What: Tryst, High Street Phoenix, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, call 66614365, Rs 200 for a pint of Kingfisher.

Why: Karma has been kind to Ra, a nightspot that in its most recent rebirth is a much more evolved being. They call it Tryst, a futuristic club with LED lights, absinthe potions and elevated tables. Bouncers promise to check teenyboppers and Bollywood beats at the door. Hopefully they’ll stick with this policy.

When: Opens this week.

There are few things feline that we find endearing: Truman Capote’s cat named Cat; Neruda’s Ode to the Cat; and Sprite, cartoonist Bill Watterson’s pet kitty who lent its behavioural traits to Hobbes.

Would Andheri’s newest eatery make it to our kitty party? We were about to find out, perched at a table for two at the brand new Fat Cat Cafe.

C for Chic

Apart from a stylised logo, you’ll be relieved to find that the restaurant walls bear no kitty-related cartoons or corny slogans. It chooses instead to go chic, with dark wood and dim lights, graceful arches and lounge music, all elements that make it a fun place to retire to after a hard day’s work. We imagine it would be equally pretty during the day, when sun streaming windows afford a far clearer picture of both the menus and watercolours on the wall.

Struck by delivery-envy after reading this recent New York Magazine list, we decided to create our own pecking order, peeking into the phonebooks of Mumbai’s biggest gourmands to scope out super delivery options in each neighborhood. Plus, you can stick this list up on your fridge with cool magnets that we're giving away from Tappu Ki Dukaan. All you have to do to win one is add your favorite delivery place to the comments section of the story.

Colaba & Cuffe Parade: From Baghdad to Baga

Philip Gomez, Executive chef of Villa39, Colaba resident

Baghdadi Restaurant: The bread here is awesome, fresh and crisp, and best consumed on the same day. I also suggest chilli chicken (ask for extra sauce). Portions are big and delivery is prompt, both bonuses.

Tullock Road, behind Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba, call 22028027, free delivery from Colaba to Churchgate between noon and 11 pm, Rs 65 for chilli chicken.

Sunshine Snack Corner: They deliver really fast and have a special menu for every day of the week, which is fun. Boti sali is my pick.

Shop no 13, Hampton Court Building, Wodehouse Road, Colaba, call 22150787, free delivery from Colaba to Churchgate between 11 pm and 8 pm, Rs 70 for boti sali.

Olympia: Indian food that’s not too spicy. They make nice chappatis and a mean mutton stew.

Rahim Mansion, 1 Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba, call 22021043, free delivery from Colaba to Churchgate (including Nariman Point) between noon and 11 pm, Rs 100 for mutton stew.

Sizzling China: My staple Chinese place. Prompt delivery, great chicken in garlic sauce.

Meherzine, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba, call 22165705, free delivery from Colaba to Churchgate between noon and 11.30 pm, Rs 175 for chicken in garlic sauce.

Here’s another entry for your black book – Gourmet Town, a new Italian cuisine delivery service operating out of Babulnath and servicing all of South Mumbai, from Colaba to Mahalaxmi. Run by a former manager at Little Italy, Gourmet Town is purely vegetarian (not surprising, given the general demographic of Babulnath), and features some surprisingly innovative dishes along with ho-hum pizzas and pastas.

Hey, You Basket!

Listen up, and you’ll eat well: get the Potato Baskets, tender baby potatoes bursting with artichoke cream and parmesan cheese, especially perfect for when you’re breaking out the whiskey. More dainty and almost as delish is the bruschetta, topped four ways with herby chopped tomatoes; springy asparagus over cheese; mushrooms; and our favorite, honey and walnut, which works insanely well with a dab of goat cheese from your fridge. Caesar’s salad is nondescript and worth ordering only if you’re on a hardcore diet.

Are You a Dough-do?

Next in line should be pizza, preferably Sicilia, a crisp 11-inch pie made feisty with onions and mushrooms, garlic and basil, piquant sun dried tomatoes, all drizzled with an over-enthusiastic amount of chilli oil. Ask them to go easy on the last ingredient, unless you like your pizza greasy.

For the amount of buzz it has generated, Chez Vous is a surprisingly small space, cleverly distributed into ground and mezzanine areas, with a bar running along one side and two cozy sofa arrangements nudged against the wall. On a recent visit, the owners explained that they wanted the restaurant to feel like someone’s living room (Chez Vous literally means “your home”). We love the overstuffed sofas and green overtones, as well as the fact that most of the tables and chairs are refurbished furniture from Sundance Café, but dislike intensely white lighting scheme – it’s depressingly hospital-like, and makes the nicest skin look sallow.

