A Rooftop Restaurant in Hyderabad by NaaV Studio

In the leafy neighbourhood of Sainikpuri, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, is a restaurant that stays true to its name. Shaped like an inverted cashew and steeped in soft, buttery hues, The White Cashew looks no different than it sounds. Inevitable, really, when the inspiration, as Varsha Reddy, one half of Hyderabad-based architecture firm NaaV Studio, puts it, was “slightly nuts.” Her admission isn’t without reason. The 418-square-metre rooftop joint, which specialises in fusion Indian cuisine, tips its hat to its namesake nut through tone and texture, yes, but equally, by way of a quiet intertwining of palette and palate.

Of course, for Varsha and the firm’s other half, Niharika Didige, the inspiration went beyond just the garnishings on the menu. “The greenery was too great to ignore,” says Niharika of the panoramas all around. Maximising the views meant minimising the decor—a risk the pair was willing to take. The way they saw it, it was shorthand for balancing attention on either side of the threshold.

It was a gamble that paid off. Save for the door that separates the entrance from the interior, there are no discernible differences between the outside and inside. Common is the light oak furniture and undulating jute roof installation. Similarly muted is the decor. All-pervasive is the lightness of being.

Even the interior is part exterior, thanks to a gravelly al fresco seating area outfitted with a bar island and tables each oriented towards a view. “All the scenes fit together like a puzzle,” avers Varsha. True to her words, there’s just as much to enjoy indoors as there is outdoors, thanks to pockets of planters and lime plaster walls, and cashew-shaped wall installations that appear to somehow levitate.

Naav Studio The White Cashew Restaurant Sainikpuri Photo Sankeer Yellowtrace 15

Naav Studio The White Cashew Restaurant Sainikpuri Photo Sankeer Yellowtrace 10

As the architects tell it, some things went according to plan, and other things, well…didn’t. Exhibit A: the jute roof installation, which Niharika and Varsha reveal was a spectacular piece of DIY. “We couldn’t get the contractor to lay it out the way we wanted, so we took it upon ourselves to set it right,” Niharika muses.

What followed was experiment after experiment after experiment, until one mercifully succeeded. The result? A sea of diaphanous ceiling waves that serve at once to catch the breeze and counteract the sunshine. “It was a happy accident,” laughs Varsha. “But now we can’t imagine it any other way.”