Waiting at a restaurant is boring, unless you can eavesdrop on other tables’ conversations. It was somewhat like that when I walked into Colaba Social, which stands right opposite Starbucks on the Taj Mahal hotel premise.

While I sipped on a Spiced Guava mocktail (R140), which had a vibrant ginger aftertaste, the excitement on the table next to mine intrigued me. Four girls pored their heads into what looked like a rolled newspaper, but was actually the menu. “This place is not as expensive as I thought, ya,” a skinny girl commented, to which another added, “We won’t have to share the desserts now.”