8 of the coolest restaurants around the world

There are a lot of very unusual restaurants in world, some are just strange, and others are just amazing. Some are gimmicky, while others are just a total experience. You owe it to yourself to experience some of them.

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Alif Dhaal Atoll, Maldives

This was one of the first undersea restaurants and still the one that does it the best. Ithaa (which means mother of pearl) is an amazing restaurant in the Maldives. The restaurant can only seat 14 people, but the view is spectacular. You are in a glass tube with a full panoramic view of the sea around you. The food quality is as good as the view as well, and you can’t do better than that. The restaurant is only open to the guests of the hotel that is attached to it. It’s a good idea to make sure you get your reservations well in advance of your trip.

Iguille Du Midi Restaurant, Chamonix, France

France offers some of the world’s most iconic places for a night out from the Paris Moulin Rouge to some of the world’s finest restaurants. This is the opposite of underwater, as it is at the top of a mountain. It is actually one of the highest places in Europe that you can go easily. It is a small and cozy restaurant and can be reached by cable car. The prices are a bit high, but not outlandish and the food is well worth it. The view is above the clouds and just spectacular, though we wouldn’t suggest smoking as the air is thin.

Vertigo, Bangkok, Thailand

This is one of the highest open-air restaurants in Bangkok and a place to see. The food is good, and the views of Bangkok spectacular. The prices are very high, but the experience nice. It is not a place full of buzz, it is more relaxing, but worth the visit.

Magic Castle, Hollywood, California

One of the more unusual places to eat is the magic castle. This was a private club for only magicians and their guests for most of its life, and was one of the most coveted invitations in Los Angeles, but over time it has become much easier to book. You enter the castle by telling the bookcase “open sesame” and it swings open. The food is 5 stars, and the prime rib excellent. There are always magic shows, and it is always crowded, but it is one that you will remember forever.

The Green Dragon Pub, Hobbiton, New Zealand

If you loved “Lord of the Rings” or “the hobbit” then this is the place for you. You can feel like you have stepped into another world and are ready to see people of middle earth walking around. It is just a magic place. In fact, all of Hobbiton is worth seeing, from the feasts to the private tours of the movie sets. If you want to step out of the normal world and into a fantasy one, then this is the place to do it.

Ali Barbour’s Cave Restaurant, Kenya

For such a simple experience, it is really quite magical. It is a cave that is lit only with candles. The food is decent, and the prices are not that bad. It is a good place to just hang out and relax. It is not a place you rush through a meal though, it is a place to chat and relax and take your time and enjoy the stars

The SnowCastle, Kemi, Finland

This is more of an honorable mention, as expectations of the ice castle are probably higher than reality, still, it is a very cool place to see (pun intended). We would not suggest going there just to see it only as the entrance fee is quite high for such a small place, but the restaurant is quite good and very unusual. There is a hotel there at night for the ones that want to get the most out of their ice experience.

Dinner in the sky

This one is not for the faint of heart and is more a novelty. It moves around various countries so you have to see where it will be at any time, and of course book well in advance. Basically, you are strapped into a chair, which is connected to a table, and hoisted on a crane high into the air. The views are spectacular, though where you will be and what you will see changes all the time. Heaven forbid you need to use the toilet however, as you are up there until the end of the meal and the crane lowers you. The food is quite good, and they have some amazing gourmet chefs, so it will be something you can talk about for years

The only downside to some of the more unusual restaurants is they forget that the food is the most important aspect of it. Very often the food is subpar and ruins the experience. There were many other restaurants that we would have added to the list, many of them amazingly unusual, but, we left them off as the food was just not worth it. Let us know if there are any crazy places that you love where you can get a great meal as well. We would love to hear.