How Popular Is Underwater Dining?

At the southernmost point of Norway, near the village of Båly and several nearby fjords, you’ll find a squarish concrete cylinder half in and half out of the North Sea -- like something that’s washed up on the rocky shore. In reality, it’s an architectural wonder from design firm Snohetta, with a dual purpose. When it opens in 2019, it will be Europe’s first underwater restaurant, called Under, with a 36-foot (11-m) wide panoramic window overlooking the seabed. It will also function as a marine research center and a manmade reef for mussels.

Table for two, woo-hoo:

• If exotic dining is your thing, don’t miss Dinner in the Sky, an open-air restaurant suspended 150 feet (46 m) above the ground by a crane. These floating restaurants operate in 15 countries.
• Or make a reservation at Ithaa Underwater Restaurant in the Maldives, amid vibrant coral gardens. The New York Daily News called it “the most beautiful restaurant in the world.”
• For a more rustic meal, dine at El Diablo Restaurant on Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. Dinner will be cooked over a now-dormant volcano, which still produces heat from bubbling lava six feet (1.8 m) below.