The newest restaurant by Vikram and Anu Bhambri, the husband-and-wife team behind a handful of contemporary Indian establishments in the Bay Area, is a major departure.

And it’s a doozy.

Alora opened in late-January on Pier 3 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero to serve up ambitious Mediterranean fare with aplomb, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week.

The couple, who have tech backgrounds, got their restaurateur start with Rooh in San Francisco, followed by a second Rooh in downtown Palo Alto. Then, came Pippal in Emeryville in November. Look for Fitoor, and Indian grill, to open March 19 at San Jose’s Santana Row.

For Alora, they tapped Ryan McIlwraith as executive chef, who formerly held that position at Bellota in San Francisco, and was chef de cuisine at Coqueta in San Francisco and director of culinary development for Bottega restaurants in San Francisco and Yountville.

It’s an interesting setup with the main dining room in one building and the kitchen in another one a couple yards away connected by a breezeway. McIlwraith may have jested that servers have to ensure that the dill doesn’t blow off a plate in transit, but noted it’s actually a smooth path unless there’s a major storm. In cases like that, they take extra care to put covers on all plates.

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