Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and when you go to a restaurant, you expect an experience. Whether it be a light appetizer or a decadent dessert, you hope your taste buds will thank you.
Aside from the menu, another essential factor to the dining out experience is the atmosphere. And the restaurants on this list have that—perhaps too much, in fact. Foodies, if you like your entrée more on the extreme side, consider adding one or more of the following, decidedly alarming, eateries to your bucket list.
Dinner in the Sky – Belgium
Serving a five-course meal at about 160 feet in the air on free-floating tables, this restaurant is inspired by vertigo. For the dining experience, 22 diners are strapped in their chair, which is then elevated and lets you experience the cityscape. The diners are also asked to sign a $10 million insurance waiver before getting into one of these chairs. This restaurant has its branches all over the world.
The New Lucky Restaurant, Ahemadabad – India
The phrase ‘dine with the dead’ fits quite appropriately for this restaurant as there are dozens of gravestones and stone coffins that are encased in steel railing. It is believed that these coffins belonged to the Muslim followers of a 16th-century saint. This place is known for its Palak Paneer preparation.
Dans Le Noir, New York City – The USA
What can be scarier than dining in dark? Well, you will be surprised to know that all the light-emitting devices (including your phone) are forbidden in this eatery, and you must dine completely in the dark. Also, the scariest part is that you have to sit elbow-to-elbow with complete strangers.
Fortezza Medicea – Italy
Serving since 2007, it’s one of the popular restaurants of Italy and is housed in La Fortezza (the Fortress), which is a Renaissance castle that was built in 1474 and is used today as a high-security prison. What’s significant is the fact that the food is made by these prisoners and is served in plastic utensils due to security purposes. This restaurant is so popular that it is booked in advance for weeks. Not just that, the prisoners also entertain the diners by playing the piano.
Nyotaimori, Tokyo- Japan
This place in Tokyo is world-renowned for the practice of eating sushi off a fake naked woman’s body (made of food), which is cut using operating tools and then it bleeds. Apparently, the intestines and organs placed inside this fake body are edible. That’s terrifying, isn’t it?
Linger Estuary – United States
It’s a restaurant made in the funeral home, where the corpses were cooled in antiquated aircon units. These units have been converted into lamps, while the conveyor belts which are used for moving those coffins have been topped with glass and used as tables for serving food. What else is scarier is that the water is served in formaldehyde bottles.
Mug House Pub, Worcester – England
Standing on a consecrated ground, this place is one of its own experiences where a meander through the graveyard gets you to the backroom, bar, snug, or hatch. What’s scarier is the fact that you might hear ghostly sounds from time to time with unexplained knocking sounds coming from the beer cellar.
Disaster Café – Spain
In this restaurant, earthquake is the main focus as the room simulates 7.8 magnitude earthquakes nightly. Its waitstaff don protective headgear and reflective vests, and patrons are advised to wear machine-washable clothing, as the movement will send wine glasses and meals flying. Located on Spain’s scenic Costa Brava is the appropriately named Disaster Café.