Travelling to dine in the misty mountains

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. How can we put seasons on a plate?" It is this question that continues to fire the menu at Naar, a 16-seater restaurant nestled in the lap of the Himalaya. Located in the hamlet of Darwa in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, the restaurant, helmed by chef Prateek Sadhu, is all set to complete a year in November, and has already become a dining destination.

It witnesses a stream of guests from Bengaluru and Mumbai— its biggest markets—followed by Delhi. “Now there are direct flights to Chandigarh (the nearest airport) from Dubai as well, so we are seeing guests from the Middle East too," says Sadhu, who played a key role in introducing the urban diners to Himalayan ingredients at the award-winning restaurant, Masque in Mumbai. He was associated with Masque from 2016-22, parting ways to think of newer ways to spotlight the Himalaya.

Hailing from Kashmir and having had to leave his hometown in 1990, Sadhu calls the mountains his “heart and soul". Instead of opening a restaurant in a city like Delhi, he chose to base himself in the very ecosystem from which he draws inspiration. The chef and his wife packed their bags and moved to the mountains to open Naar at Amaya, a sustainable boutique retreat in Darwa.

The restaurant, which serves Himalayan-forward cuisine, focuses on the regions of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. Sadhu and his small team are completely immersed in the habitat. “There is beauty in watching the seasons unfurl in front of you.

During spring, when I wake up, I can see the seasonal blooms. During fall, I can see the dried produce. There is a certain power and authenticity to this experience," elaborates Sadhu.