There are a set of coasters at Alex Sanchez-s Kala Ghoda bistro bar, Americano, that carry the Italian saying, Avere ill prosciutto sugli occhi. Literally, it means to have ham over one-s eyes. What it refers to is to have to wake up to rude reality.

The chef-restaurateur from San Francisco, who found fame in Mumbai-s food and drink landscape as a 26-year-old, knows it-s going to be tough to accept the new truth. In March 2019, after a sabbatical of self-discovery and travelling through Italy, he returned to this city to do what all chefs dream of, set up his own restaurant. He was going to serve American-inspired Italian fare and world class cocktails in a glamorous South Mumbai outpost at Kala Ghoda that was designed to celebrate shared spaces through a community table and rest-your-elbow stations in window alcoves perfect for pairs.