For Karan Shah, returning to the restaurant business was never going to be about simply opening another place to eat. After nearly eight years at Swati Snacks, where he worked alongside his mami, Asha Jhaveri, Shah wanted to build something of his own, carrying with him the lessons he had learnt there. The result is Makaan, an all-day Gujarati snacking restaurant in Juhu that draws on the warmth of his childhood home in Colaba.

The name, which means house, sets the tone. Walk into Makaan and you are greeted by terracotta walls and ceilings, bandhani lamps, a swing in the alfresco seating area, and little Laxmi pagla (footprints) at the entrance. There is a bell and the name ‘Makaan’ written in Gujarati in small font, but the space is deliberately not steeped in traditional motifs.…