Chef Gresham Fernandes, culinary director and co-owner, has been working on the final details of the menu before the launch. The new space, titled Bandra Born, opens today — a month after the team decided to end the 15-year-long run of Salt Water Café on September 8. With design studio Bombay Duck stepping in to shape the new space, it is a clear departure from the old vibe

 “We changed because we wanted to evolve,” admits the chef-restaurateur, whose journey spans from the kitchens of The Leela in 2000-2003 to Copenhagen’s Noma, and back to Mumbai. This 12-week-pop-up allows the team to showcase their creativity. “We [restaurateur Riyaz Amlani and I] have been in this business for over 20 years, and did not want to play it safe,” the chef adds

“You don’t often get a chance to radically change the menu. We have 40 new dishes, a new wine selection and vibe,” says Fernandes.  “I love to observe people’s expressions and enjoy that excitement when they discover the new flavours,” he proudly admits

While the new space offers  only post 8 pm dinner service for now, the idea is to offer lunch and dinner service, catering to a diverse clientele. “I want families to have fun while they lunch here; but evenings are for conversations over a drink at the bar,” Fernandes says. The vibe for both the spaces will be different, he promises

We particularly love the combination of beets with crispy chilli oil in the beets’ meat. They make for ideal starters to a lunch of chicken liver pota fry (R425) and the quirkily named kamina karpaccio (R675). The pota fry is one to dig in with your hands