India, Aug. 14 -- There's a certain light that catches the Arabian Sea at dusk from the rooftop of Soho House Mumbai. The horizon turns a bruised lavender, the breeze shifts just enough to ruffle linen napkins, as one awaits in anticipation for the meal they can already smell arriving.

It's romantic to think of Soho as a transplanted piece of London on Juhu beach -marble tables, art-lined walls, a Marshall Speaker at every turn and that signature House hum of well-dressed conversation. And yet, I've come to believe that a stay at Soho House Mumbai is as close to an authentic Bombay experience as a visitor can get. My mother on her first visit to the city chose to stay there, as do many who arrive from across seas and countries. But what ...