Situated a level below chef Boo Kim's passion project, Dirty Buns' second outlet (which opened this month) in Breach Candy, Auber-Gin is a new all-veg lounge with a focus on — as the name suggests — eggplant and gin. The brainchild of two lawyers Amit Desai and Nitesh Dooa, and the latter's doctor brother Yogesh, this is a space that is trying to cater to the demographic it's surrounded by: well-to-do working professionals seeking a good time without having to compromise on their satvik lifestyles.

But the story goes back 16 years to a time when Amit and Nitesh were in JC Law College, Dadar. Brought together by the roll call, it was then that this friendship was forged. "Since both our surnames began with 'D' we would be sitting beside each other during exams. That's how Nitesh and I met," Amit elaborates, tracing the genesis of this venture.