Rish Saini Get in touch

Through the lens

The Ālaya rooftop terrace at night, large rattan pendants glowing over the seating, with the lights of Shillong beyond the railing.
Ālaya Café & Bar, Shillong · Breakthrough Design Studio, 2026

Photography has run alongside my work in hospitality for years, and for a stretch it was my main work: events and conferences, weddings and portraits, interiors, restaurants and sport.

It is also a design tool. A camera shows quickly whether a room’s light, materials and sightlines hold together, and most people meet a new venue in photographs before they walk in. Everything here comes from my own camera and shoots.

Hospitality

The venues I build and run, and the food and nights inside them.

Ālaya Café & Bar

2026

The venue my studio took from concept to opening, by day, by night and in its details.

The Ālaya case study

  • The Ālaya dining hall by day: a central aisle of green marble tables and cream chairs under timber beams and fabric pendants, with the bar and windows beyond.
  • The ĀLAYA wordmark on a sandstone-clad wall, with a hanging rattan chair and potted plants.
  • A table lamp with the Ālaya monogram on its shade, glowing on a dark table with warm lights behind.
  • A terrace corner at Ālaya by day: rattan sofas around a timber table, planters and a view over hillside rooftops.
  • A coral cocktail with a dried citrus garnish in a coupe glass on a stone bar top, warm lights out of focus behind.
  • The curved Ālaya bar at night: a lit counter with tall stools beneath backlit bottle shelving and a woven ceiling panel.
  • Ālaya’s glazed frontage at night, rattan pendants lit along the timber canopy and planters below.

Underdoggs: match nights and the menu shoot

2026

Match night, the hour a sports bar is built for, and the dishes for a new menu.

The Underdoggs case study

  • Screens showing a Manchester derby football match above a ring-shaped UNDERDOGGS sign and a lit bar.
  • A bar seen through rounded arch openings, a football match playing on screens on either side.
  • A hand pulling a pint of lager from a row of beer taps under warm light.
  • Pizza, burgers, fried chicken and pints of beer arranged on a dark stone table against a leather banquette.
  • A burger with a cup of fries on a dark marble counter, warm bar lights behind.
  • Momos in a shallow bowl of orange curry sauce on a dark surface.
  • Steamed dim sum in a bamboo basket with small bowls of dipping sauce.

Mrs Kaur’s Bakery & Cafe

2025–2026

The Golf Course Road flagship I designed, the bakery, the breakfast menu and gift packaging.

The flagship case study

  • The navy shopfront of Mrs Kaur’s on Golf Course Road, with a gold script sign, glazed doors and planters in front.
  • A long glass bakery counter of pastries and cakes set into navy cabinetry, with arched shelving above.
  • A breakfast spread on a timber table: eggs, waffles, an açaí bowl, French toast and lattes in branded cups.
  • A tray of glossy croissants above a row of chocolate brownies.
  • A navy-and-gold Mrs Kaur’s gift box tied with a gold ribbon, on a cream background.
  • The main dining room: orange upholstered chairs at timber tables under drum pendants, with the bakery counter along the right.

Collections

Explore by collection

Each collection has its own page with every photograph.

  • Hospitality

    20 photographs · 3 series

    Ālaya, Underdoggs and Mrs Kaur’s: the rooms, the food and the nights.

  • Travel

    24 photographs · 2021–2024

    India, Morocco, Taiwan, Portugal, the Alps and the American West.

  • Interiors

    18 photographs · 3 series

    A villa in Goa, a farmhouse and a private residence, room by room.

  • Events

    33 photographs · 6 series

    A summit in Porto, dancers in Milan, brand events, parties and Holi.

  • Weddings and portraits

    30 photographs · 5 series

    Two weddings and three proposals.

Fitness, Desi Warrior and other personal projects are in Beyond the work

Get in touch

Building something in hospitality?

Get in touch about a venue project with my studio, speaking, press, partnerships, joining the teams at Underdoggs or Mrs Kaur’s, or AI in hospitality.

Ways to reach me