Europe’s first underwater restaurant is now open in Norway, and more than 7,000 customers have already booked in to eat here. So, we bring to you all the details you need to know. By Kumar Shree
Europe’s first underwater restaurant opens up in Norway and it’s called ‘Under’. The name also means “wonder” in Norwegian, and that’s what you will feel when you have a look at it. More than half of the structure is submerged underwater, and it is truly an architectural wonder. The first underwater restaurant is also the largest in the world.
The restaurant has been designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snoehetta, a forerunner in the field of innovative architecture. The same firm also designed the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, Opera house in Oslo and the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York. Snoehetta’s founder Kjetil Traedal Thorsen told Reuters, “The fascination is just this movement from above water to underwater through the building… The big window exposes the underwater, not like an aquarium, it’s the real thing.”
The restaurant is set in the remote village of Baly in Norway and is spread over 495 sqm. It has a gigantic window offering a gorgeous view of the ocean, and the sitting is a deep five metres below the water surface. An eight-metre flight of stairs leads down to the large dining area that can accommodate about 40 guests at once.
Full 18-course local ingredients and seafood-based meal at the restaurant can cost up to 3,700 crowns ($430) per person including drinks. The restaurant Under will also double up as a marine research centre, and the walls have been designed with extra caution to ensure that they withstand any force of water. Living true to their legacy, the architecture firm Snohetta have left the outside of the restaurant rugged. It will attract and promote algae growth, that will attract more marine life to the surroundings and promote algae growth.
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