Secret Sambar

Brief and setting

Secret Sambar is a completed and functioning restaurant on Senapati Bapat Road in Pune. Its design brings South Indian material references into a contemporary hospitality setting, with nature, arrival and gathering shaping the experience. Part 1 records an earlier construction stage; Part 2 follows more of the decisions behind the restaurant that is now open.

Rather than a collection of applied motifs, regional references relate architecture, surfaces and the approach to a shared dining setting. Nature and South Indian cultural memory shape the intended character; gathering gives these references a contemporary purpose.

Choosing the setting

Before the materials were selected, the project began with a choice of site. In Part 2, Rohit describes comparing a commercial shop in Baner, where circulation, kitchen flow and an outdoor verandah were limited, with an old bungalow on Senapati Bapat Road. He describes hillside monsoon runoff and the bungalow's thick load-bearing walls as site constraints. The design developed around that setting, allowing its smaller rooms to shape a more intimate dining sequence.

Timber and architectural references

Wooden pillars bring vertical rhythm and material presence to the architectural story. In Part 1, Rohit describes the timber as sourced from Kerala.

The windows draw inspiration from South Indian temple architecture. This reference works at the scale of opening and enclosure, complementing the repeated vertical form of the pillars. Together, the two ideas lend the interior a legible architectural language while keeping the intended setting contemporary rather than presenting it as a reproduction of a historic building.

Together, pillars and windows link architectural rhythm to the experience of arrival and gathering.

Pattern and stone underfoot

Athangudi tile flooring brings a Tamil Nadu craft reference into the design concept. Its patterned surface is considered at the scale of movement through the dining room: a floor can give rhythm and identity to a space that people cross and share. In this setting, pattern is one part of a broader material composition rather than a motif expected to define every surface.

Kota stone offers a contrasting reference. Where patterned tile can draw the eye through rhythm, stone provides a quieter, more continuous reading of the floor. The design thinking brings the two into conversation: expression and restraint, variation and continuity. Part 1 describes underfoot comfort as an intention, not a measured result.

Together, these floor references connect the cultural material story with everyday experience, balancing pattern with a quieter surface underfoot.

Openness, privacy and light

Terracotta addresses a different part of the experience: how a boundary can balance openness and privacy. Part 1 describes it as a way to shape the edge between enclosed and more open spaces while keeping light and air in the design conversation.

This gives each material reference a distinct role. Timber and windows inform architectural character; tile and stone shape the intended experience of the floor; terracotta considers how enclosed the room feels. The contrast keeps the composition from becoming a single, repeated gesture.

Craft at the scale of everyday use

Part 2 brings the wall surfaces and artwork into focus. A red oxide wainscot band was chosen to protect areas exposed to everyday contact while adding warmth. Hand-painted white kolams introduce a crafted layer above the band. A Pichwai painting and a portrait of M. S. Subbulakshmi add distinct points of cultural reference within the dining spaces.

Roof and rain

Mangalorean roof tiles extend the material references overhead, connecting the roof to the region's monsoon climate in the design narrative. This adds shelter and weather to the story alongside interior surfaces and architectural openings; climate is considered as part of how a hospitality setting is imagined.

Steel chains inspired by rain chains are described as a way to guide rainwater. They continue that thinking from roof to ground, making the path of water part of the design idea rather than an invisible afterthought.

Roof, opening and screen meet different needs, but belong to one environmental conversation: how a place offers shelter and remains connected to its surroundings.

From making to an operating restaurant

The design direction connects material references to the purpose of a restaurant: making a contemporary place to gather with a recognisable sense of cultural grounding. Timber and architectural openings establish one register; patterned flooring and stone bring another; terracotta, roof and rain references connect the interior with light, enclosure and climate.

Secret Sambar on Senapati Bapat Road is now open. Together, the two films trace the material references and the site decisions that shaped the restaurant, while the project photographs show the completed space.