Delicious food combined with a fascinating ambience and location makes a restaurant a complete customer magnet. Now, while most of us are aware of theme restaurants, we bring to you some little-known ones that are a hit among their customer base for being through and through unique. Have you ever had your food atop a volcano? Well, yeah, that’s exactly the kind of stuff we are talking about.
1. El Diablo, or “The Devil” (Lanzarote, a Spanish island): Food is cooked atop a dormant volcano
They cook food over a volcanic hole, using heat (of about 450 degree Celsius), emitting from deep within the Earth’s surface, as the medium. The restaurant guys have set a huge grill over the hole so they are able to cook many food items in one go. The unique eatery is situated in Timanfaya National Park.
2. Ninja (New York, USA): Gives a dash of thrill to fine-dining
With passaged lit up by paper lanterns, this restaurant is a recreation of an 18th-century mysterious Japanese village. The servers here carry swords and the ninjas can be seen swinging over your tables. A perfect mixture of fire, smoke, and tricks, this restaurant gives your dining a complete thrilling experience.
3. Ithaa (Maldives): World’s first and only all-glass undersea restaurant
At Ithaa, you get to binge on yummy seafood below the sea surface. Only issue (which actually is the USP of the restaurant) is that the marine life here watches you through the glass as you eat their relatives. What’s more, New York Daily News rated it “the most beautiful restaurant in the world” in 2014.
4. Calico Cat Café (Tokyo, Japan): The cafe where cats keep you company
Calico is believed to be one of the most popular cat cafes around. The idea was born out of the situation that most apartments in Tokyo don’t allow pets. Such cafes give people a good opportunity to spend time with these cute felines, without keeping any long-term commitment.
The cafe has about 50 cats and the owners make sure that the customers treat them well.
5. Dinner In The Sky (Belgium, and many other countries): Exactly as the name says
A perfect fusion of food, adventure and awesomeness, this restaurant gives you the taste that makes you feel like on cloud 9, quite literally. Having started from Belgium, this unique dining table has reached the sky spaces of Mexico, Australia, Japan, Brazil, United States, Canada, China, Dubai, and even India (in Chandigarh).
Fact Sources: 1 , 2
6. Cannibalistic Sushi (Tokyo, Japan): Eat your Sushi by digging through a human body
Nyotaimori (roughly translating to “female body presentation”) is a weird Japanese practice of serving Sushi on the body of a woman (usually naked) that acts as a plate. At Cannibalistic Sushi, you get to eat this disturbing Japanese practice!
The dish is prepared by arranging food items in such a way that the final version resembles a female body. Even the insides are made to resemble organs. Moreover, red sauce is stuffed in the skins so that it creates an impression of realistic bleeding when you poke through it.
7. Dick’s Last Resort (USA): The staff here is obnoxious on purpose
It is a chain of about 17 restaurants in the US, which hires rude staff on purpose and there’s a reason behind their such attitude. Initially, the owners had thought of a conventional fine-dining theme restaurant. Eventually, though, the plan didn’t work out and the restaurant went into bankruptcy. And so, they decided to go sloppy- Something that worked out well in their favour.
Apart from the rude staff, the set up is also downright informal and wacky. The picnic tables don’t have table cloths and napkins are used to target customers by the staff. The regulars here expect to be insulted!
8. Dark Dine Invisible (Bangalore, India): Where there is not a single streak of light and the server is blind
It isn’t all that easy to eat in darkness without spilling, is it? But, in this restaurant, it will be difficult for you to be careful while eating because it is all dark. And the steward that will help you through, is blind. However, the absence of light makes it easier for the customers to relish the flavours.
To sum it up, this restaurant is devoid of light and the servers here are visually impaired.
Interestingly, such restaurants are all over the world and are doing pretty well. Find out about other such restaurants here.
9. Villa Escudero, or Waterfall Restaurant (San Pablo, Philippines): The dining tables are set at the foot of the waterfalls
Diners get to enjoy their food while staying submerged in calf-deep waters.
10. Kayabuki Izakaya (Tokyo, Japan):Â Where monkeys serve you
An izakaya is an informal Japanese drinking establishment. And this one is unique in that it has 5 monkey butlers to take care of your needs. Animal Welfare has reportedly inspected the job to be fit for monkeys and they don’t get to work overtime and so, the stress is avoided. Seems like your story in reverse, doesn’t it?
11. Rogo’s (Yas Island, Abu Dhabi): Food drops to your table via 12-metre tornado spiral
Justifying the meaning of fast-food quite literally, this restaurant contains 30 food roller coasters. Each coaster has a table fitted to it where the customers place their orders through tablets. And the chefs, once the order is prepared, send it down the spiral, right into the customer’s plate.
12. Modern Toilet Restaurant (Taipei, Taiwan): Eat and…?
13. De Goljer (Deinze, Belgium):Â You are your own cook in this restaurant- weird but true story
In this Do-It-Yourself dining, servers provide you with drinks and ingredients as you make your own food. They sure help you, though.
14. Kinderkookkafe (Amsterdam, Netherlands): It is run by kids!
It is basically a non-profit effort to teach children (from ages 5 to 12 ) the nuances of running a restaurant. From chefs to cashiers to dishwashers, every activity is done by children here. It is also a unique kind of day care facility, and has been running for over 30 years now. The kids here work under the supervision of a few adults.
15. Hajime Robot Restaurant (Bangkok, Thailand): Where the robots entertain you
(Photo : Reuters)
They not only bring you your order but also bust out some groovy moves to keep you entertained.
16. Pay As You Please (Killarney, Ireland): You make your own bills here
The catchy concept of setting your own bills sure invites a throng of customers here, and so prior bookings are recommended.