1. The Rock — Zanzibar, Africa
Zanzibar’s “The Rock,” a restaurant on a jagged, rocky outcrop in the ocean. Once a ramshackle fisherman’s post perched off the beautiful Michanwi Pingwe shore, “The Rock” has transformed into an elegant cafe with stunning 360-degree views of the Indian Ocean. Depending on the tides, you can walk, swim or take a canoe to the rocky outcrop, where fresh seafood is the order of the day.
If you plan to go, make sure to book in advance: The iconic destination is popular with tourists and has only 12 tables.
2. Sirocco at Lebua Hotel – Bangkok, Thailand
Located on the 63rd floor of Lebua Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, is the award-winning, open air rooftop restaurant, Sirocco. Its customers are graced with incredible views of the bustling city below as they dine on authentic Mediterranean fare.
3. LumiLinna Snow Restaurant – Kemi, Finland
SnowRestaurant is located at the LumiLinna Snowcastle in Kemi, Finland. The restaurant is rebuilt annually and typically opens around the end of January for lunch and dinner (daily). The temperature in the restaurant is always around -5 degrees Celsius. Typically open from January through April—for as long as the weather hovers around -8 Celsius (about 18 degrees Fahrenheit)—this icy architectural wonder is reconstructed every year from a special set of molds. – Kemi, Finland.
4. The Dining Pod – Koh Kood, Thailand
The Dining Pod at Thailand’s Soneva Kiri Eco Resort taps into all of our childhood fantasies about swinging through the lush jungle canopy – but with an adult spin. Diners enter the open-air bamboo nest on the ground and are hoisted up 16 feet into the tropical canopy of Koh Kood ancient rainforest. Once you’re seated inside a giant open-air bamboo nest with a table and cushioned seats, you’ll be raised up into the rainforest trees and have your food delivered by a zipline-riding waiter. (The ocean views are pretty impressive, too.)
5. Grotta Palazzese – Puglia, Italy
In the town of Polignano a Mare in southern Italy (province of Bari, Apulia), lies a most intriguing dining experience at the Grotta Palazzese. Open only during the summer months (open May through October), a restaurant is created inside a vaulted limestone cave, looking outwards toward the sea.
6. Labassin Waterfall Restaurant – Philippines
Located at the Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort in the Philippines is the Labassin Waterfall Restaurant. The restaurant is only open for lunch and guests dine from a buffet-style menu and eat at bamboo dining tables. It’s not a natural waterfall but a spillway from the Labasin Dam.
7. Ithaa Restaurant, Maldives
Call it an aquarium in reverse. The Ithaa Undersea Restaurant off in the Maldives is a stunning sunken capsule 16 feet below sea level in the Indian Ocean. And though it’s main attraction is the curious sealife outside the glass, it’s hard to tell just who’s admiring whom. Rated “the most beautiful restaurant in the world” by the New York Daily News in 2014, Ithaa sits five metres below the surface, offering 180-degree panoramic views of the vibrant coral gardens surrounding it. Ithaa (meaning ‘mother of pearl’ in the Maldivian language of Dhevi) serves contemporary European cuisine in a six-course set dinner menu.
8. Aescher — Wasserauen, Switzerland
The Aescher Restaurant in Switzerland may look like it’s perched safely at the base of the Alps, but it is really clinging to the foot of a vertical cliff face over 300 feet high. To get to the mountain chalet, you can either take a gondola from the towns below – or set off on a pretty difficult hike.
If you’re brave enough to make the trek, incredible views of the Alpstein mountain chain await, as well as Swiss specialties like Rosti, a hearty potato dish perfect for tired climbers.
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