Naar (again) .. because it is truly one of the world’s great restaurants.

November 17, 2024

Naar (again) .. because it is truly one of the world’s great restaurants.

I wrote in February that Naar is India’s greatest ever restaurant. But I kept wondering if I was guilty of hyperbole. Was it just the surprise and wonder and magic of first impressions and fresh experiences? Or was it more permanent?

I went to do another meal to see if it still had the same impact 8 months later. I thought let’s go and eat and if the food is still as good, I’ll post about it on Instagram.

Sharjen | lamb, nettle leaf

And yet here I am. I have never written about a restaurant twice in one year. Because it’s stupid and superfluous and repetitive and pointless.

And yet here I am. Because that’s how great Naar is.

Makkii Tujj | chicken liver and heart

The food itself is the best that Prateek has ever cooked. It’s by far the most flavour focused menu he has ever done. His restless spirit and curious mind seem to have found some sort of serenity in the hills. It’s as technical and creative as ever but it feels like he has nothing to prove, no rules to follow. It’s crazy to do a tasting menu that includes four consecutive trout courses, the kind of decision that people make fun of. But it works. Because he takes every part of the fish and does things that are completely different in terms of flavour, texture, imagination and execution.

Dirty toast | get dirty, barely cooked trout

Barely cooked trout on a “dirty” toast. Trout ceviche with sea buckthorn. Trout with caramelised pumpkin and phaph. And then a dish that made me wonder how the mind of a genius works. Trout roe with ripe bananas and banana honey. And a sharp hit of mustard. I’ve had a lot of roe in my life. I’ve had roe with blini. With toast. With eggs. With rice. With pasta. Off a spoon. But always with something neutral to let the roe shine. What I’ve never had or even imagined is roe with sweet, ripe, caramelised bananas. It breaks every convention. And it’s pure genius. This was delightfully fatty, salty, creamy roe and it tasted even better with the banana.

Trout roe | banana, mustard

There was another dish that seemed theoretically illogical. A soft corn patande/taco with bheja which was milk brined , marinated in spices and cooked in brown butter. Zero textural contrast other than some leaves. But instead of becoming mush, it was like an explosion of flavour in the mouth.

Bheja | Himalayan pepper, corn patande

What I found fascinating was how Naar serves what is basically the everyday food of the Himalayas. Staples and peasant dishes, but not reimagined or modernised. Just explored in greater depth and cooked in a way that enhances flavours and showcases them in a way that has never been done before. Like the Sunderkala, a hand pulled noodle dish from Uttarakhand, as common as dal chawal, the product of trade with Tibet… but which no one has ever heard of. At Naar it is served with lamb mince, a broth of burnt vegetables and Ladakhi gyoma sausages.

Sunderkala | black wheat, gyoma, timru broth

Every single one of the seventeen dishes was magical. Beautiful fluffy swal bread with hand churned butter with lovely bits of Himalayan salt crystals served with duck achaar and hemp seed chutney. Chicken liver and hearts, perfectly smoked and charred on a pine skewer. A Galho redolent with the rich umami of lions mane mushroom and the pleasures of perfectly smoked pork. Even the subtle burnt milk ice cream with ragi and pineapple cake.

Galho rice | smoked pork, porridge

This is food that feels creative and fresh, but that has a strong sense of roots, of comfort, of soul.

Burnt milk | ragi, pineapple cake

When you get to the top twenty or thirty restaurants in the world, you can no longer compare food beyond a point because it becomes highly subjective. I can’t say I like the food at Disfrutar more than Atomix or that I like Eleven Madison Park more than Den. I love it all and I suspect so do most others. But what sets the great restaurants apart is the experience and memory of the meal. The service at Eleven Madison. The rock and roll at Den. The joy at Disfrutar. That’s what I remember as much as the food.

The food at Naar is on par with any great restaurant in the world. But as a food experience, I can’t think of a single restaurant anywhere in the world that I can confidently say is better than Naar. The space, the experience, the memory… it’s the kind of meal you never forget. The drive up pine scented coniferous forest. The stunning azure sky. The beautiful salon to sit and chat with friends or fellow diners and have a drink and small plates. The stunning open kitchen. The perfectly creative cocktails. The warmth of the team. The view of the Himalayas. The mist rolling in from the valley. And then as you end your meal, moonrise over the pine trees.

You can travel far and wide and you will not find a meal and an experience like this. A meal where in the middle of it, I had a sense of gratitude for being able to live this moment and experience it. And trust me, it’s not just me. This is the Naar experience. It’s transportive. And it’s one of the absolute greatest restaurants anywhere in the world.