Most of us consider different styles of restaurant to relate to the specific cuisine rather than the actual venue. While this 05/be the norm, we are seeing a surge of restaurants that are being built and characterised around specific themes. These won’t necessarily fit with your traditional knowledge on what a restaurant is; but their differences make them unique and many have become icons in their countries.
Cat Cafe – Japan
Renowned not for its food … but its cat selection! The Neko (cat) Cafe is a relatively new phenomenon but the trend has caught on fast in Japan, and there are now more than 50 in Tokyo. The cafe is more about the “catmosphere” than the cappuccino, as you tempt your feline friend with delicious treats. The cafés make it easy for you to relax by creating an ambiance with soft music, cozy couches and reading corners. Whilst you will have no trouble relaxing, you will more than likely come back to reality relatively soon when you realize that the average cost is ¥1,000 ($10) an hour.
Dinner in the Sky – Belgium
Dinner in the sky4Dinner in the sky treats you and 21 others to gourmet food while swinging high above Parc Cinquantenaire. For those of you who suffer from a fear of heights, all diners are strapped into pivoting chairs so you can take in the view and impending sunset.
Baggers – Germany
Place your orders electronically and wait excitedly for your food to come hurling down the twisting track from the kitchen above. Food arrives without spills direct to your table, without the need for a waiter/waitress and only gravity. The kids will enjoy the experience, and you will love the food.
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant – Maldives
Come dine in our underwater restaurant. Fancy dining five meters below sea level? Claustrophobes 05/not like this idea. But for many of us sipping champagne in the world’s only aquarium style restaurant is something to gloat about. Enjoy your caviar and other seafood while remaining dry as the wonders of the ocean swim around you.
Chillout – United Arab Emirates
You might have to convince yourself through a GPS that you are still in the boiling weather of Dubai as this restaurant is made almost entirely from ice. Chill as you dine while sitting on ice constructed chairs, eating from ice tables and drinking from ice glasses ordered from a bar made of ice.
Mars 2112 – USA
Who said martians can’t be friendly? Put aside those H.G Wells influenced perceptions and enjoy some fusion seafood, intergalactic style. Although Mars 2112 closed its doors, it was one of the most memorable theme restaurants in New York. With mock flights to Mars, lava pools and a ‘space’ themed menu it was said to be an experience to remember.
By Justin Hendry
Justin Hendry is a travel writer for InsureandGo Australia and currently completing his Bachelor of Media at Macquarie University. At other times he enjoys escapism through the spheres of travel writing, reading and music, in an attempt to fend off the natural progression of maturity and responsibility.