Floating Restaurant

Known as India’s first and foremost floating restaurant, this idea was conceived in Sirhind, Punjab and built in the early seventies. The uniqueness of the concept and its perfect implementation helped it creating national headlines at its time. The Floating Restaurant of Sirhind also had the distinction of being featured in the Limca Book of World Records. It has been about five decades since its construction, and it is still regarded as an attractive landmark and major tourist attraction. The Punjab Tourism Development Corporation earlier owned the Floating Restaurant. However, it was later handed over to the Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board. The restaurant is built on the waters of Bhakra Mainline Canal that runs between Gobindgarh and Sirhind. It is an excellent roadside facility that is frequented by tourists and travellers to rest a while. Tourists have often praised the quality and taste of the food at this restaurant. The prices are also very reasonable. There are also provisions for an overnight stay in spacious, comfortable rooms.

History and Architecture of the Floating Restaurant

The point of the canal where the Floating Restaurant is built is 6 m deep and 45 m wide. The restaurant is a basic, lightweight steel structure with a vaulted roof. This structure rests on a wooden deck, and the whole thing floats on five cylinders that are tied together. The deck serves a dual purpose of being the indoor seating area as well as the bridge connected to both banks of the canal. A part of the wooden deck inside the restaurant is replaced with transparent glass slabs, thus enabling the visitors to catch a view of the blue water below them. The design and architecture of this unique and pleasant structure are attributed to Amar Rajinder Singh and Jeet Malhotra of the Department of Architecture, Punjab.