Around the world, some restaurants are built on traditions that flip our usual table manners upside down. Whether it’s eating in total darkness or sharing food with giraffes, in these 12 restaurants, you’ll find that experience is the main course and the meal is just the delicious backdrop.
12. The Giraffe Manor
Imagine sipping your morning coffee while a Rothschild’s giraffe gracefully pokes its head through the window. This is exactly the scene at The Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya. This exclusive boutique hotel, set in a 1930s manor house, is home to a herd of giraffes that freely roam the grounds. The dining experience is less about the gourmet cuisine and more about the surreal interaction with the gentle giants.
11. Ithaa Undersea Restaurant
Submerged 16 feet below sea level in the Maldives, Ithaa offers a dining experience that’s literally immersive. Encased in an acrylic dome, you’ll dine with 180-degree panoramic views of coral gardens and the dance of marine life. While the European cuisine is exquisite, it’s the breathtaking underwater show that will truly captivate you.
10. Dinner in the Sky
From underwater, let’s go back up and into the sky. Dinner in the Sky literally elevates the concept of a “room with a view.” Suspended 150 feet in the air by a crane, 22 guests are strapped into their seats around a dining table, with a chef, sommelier, and waiter serving from the center. Here, the main event is the heart-pounding experience of dining with your feet dangling over a cityscape.
9. The Rock Restaurant
At The Rock Restaurant in Zanzibar, the tides dictate your arrival and departure. This restaurant is perched on a massive rock in the middle of the Indian Ocean, accessible by foot during low tide and by boat during high tide. So, yes, the journey is already an adventure in itself. Inside, you’re treated to views of the turquoise water and a menu of fresh, local seafood.
8. O.Noir
At O.Noir, you’re going to dine in a world without sight. This “dining in the dark” restaurant, with locations in Montreal and Toronto, employs blind or visually impaired waitstaff who expertly guide you through the experience. By removing vision from the equation, your other senses (taste, smell, touch, and hearing) are heightened, allowing you to experience food in a completely new way.
7. Modern Toilet Restaurant
Yes, you read that right! At Modern Toilet, a restaurant in Taiwan, the dining experience is a playful (but still appetizing) tribute to all things bathroom-related. Guests sit on acrylic toilets, eat out of miniature toilet bowls, and drink from urinal-shaped glasses. While this may sound bizarre, the restaurant’s quirky theme has made it a global sensation.
6. The SafeHouse
For a dinner that feels like a mission straight out of a spy movie, head over to The SafeHouse in Milwaukee. To enter, you’ll need to know the secret password or pass a clearance test to prove you’re not a double agent. Once inside, you’re immersed in a world of espionage, with secret passages, spy gadgets, and interactive exhibits. The menu features classic American fare with spy-themed names.
5. Heart Attack Grill
The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas is a hospital-themed restaurant wherein “Patients” (customers) wear hospital gowns before ordering from a menu of “Bypass Burgers,” “Flatliner Fries,” and “Coronary Hot Dogs.” The waitstaff are “nurses,” and if you weigh over 350 pounds, you eat for free. It’s a satirical dining experience that’s as much about the spectacle as it is about the food.
4. The Catacombs at Bube’s Brewery
You’d have to descend 43 feet underground into the aging cellars of a 19th-century brewery to dine in at The Catacombs at Bube’s Brewery in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. The stone-walled, candlelit chambers create a mysterious atmosphere that makes the experience so memorable. As for the food, guests can expect a fine dining menu.
3. The Airplane Restaurant
Now, here’s a dining experience that takes flight! Located in Colorado Springs, The Airplane Restaurant is located inside a fully intact Boeing KC-97 tanker. Guests can dine in the main cabin, surrounded by aviation history and memorabilia. The menu features classic American food, but the real attraction is the chance to eat inside a historic aircraft. It’s a dream come true for aviation enthusiasts!
2. Sublimotion
Located in Ibiza, Spain, Sublimotion isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a multi-sensory and immersive theatrical production that uses technology to elevate the dining experience. The 12-seat, 20-course tasting menu is a journey through different worlds, with each course accompanied by a change in the music, virtual environment, and even temperature. Sublimotion blurs the line between food, art, and technology.
1. The Clink Restaurant
At The Clink, a restaurant chain in the UK, the dining experience is about second chances. Located within working prisons, The Clink trains and employs prisoners, equipping them with skills they need to find employment in the hospitality industry upon their release. The food is surprisingly high-quality, but the real impact of this restaurant is its social mission.