Would you believe me if I said one of the best sushi I have had was in Amritsar, a city more synonymous with buttery kulchas and tall glasses of lassis than raw fish and wasabi? And yet, there I was ordering a second plate without hesitation. We are at Tepah By The Bagh, a dining experience that Amritsar has not seen before. People here are more accustomed to dining in sprawling open spaces or frequenting their beloved kulcha and lassi joints. With its levitating boulders and ceilings that stretch like the branches of ancient trees, it's fair to say that it's Amritsar's boldest leap into the avant-garde, both in design and on the plate.
But is Amritsar ready for layered, experiential dining or Tepah is helping build that appetite from scratch, we ask. Shreya Nayyar, Co-Founder, Tepah by the Bagh, believes that Amritsar has always celebrated great food, but what's been missing is intentional dining where the space, service, and storytelling come together with the plate. Nayyar says, “The appetite has always been there, it just needed the right space to wake it up. At Tepah, we are not inventing something new. Every detail from what's on the plate to the vibe in the room is there for a reason. We are inspired by the old, but we are not afraid to reimagine it. It's familiar, but with a few unexpected turns.”
So, in a city where food conversations often begin and end with kulchas, Tepah in a way is trying to rewrite the Amritsar dining playbook - one croissant, bao and burrata at a time. It's doing it with flair, precision and most importantly, delicious intent. From shakshuka skillets to sushi rolls, millet pizzas to mushroom cappuccino, and kahlua-laced pistachio tiramisu to perfectly seared lamb shanks, the menu reads like a world map of cravings. And what's more surprising is that nothing feels gimmicky or out of place. The flavours shine, the balance holds, and the execution impresses too.
It's a packed Sunday night when we visit, almost every table is taken. The buzz is unmistakable. That said, the city's weekend loyalists still return to their tried and tested kulcha joints. There's something really special about that kind of loyalty, it says a lot about how deeply food is tied to memory around here. Nayyar adds, “It's not just about taste, it's about moments, people, places you never quite forget. And we get that. We are not here to ask anyone to choose between the comfort of nostalgia and the excitement of something new.” There's a certain culinary nostalgia that resists change but perhaps it's just comfort winning over curiosity. Nayyar is quick to acknowledge this, “Comfort will always matter, always come first. But we’ve learned that when you introduce something new with respect not disruption people are open. Curiosity starts to stir, quietly but surely. Because it’s not about replacing what’s already loved. It’s about gently expanding the horizon, offering something fresh without asking anyone to let go of what came before.”
Now that a restaurant in Amritsar can casually serve Korean fire paneer bowls alongside Kashmiri rogan josh and truffle mushroom rigatoni, and get most of it right, speaks volumes about how ready it is to go beyond butter chicken borders. And the ease with which Tepah moves from traditional to contemporary, global to local, indulgent to clean eating (for instance chia-packed smoothie bowls) is a quiet but confident culinary flex that definitely needs to be spoken about. It's the kind of place where a burrata and rocket salad can co-exist with smoked broccoli tikka, and a millet-based hot honey chorizo flatbread can sit pretty next to a classic dal bagh.
In terms of design, strangely the space feels less design and more like it was unearthed because it is a follow-up of The Bagh which in itself is a beautiful property set amongst the greens and nature. There's water, there are trees, there's grass, there's sky abov you. Rohit Sharma, Design Principal at Headlight Design says, “It was a huge challenge to make something that feels like a continuation of that. However, the site offerings were completely in contrast.” Sharma believes, “There is a lot more than what meets the eye. It has beautiful textures, it has beautiful rocks. There is nature above the surface of this planet, and there is such a huge collection beneath. What exists in nature that doesn't require natural light, openness, or air? So we looked at roots. We looked at caves. We looked at boulders that are embedded in the earth.”
In keeping with the philosophy of using materials that age gracefully, much of Tepah's structure is built using charred wood, fractured stone and flowing terrazzo. These are materials that are naturally found in nature and have been used with the belief that materials hold memory. Sharma recalls, “In fact, if you personally ask me, a very wise person told me that when you are by the beach or by the riverside, just don't mindlessly pick up rocks and toss them into the water. Because we don't know for how many thousands of years they've been lying there and they formed a small ecosystem. And if we truly believe that there is consciousness in every being in this universe, then there is consciousness in everything as well, because for us, it might be a thing, but for that particular group, it might be a being." So, every material has a memory, every material also ages. "And hence terrazzo is also such an important material for the cement part of it doesn't age so well, but the main portion of that flooring is, so cement is just the binder. But the main ingredient is stone, and it is laid out as naturally as possible, and a mix of different colors, different stones,” Sharma concludes.
All this makes Tepah a space that urges you to stay curious, to taste with intention and allow the familiar to sit next to the unfamiliar on your table and in your mind. Whether you are here for the sushi, tartare, shakshuka or for the smooth terrazzo underfoot or the stories embedded in stone, this space proves that Amritsar is not just ready but hungry for more.