New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- If you live in Mumbai, you don't need a time machine to imagine yourself dining in the Bombay of yore. You need to visit the Circle Sixty Nine bistro at Kathiwada City House, an art, food, wellness and culture centre. Or take in the charm of Scarlett House restaurant set inside a 90-year-old Portuguese bungalow. Or head to Subko for coffee and bakes in a 1920s house in Bandra.

Across India, a growing number of restaurateurs are transforming old structures into vibrant new dining spots. While it actively preserves and highlights these buildings, it also gives the public fresh and engaging ways to appreciate their significance.

Mumbai's Kathiwada City House, which was built in the Art Deco style in the 1940s, once be...