Under: Europe's first underwater restaurant

The Maldives? Dubai? No. The world's largest underwater restaurant is located in Norway. It's called Under, which in Norwegian means wonder, and rises in Båly, a small town about 5 hours drive from Oslo. Here, the famous Scandinavian design studio Snøhetta, designed a monolithic structure in reinforced concrete 34 meters long that rests on the coast and plunges into the sea, sinking up to 5 meters deep. This position partly outside and partly under water has been decided to prevent visitors from feeling that they are trapped in this sort of periscope.

A walkway of about fifteen meters allows access to the restaurant from the mainland, a total space of 495 square meters spread over three levels joined by a large oak staircase. Soft lights and light colors that become darker as they descend make the atmosphere warm and enveloping. The champagne bar above has pink and orange tones reminiscent of shells and sand deposited on the shore, while in the main dining room, the floors are combined with acoustic panels in deep blue and green tones inspired by the seabed, seaweed and the sea moved. The interior design is completed by 16 charred oak tables combined with corner chairs and ceramics designed by a local artist using sand from the seabed. The real protagonist of Under is the panoramic acrylic glass window that measures 11 meters wide by 3 meters high and covers the length of the restaurant wall, giving customers a direct view of the seabed.

To ensure the most interesting spectacle possible, during the construction a marine biologist from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research was hired to monitor the waters and marine fauna around the restaurant, making sure that lobsters, jellyfish, cod, and all the other colored fish were visible. Many of these species have become the inspiration for the menu created by chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard. Dinner at the Under will cost 240 euros per person (excluding wine) and will include 12 total courses. According to rumors, the first will be a shell made from algae and potatoes with a limpets mousse inside. The restaurant has just opened, but to find a free table you'll have to wait because reservations are already more than seven thousand!

Fun fact: the construction of the restaurant cost about 7 million euros and was financed by Stig and Gaute Ubostad, two Norwegian brothers who had this idea to create an attraction that would increase tourism in the area and publicize the wild nature of Norway.