You’d be hard pressed to recognize the space at San Jose’s Santana Row that formerly held Amber India. Gone is the once dramatic celestial ceiling complete with shooting stars, which was cutting edge back in the early aughts. In its place is Fitoor, with modern luxuriousness and an elegant clubby vibe, an archetype perhaps more in keeping with this sleeker day and age.

Husband-and-wife restaurateurs Anu and Vikram Bhambri have completely revamped the space down to the studs, creating three distinct dining areas, a rear dining room done up in shades of emerald, a middle dining room gilded in gold accents, and a front lounge with floor-to-ceiling accordion glass windows that can be completely tucked away to make it open-air.

It’s been a busy year already for this enterprising ouple, who also opened the Mediterranean Alora on Pier 3 in San Francisco just two months prior. It joins their other restaurants, Rooh in Palo Alto and San Francisco, and Pippal in Emeryville. And more may be in the works.

Fitoor is Hindi for “passion,” and weekends exemplify that with added high energy, courtesy of a live DJ plus fire dancers. On weeknights, such as when I was invited in recently as a guest of the restaurant, the atmosphere is more subdued, with plenty of tables filled with tech types gathering after work.

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