Norway's underwater restaurant will be Europe's first

You can find dining establishments that sit just below the ocean’s surface all over the globe; one even opened in the Maldives on Monday (5 November) as part of the world’s first underwater hotel. Adding to the list, Europe’s first underwater restaurant, which is being aptly named ‘Under’, will be opening during February 2019 in Lindesnes in the south of Norway.

‘Under’ will be the world’s largest underwater restaurant, situated within a concrete structure that appears to be sliding into the sea but is in fact resting securely on the seabed. Rune Grasdal, the lead architect on the project from the Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta, likened the design to that of a periscope, referring to how the building links the land to the sea.

Speaking to CNN, he explained that people should not feel claustrophobic when visiting. “It should be an exciting experience but people should also feel secure and well when sitting down there,” he said.

The restaurant will seat 100 people and will comprise three storeys. The entrance and restrooms will be on the top story, a champagne bar on the second, and the dining room will be on the bottom story, with tables positioned in front of the 4 metre-high acrylic window. The thick concrete walls are designed to withstand rough seas and the concrete surface will encourage sea life like barnacles.