The pandemic lockdowns are behind us, but the experience did turn us into homebodies. Thus, the need for good home delis still exists. Based in Lower Parel, The Ghost Chef is a new cloud kitchen helmed by chef Akhil Mutani that dishes out two menus. While Namak offers fare from across India, ranging from North Indian and Mughlai to Andhra cuisine and Maharashtrian, Alas takes the Mediterranean route across Greece, Lebanon and Turkey. 

We order in a mixed bag of dishes to get a taste dive into both the menus. Our Indian trek begins with home ground Maharashtra, represented by thetcha broccoli (Rs 249). The big florets are bathed in a yoghurt marinade and then fire-roasted. The long travel from Lower Parel to Andheri hasn’t marred the texture and the bites are fresh with an ignition of the fiery desi chutney. The rajmah ka galouti (Rs 235), on the other hand, is too dense, and only made edible by the refreshing pudina chutney that adds a moistness and amplifies the overall taste.