Review: Naar

Chef Prateek Sadhu’s ambitions as a culinary innovator are defined by two words: faeter (Kashmiri for “crazy”) and naar (“fire”). It’s fitting, then, that one of India’s most celebrated chefs announced his return with the aptly named Naar restaurant. Nestled amid the pine forests of Himachal Pradesh, this first-of-its-kind destination dining experience is a culinary progression across the Himalayas, from the north to the east of India. The 16-seater restaurant has six menus throughout the year that follow the distinct seasons in the mountains, courtesy of dishes that transform traditional hill food into extraordinary surprises—think trout sandwiches with locally caught fish that is cured, dried, and treated at the in-house lab; a chinar leaf-shaped buckwheat biscuit that pays homage to Sadhu’s favorite tree in Kashmir; a miniature bowl of Ladakhi buckwheat pasta (or chutagi) with tripe; lamb neck smoked with juniper leaves; and a smoked version of a Himachali steamed bread called aiklu. Naar is a labor of love and a showcase of the hills—its ingredients, its people and their culture, and a chef’s long journey back home.