Underwater restaurant in Norway
Do you remember when I told you on Instagram that they were building this übercool underwater restaurant at the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline? Well, Europe’s first underwater restaurant is now ready and will be opening its doors on the 2nd of April. This special restaurant is called Under and it will also function as a research center for marine life.
Fresh set menus
You will be able to dine at five and a half meters below sea level. Just take the stairs 🙂
Acclaimed Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard Pedersen will propose fresh set menus following the seasons. In his own words: “Just on the other side of our iconic window – the ocean is bursting with fresh delicacies from the sea, so the journey from the kitchen to the plate is minimal”. So yes, that means seafood but there will be meat and seabirds (!) as well as other fresh local products like berries and mushrooms. I gather it will be an interesting menu.
Partly submerged
Under is the largest underwater restaurant in the world. It is located at Spangereid in Lindesnes. The semi-sunken building itself is an architectural wonder. One can see part of it above water and it looks like a building from the tv series Lost.
The building is 34-meter long and was designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta. It’s made out of thick concrete and the restaurant has this enormous panoramic window so you can see the fish swimming while you eat. The concrete shell will function as an artificial reef and integrate in its surroundings.
Under wonder
My Norwegian is not quite there yet but I read on the site of Snøhetta that “under” means ”below” and ”wonder”. I find that really cool 🙂
Lindesnes is known for its intense weather conditions and dramatic skies. The sea can be quite rough up there. Some of the fish that you might see in that area are wrasses, cod, pollack, dogfish (mud shark) and urchins, crabs and lobsters. They will also be using artificial lighting to draw plankton which in turn will attract other fish to the restaurant’s panoramic window. Smart move as the visitors will always have a lively view.
For more info or to book a table: go to the website of Under.
So what do you think? Will you be going to Norway to go ‘Under’?
Frédérique houdt van mimosa, van films, van de geur van gebakken knoflook, van de Middellandse Zee (‘haar’ zee want aan die zee is ze geboren), fotografie, musea, nachttreinen, haute couture en ze zou het liefst voor altijd in een hotel wonen.