Taste Test

Our diligent pestering scored us an invite for a prix-fixe tasting that featured Roquefort and red snapper, lamb and burgers, tuna and soufflé, but unfortunately none of the absinthe cocktails that the restaurant is playing up – it was a dry day, and no amount of cajoling would convince them to break out the bottle.

Making do with a virginal iced tea, we looked to our meal for comfort, ordering all three available appetisers, including tuna, coconut crab and Roquefort ravioli. Of these, tuna was the best, crusted with sesame seeds and delicately flavorful on the inside. The ravioli was starkly minimalistic, folds of pasta wrapped around sharp Roquefort cheese, studded with hazelnuts and garnished with olive oil. This tastes best punctuated by bites of the salad it is served with, bright with bell peppers and sprouts, coated in a hazelnut and olive oil dressing. The crab is tender and sweet, but impossibly overwhelmed by a thick layer of coconut. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the fruit, we suggest you spoon some off before digging in, so you can actually taste the fresh, succulent meat.

Sea Changes

Move Over Dolly

Mia Cucina, one of our favourite Bandra restaurants decided to clone itself – moniker, menu, chef, interiors and all. After what we imagine to be several tasting trials and test runs, the clone was shipped off to Versova where it now waits to be unveiled on November 20.

Copy Paste?

We wonder though, if simply possessing the same genetic make-up is enough. The Versova clone may be as handsome, but will it have the warm and hearty personality that makes us so fond of the original? Will the staff inquire about family as we tear away a thin slice of Margherita pizza from the pie, hands coated with powdery flour? We sure hope so.

From Kotian’s Kitchen

Our questions were interrupted with a postcard from Mia Cucina’s new address. On the flip side was a yum recipe - Tagliatelle alla Mascarpone e Spinaci (pasta with mascarpone cheese and spinach) – signed by chef and owner Sanjay Kotian. We’ll put that nature vs. nurture debate on hold for now, and see you in the kitchen. 

Lost in Transportation

Passed around like a baton, Velvet Frost’s box of cupcakes changed many hands to get from Andheri to our Cuffe Parade office: from baker to baker’s sister, from baker’s sister to her chauffeur, from driver to bpb’s admin head, and then finally, to us. Phew! Another round? We (and the others in the chain) will pass, thanks.

A new contender in Mumbai's cupcake race, the odds were looking quite good for Velvet Frost, who went to great lengths to ensure that we got our vanillas and chocolate ganaches (only two flavours available), even though they don't deliver (the Secret Scouters called in anonymously, of course, so no baker’s bias was involved). And they were pretty too! 

Unfortunately, somewhere during the race, Velvet Frost ran out of steam. Our binoculars (and buds) revealed that their cupcakes were nowhere near the finish line. Or even close to the top players.

Title Statistics

What’s in a name? A lot, especially if you’re using the moniker of an international fast food chain without having franchise rights. Misled by the sign board of Arby’s, Bandra’s newest snack joint, we went on Sunday evening expecting to grab one of their namesake’s famous roast beef burgers or get a Market Fresh sandwich to go. Instead, we found a mini cafe with a sneaky name, an earnest owner, Lebanese wraps and a 16-seater basement that has fire hazard written all over it. We’ll take one of your three outside tables, mosquitoes and everything, thanks.

What: Busaba’s Aficionado Club Card, 4 Mandlik Road, Colaba, call Gary on 9833562165, Rs 6,125 for a year.

Why: Because after years of loving Busaba, it finally loves us back. On a recent lunch trip we unearthed this Asian restaurant’s closely guarded secret: not the recipe of their spicy green sauce (yet), but a diner’s card which, for close to Rs 6,000, gets members 50%, 33% and 25% off on meals for two, three and four people respectively for an entire year. Bonus: 20% off on takeaway.

When: You want to khau sway.

Good Mexican cuisine in Mumbai is a myth, a sombrero-touting unicorn sometimes glimpsed (Taco Fresco, Sammy Sosa, Starboard) but rarely captured. It is therefore with much excitement and some trepidation that we attended a pre-opening food tasting at Sancho’s, Mumbai’s new Mexican restaurant. And we have to say, these guys might have nailed the feast.

Pecking Border

Run by Dish Hospitality (the company behind Aurus and the new Tasty Tangles), Sancho’s is the second outpost of a popular Delhi restaurant, featuring the same menu and typical Tex-Mex ambience, which at the  Mumbai branch means mud-caked walls, fat candle-lights, tables inlaid with fiesta ceramic and gaily patterned tableware. Also nice is the amount of sunlight flooding the space in the day, which is split into two sections by a pretty wall of undulating glass panes.

Hot Chip