Secret gastronomic adventures of the sustainable kind await you in one of India’s prettiest Himalayan enclaves. Just a few hours of driving from Delhi via Chandigarh will bring the true-blue foodie to this hidden treasure trove of culinary delights.

But there’s the nub. Even from the beloved hill town of Kasauli in the Shimla Hills, there’s a short secretive drive to this unique spot in Darwa village. Sequestered amidst the picturesque environs of Amaya, a sustainable boutique resort with its pine forest setting, this restaurant has gourmands in the know from home and abroad, arriving here to partake of its unique offerings.

You can ramp up the adventure with a short walk or a buggy ride of 200m and build up your appetite and expectations along the way after drinks and canapes at the Salon with its cosy bar. They are smart enough here to even organize a wheelchair friendly access to the restaurant.

What we are talking about here is NAAR (like in the Kashmiri word for fire)— positioned as one of India’s first true ‘destination dining experience’. Ready yourself for an experience that is as authentic, interactive, and sensory as it can get. Luxury surely gets re-defined by NAAR.

The brainchild of Chef Prateek Sadhu, formerly of Masque in Mumbai and Per Se in New York, NAAR reflects his passion for the mountains and a coming home for the boy who left his beloved Kashmir as a young child of six, and travel later as a chef, from Delhi to Udaipur, from Mumbai to New York to Copenhagen.

The common thread that binds NAAR to Chef’s bold dream are the diverse culinary persuasions of the Himalayan regions from north to northeast— from Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Arunachal Pradesh, slices of Sikkim, and the upper reaches of Assam.

Having travelled with his team to research the food traditions across the Himalayan belt Chef Sadhu was nearer to what he dreamed of— to showcase indigenous produce across six distinct seasons throughout the year from these states. The heritage of their foodways puts the spotlight on the stories of their produce and their people and the unique environs of places that they inhabit.

NAAR prides itself on its ability to reimagine produce, flavours and techniques from the Himalayan region to craft an inspired yet rooted menu that stars ingredients exclusively from these parts.

Every ingredient in a dish you enjoy at NAAR has a tale to tell or a ritual to reveal… every cooking technique is a reflection of ancestral connectivity. For Sadhu it was a journey of learning, but more importantly, one of unlearning, as he believes they have only scratched the surface.

Liquid pleasures at the Salon serve as an excellent overture for the culinary adventure which awaits at the restaurant. Beautifully crafted cocktails are summoned up by the mixologist Samarth Varma to prep your tastebuds for the gourmet adventure afoot. Try the gondhoraj lemon (from Uttarakhand) gimlet teamed with a sesame bun filled with yak cheese, as in the Himachali village snack known as askalu.

The theatrics that celebrate this amazing 3-hour, multi-course culinary journey through its seasonal, ever-changing menus, are backed by a deep-rooted desire to showcase the wonders of Himalayan culinary culture in all its richness and diversity. To underpin the authenticity of the food experience Chef and his team are deeply engaged in foraging ingredients and sourcing produce from local farmers.

Pickling, fermenting and smoking are key techniques employed by Himalayan communities for preservation of produce for the long harsh winters. Lion’s mane, oyster, button, shiitake and wood ear mushrooms Chef sources from local producer Chandan Mehta. The team forages for wild herbs growing along waterways in a two-acre farm nearby. Cheeses are sourced from a Frenchman who’s relocated to these hills. Honey is sourced from local producers as is the timber for the wood fire hearth.

Every table in the 16-cover fine dining restaurant serves up the most alluring visuals of the Himalayan vistas. Even the dishwasher comes with a view! Even this unique touch underpins the thoughtfully curated experience of ‘Himalayan-forward cuisine’, spanning the six seasons (think—spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, pre-winter and winter) of these mountains.

The dining space and kitchen area at NAAR blend seamlessly into each other. The shelves are laden with all manner of enticing ingredients in jars and bottles. The woodfire hearth ministers to all the chickens, duck and lamb— later plated up for your pleasure in the most appealing way.

The trick NAAR has, to keep those guests rolling in, is to seamlessly blend food traditions from different parts of the Himalayan belt and with a masterly hand craft something truly extraordinary to engage the senses in every way. For example, Himachali trout cooked to perfection arrives on a bed of khambir, a traditional Ladakhi bread, with the delicate nuances of mustard and pickled chilli. Himachali brined pork is accompanied by delicately diced Himachali apples, Sikkimese bamboo shoot pickles, apricot jam and a hemp seed chutney from Uttarakhand.

NAAR offers two tasting menus: one with meaty off-cuts, local fish and more. The other tasting menu: vegetarian.  Both come with cocktails or a wine pairing of your choice.

Top favourites include a lamb smoked with juniper leaves and served with lion’s mane mushroom and a Kashmiri yakhni sauce. Another must -try is the Mushkbudij pulao (made from a Kashmiri rice variety) served up with cured egg yolk, a side of turnip yakhni, and seared duck breast in spicy axone sauce (a popular Naga ingredient, crafted from fermented soybean).   Sha Faley is a Tibetan, cannoli-like, potato pastry stuffed with pureed cauliflower and topped with a spiced beetroot powder.

Dirty Toast comprises a lightly cooked smoked trout on a bed of khambir; it’s followed by a dry-aged trout cooked with naga chillies and seasonal peas with a sauce made from Himalayan yeast. Sunderkala reflects the popular Uttarakhandi breakfast dish of kukla or hand-pulled noodles. Chef pairs it with lamb blood sausages (which take inspiration from the Ladakhi yak blood sausages) tumbled together in XO sauce.

Ever had pine ice cream? An unmissable memory for years to come is NAAR’s Pine Pine & Pine: pine-nut ice cream drizzled with pine salt and fermented pine syrup, teamed with a crunchy pastry filled with Himalayan lemon cream.

Wrapping up a year of memorable culinary experiences, NAAR has created a special niche for itself in India’s fine dining space. That it will create waves in its own unique space was underpinned by being acknowledged as one of the thirty best restaurants in the world in the very first few months of its launch.