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.

If you’ve dined at Rooh, you know you’re in for a stylish dining room at Alora, only this one is more subdued in burnished gold and pale pink accents with cool three-tiered halo chandeliers hanging over the bar. There’s a large, glass-walled enclosed dining space at the back with postcard views of the water, as well as open-air seating near the front.

In addition to the printed menu, there’s a separate sheet for nightly specials, which included the Oaxacan Paradise cocktail ($18) that I enjoyed that night. A blend of mezcal, aperol, tangerine, tarragon, banana liquor and salt, it was juicy, tangy, and exceptionally balanced with a big kiss of sweet citrus.

Duck liver mousse ($23) arrives in artsy swirls on a plate, dotted with pickled mustard seeds, piquant cubes of pear mostarda, and syrupy saba. It comes with sourdough focaccia made with Central Milling’s organic einkorn, the nutty tasting wheat that’s one of the world’s oldest cultivated ones. The airy, chewy focaccia is a great foundation for the ever-so-smooth, minerally tasting mousse that wedges its way into the dimpled top.

A salt cod fritter gets all dressed up as a bunuelo ($17 for one) draped with jamon Iberico and garnished with tiny black beads of hackleback caviar, smoked creme fraiche, and confit garlic aioli. The fritter arrives hot and crisp. It’s creamy and fluffy inside, a little salty in the right way, and a whole lot decadent tasting.

Hamachi crudo ($26) brings raw slices of the meaty fish with blood orange slices, crunchy smashed cucumbers, black and white sesame seeds, and a touch of ground urfa, a moderately spicy Turkish pepper with a smoky, earthy taste.

The octopus ($29) is confited, then oven-roasted, resulting in a quite crunchy exterior with a hard sear and a tender yet slightly chewy interior. Pickled red onions and pickled cauliflower florets, as well as a swipe of creamy, cooling tzatziki come alongside. The potato pave nearly eclipses the octopus with its all-over crisp edges making it look almost like a slab of bacon. One taste and you know it’s been lavished in butter. Who can resist that?

Whatever you do, don’t sleep on the “100-layer ‘nduja lasagna.” OK, it may be really only 50 layers of pasta sheets, bechamel, bolognese, and Pecorino, but it’s simply stunning. As McIlwraith explained, it’s assembled and baked for only a hot minute, before being sliced and seared to order to create caramelized, crisp edges. The result is a lasagna that somehow tastes light and delicate. The technique maintains the integrity of the gossamer pasta, so that everything doesn’t turn dense and gloppy. It’s also not drowned in cheese but has just enough to complement beautifully. A few fresh mint leaves scattered on top added a pop of bright freshness. It’s a lasagna that’s simply dreamy.

To pair with that specialty dish, sommelier Sergio Blandon poured a 2022 Massican Annia, made with 41 percent Ribolla Gialla, 33 percent Tocai Friulano, and 26 percent Chardonnay, all grown in Napa. Although you might immediately think red wine for a lasagna, this white blend with its fragrance of honeysuckle and minerality went really well. As Blandon mentioned as he poured, this wine has an almost salty cheese note to it, and darned if it didn’t.

The selection of large plates is definitely meant for sharing, which is what my husband and did with the adana kebab ($44). Two lamb-beef kofta kebabs were arrayed atop za’atar flatbread with sumac-seasoned slivers of onions and peppers. Off to the side was a bowl of garlicky toum and spicy fermented harissa. Tear off a piece of bread, arrange a portion of kebab on top, and dollop on the sauces to enjoy. The kebab is so moist and juicy, like the best breakfast sausage.

Dessert is definitely worth saving room for, especially when it comes to the regal “Chocolate Cake for Two” ($18). With five layers of aromatic baharat chocolate cake plus five layers of chocolate mousse, this is an impressively tall slice that comes decorated prettily with dried rose petals and pistachios on top. It’s rich, moist, and very fudgy with the dark chocolate snuggled in warm Arabic spices. A scoop of cream cheese ice cream is the final flourish to add a subtle tang.

A Mediterranean restaurant may be novel for the Bhambris. But it already feels — and tastes — like a perfect fit.

More: A Visit to Rooh in Palo Alto