Would you pay US$400 to eat under the sea? Inside Under, the world’s largest underwater restaurant, now open in Norway
Watch fish swim by through an 11-metre panoramic window while you dine – on seafood, naturally – at Under, the subaquatic eatery designed by architects Snøhetta and newly named one of the ‘World's Greatest Places’
The world’s largest underwater restaurant, in Norway, just earned a spot on Time magazine’s top 100 World’s Greatest Places 2019 list.
Under, which opened in March, is Europe's first underwater eatery. Designed by architects Snøhetta, the restaurant sits half-submerged in the sea and has 1-metre (3.28-feet) thick walls designed to withstand the area’s rugged climate.
Guests at Under can gaze at marine life through an 11-metre wide, 4-metre tall panoramic window in the dining room, which seats between 35 and 40 guests each night. Muted lighting was installed on the seabed so that guests can see the marine life in any weather.
The cuisine is, naturally, seafood. Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard Pedersen creates locally sourced dishes that include cod, lobster, mussels and truffle kelp, which is a local type of seaweed that apparently tastes like truffles.
The restaurant recommends that guests allot more than three hours ‘to fully escape into our immersion menu’ … according to Forbes, a meal at Under can cost upwards of US$400
According to Arne Marthinsen, the project manager for Submar Group, which is responsible for the project's marine operations, Under is unique among other underwater structures.
“What makes it so complicated and unique is the fact that it isn't going to be a simple, concrete storage tank, but rather an amazing, unique experience for people due to the location, the architecture, the interior, the underwater view and of course the delicious cuisine,” Marthinsen said in a news release.
The restaurant is located at the southernmost tip of Norway, in the coastal village of Båly, in the Lindesnes region.
The 33.5-metre-long structure resembles a concrete tube that sits half-in and half-out of the sea. It rests on the seabed about 5 metres below the surface.