NAAR near Kasauli Takes India’s Top Restaurant Honour

A sixteen-seat restaurant in the Himalayan foothills has taken first place in Condé Nast Traveller India’s 2026 restaurant awards. NAAR, near Kasauli, leads the newly announced list, followed by The Table and Papa’s in Mumbai. It is a notable result for a restaurant that asks its guests to make a deliberate journey, placing regional cooking and an intimate experience at the heart of its appeal.

Chef Prateek Sadhu’s route to the hills gives the achievement additional meaning. In its original 2023 account of NAAR’s opening, Condé Nast Traveller India traced his career through international kitchens, including Noma and The French Laundry, and his work as chef-partner at Mumbai’s Masque. After leaving Masque in 2022, Sadhu travelled through the Himalayas, developing the ideas that would eventually find a home near Darwa village in Himachal Pradesh.

NAAR’s name means fire in Kashmiri, and its cooking follows six mountain seasons. Sadhu and chef Kamlesh Negi work around a juniper-smoked hearth, with menus rooted in the ingredients and culinary traditions of the region. The restaurant sits in a cluster of wood and slate buildings, approximately two and a half hours by road from Chandigarh. The setting makes the journey part of the experience, rather than simply a means of reaching dinner.

Earlier reporting offers a sense of the culinary thinking behind the restaurant, rather than a promise of what appears on today’s menu. At its opening, dishes included locally caught cured trout, a buckwheat biscuit shaped like a chinar leaf and a small serving of Ladakhi buckwheat pasta with tripe. The team developed ferments and preserved ingredients in its own laboratory and larder. A former utility room became the wine cellar and ageing room, another example of the care invested in creating this small mountain destination.

The national rankings also point to a broader geographical spread of accomplished dining. Goa and Mumbai each secured 13 places in the top 50, Bengaluru contributed six and Shillong two. The list was selected by a 105-member jury through two rounds of voting, with Deloitte serving as process adviser.

For travellers, NAAR’s recognition strengthens the case for building a holiday around a restaurant and its landscape. It also offers an appealing expression of Indian luxury, where close attention to ingredients, thoughtful hospitality and a strong regional identity give the experience its distinction. With only sixteen seats, advance planning belongs as naturally to the visit as an appetite for discovery.

Sources
Condé Nast Traveller India, Karina Acharya, October 5, 2026
Condé Nast Traveller India, Diya Kohli, October 7, 2023, background reporting on NAAR’s opening