Designer recalls Kangana Ranaut's 'brief and vision' for her Manali cafe; shares new inside video of The Mountain Story

Kangana Ranaut's The Mountain Story is open now and it's worth a visit if you're in Manali. The cafe is made with help of ‘local artisans and their materials’.

Kangana Ranaut's first-ever cafe, The Mountain Story, is a dream project that's finally come to life in Manali. This cosy cafe offers a unique dining experience rooted in Himachali culture and the menu features traditional Himachali dishes as well as dishes from around the country made using fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Kangana Ranaut's first restaurant is called The Mountain Story. (Instagram/ Kangana Ranaut and Shabnam Gupta)

Interior designer Shabnam Gupta, who has earlier collaborated with Kangana Ranaut on her Mumbai and Manali properties, has shared a new video giving a peek inside the cafe's cosy and elegant interiors that reflect the natural beauty of the region.

Take a look:

‘I still remember the brief and vision Kangana gave'

Shabnam also shared how Kangana wanted the cafe's design to be inspired by traditional Himachali architecture with its stone-clad walls, wooden beams, and grand windows that offer breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.

On Saturday, Shabnam wrote on Instagram, “I still remember the brief and the vision Kangana Ranaut gave us for our project in the lap of the Himalayas... she wanted us to empower the local community and work with the vernacular architecture so distinct to this region.”

Worked with local people, artisans, their materials

She added, “The creation and work that has gone to finally build The Mountain Story is all about collaboration with the local people and artisans, understanding their materials… working as per their weather conditions and enjoying the learnings as we went along.”

Shabnam further wrote, “This is a small peek of this vision... our teams The Orange Lane and Peacock Life by Shabnam Gupta that made it happen... the soul of the place captured on camera...”

Earlier in February, Kangana had shared a video on Instagram giving the first glimpse inside her ‘little cafe in the lap of Himalayas’, The Mountain Story. Take a look:

More details

The Mountain Story is open now, and it's worth a visit if you're in Manali. The lodge-style multi-story cafe's design blends rustic charm with modern sophistication, creating the perfect retreat in Manali.

The interior designers and architects have clad the cafe's floors, ceilings, and walls in natural colours and natural materials. However, vibrant shares of greens, blues, whites and reds are used in abundance via furniture and furnishing accents, giving it a Bohemian feel.