknow's own tradition, born in the kitchens of the Nawabs of Awadh, is patient cooking: dum in sealed vessels, meat worked until it needs no knife, spice used for depth rather than heat. Amrkh is not confined to one region. It is a multi-cuisine restaurant, so a table can mix dishes from different kitchens and still eat well.
The room is deliberately small, with 36 covers, and lit low enough that the plates carry the colour, which is a decision about attention as much as atmosphere. It is perfect for small gatherings.
What to expect on the plate
A multi-cuisine menu rewards a table that orders in rounds rather than all at once. Four families of dish make a sensible shape for the evening, and a table that takes one from each eats well.
| Round | What it is | How to order it |
|---|---|---|
| Starters | Smaller plates to open the table | Order first and share immediately; they do not improve while they wait |
| Mains | The centrepiece dishes of the evening | One for the table rather than one each; they are built for sharing |
| Breads and rice | The accompaniments that tie the table together | Ask which the kitchen would send with what you have ordered |
| Vegetarian dishes | Dishes worked with the same care as the rest of the menu | Not an afterthought here - order them on merit, not as a substitute |
How to eat here
- Order across the table. The menu is built to be shared, and the kebabs and breads make more sense together than apart
- Come early if you want the room quiet, later if you want it alive - live music changes the pace of the evening
- Ask for a private table in advance for anything that needs a conversation rather than an occasion
- Flag dietary requirements when you book rather than at the table; the kitchen would rather plan than improvise
Saakiya, and the hours after dinner
Dinner is a first act. Saakiya is a velvet-draped room built for what follows it - a premium collection of liquor, special cocktails and mocktails, and lighting calibrated so that nobody looks at the time. It works as a destination in its own right and as the natural second half of an evening at Amrkh.
A good bar does not end the evening. It removes the reason to end it.
Using both rooms inside a celebration
Both spaces take private bookings, and both are regularly folded into larger events rather than left as somewhere guests wander off to. The patterns that recur:
- A chef-led dinner for close family the night before a wedding, away from the scale of the main functions
- The menu tasting for a wedding, run at a table of eight before anything is cooked for eight hundred
- A client dinner during a corporate programme, which should never be held in a banquet hall
- A late lounge for the guests still going after a reception has formally closed
For guests who want the city's flavours without the expedition into Chowk and Aminabad, this is the same tradition in a considerably quieter room - and our guide to Lucknow covers the expedition version for anyone who wants it. For a table booked around an occasion rather than an ordinary evening, see Anniversary Celebrations at ORNATE and High Tea and Ladies' Lunches at ORNATE.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of food does Amrkh serve?
Amrkh is a multi-cuisine restaurant with 36 covers and mouth-watering dishes, served in an intimate candlelit room with live music - perfect for small gatherings.
Can I book a private table or a private dining room?
Yes. Amrkh has private tables, and the property has a separate private dining enclave for chef-led meals. Both are best arranged in advance through reception on +91 92199 04134.
What is Saakiya?
The bar at ORNATE Lucknow - a velvet-draped late lounge with a premium collection of liquor, special cocktails and mocktails, designed for the hours after dinner.
Are the restaurant and bar open to visitors who are not staying at the hotel?
Both rooms take bookings from outside guests as well as residents. Reservations are handled by reception, which can also confirm timings for a specific evening.
Can the kitchen handle vegetarian, jain or allergy requirements?
Yes, and it is far better done at the time of booking than at the table - requirements are recorded against the reservation so the kitchen can plan rather than improvise.
