Over in Chelsea, aRoqa is the most cosmopolitan of the bunch, with moody cocktail-bar lighting and a swooping ceiling of bent wooden slats. The chef, Gaurav Anand, lightens the mood by serving rice-and-corn cakes in the luggage compartment of a tiny carrier tricycle. Dry ice makes an appearance, as do squeezable syringes, for injecting various chutneys into molded drums of paneer. Needless to say, there will be flowers.

Old Monk, which took over Babu Ji’s original space in the East Village, is decorated with a different set of photographic portraits of men. This time they are monks from around Asia; one is taking a picture and another is holding a smartphone to his ear. The beer fridge is gone, but there is a long beer list, drawn from the more mainstream wing of the craft-brewing movement, like Fat Tire, Flying Dog, etc. (The wine list takes more chances.)

One of Babu Ji’s more clever innovations is offering a $62 fixed-price package of dishes as a tasting menu. It’s not a true tasting menu in the style of, say, Blanca, but the term has cachet with modern diners, who end up trusting the kitchen to choose what turns out to be a well-rounded, traditional family-style meal.