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What it's like to have dinner at the world's largest all-glass underwater restaurant, where a meal goes for $280 and everyone has to be barefoot
What it's like to have dinner at the world's largest all-glass underwater restaurant, where a meal goes for $280 and everyone has to be barefoot
Jimmy ImFeb 11, 2020, 19:45 IST
Jimmy Im for Business InsiderI'm not ordinarily a fan of scallops, but the seared scallop ceviche dish with pickled zucchini, prawn coconut bisque, and pea mousse may have converted me.
I dined at the largest all-glass underwater restaurant in September.
The $280 meal was a three-hour extravaganza.
The space seats 20 people max, and everyone has to take their shoes off before entering.
In 2016, luxury resort Hurawalhi in the Maldives opened 5.8 Undersea Restaurant. It's the largest all-glass underwater restaurant in the world, according to its website, and it spans 969 square feet.
I've also dined at Ithaa, the other all-glass underwater restaurant in the Maldives. It's 16 feet below sea level, while 5.8 is 19 feet below. From my personal experience at both, 5.8 Undersea restaurant is longer, with four more tables, so it checks off as the largest. That being said, the space is still extremely intimate.
Here's what it's like to dine at 5.8 Undersea Restaurant at Hurawalhi, which costs $280 per person.
To access the restaurant, you cross an overwater bridge about 200 feet into the sea.
5.8 Undersea Restaurant is part of a structure with an overwater bar and restaurant, but it's tucked away with a separate entrance.
If you arrive early for a drink, you can peruse the menu for the night, which is displayed at the entrance. 5.8 mostly serves seafood, and a meal costs $280 per person, so it's definitely a splurge.
The glass-floor walkway wows guests even before they step inside.
Inside the foyer, you have to remove your shoes. Yes, everyone dines barefoot. Only after that can you approach the spiral stairs that descend to 5.8.
Along the way, you can browse photos of the underwater restaurant's construction. The restaurant weighs 400 metric tons.
As you walk down the spiral stairs, the glass panel on the wall offers a glimpse of what's in store. Right before dinner starts, divers make sure the coral surrounding the restaurant is in good condition. They also scatter food to ensure plenty of marine life appears.
The underwater restaurant is an all-glass, dome-shaped structure with a hardwood floor; there is virtually no obstruction between diners and the sea. It is elegant and minimalistic, and it seats 20 people max.
The manager let me in early to take photos before the nightly seating at 6 p.m. There is no assigned seating, and every table has a great view against the glass wall. I chose to sit on the left near a bed of coral.
The restaurant is cozy, intimate, and romantic, and with the 6 p.m. seating, you can watch the marine life through sunset.
When all the diners arrived (it was a full house), they couldn't stop taking photos. The entire restaurant is Instagram-friendly, and almost all the diners were honeymooners.
The restaurant provides a guide to the fish you’ll see surrounding you. Throughout the night, we didn’t see turtles or rays, but we did see almost every fish on the list, as well as a moray eel, a nice surprise since it is not on the list.
And now for the food itself: Tuna tartare with wakame, wasabi sorbet, and avocado puree was the first dish on the menu. It was served in a clear plate over another clear plate full of sand, a fun way to add depth and design.
I'm not ordinarily a fan of scallops, but the seared scallop ceviche dish with pickled zucchini, prawn coconut bisque, and pea mousse may have converted me. It was served on a gorgeous shell and had various flavor profiles and textures.
I was impressed by the smoked lobster and sea urchin mousse, which is a dish suitable for a fine dining restaurant. It was rich and thoughtful, with touches of Beluga caviar and squid ink brittle against a poached langoustine tail.
The prize for most visually engaging dish was the red mullet in a lobster bisque foam, enhanced with fennel and vanilla.
It's interesting to experience an underwater sunset since you never see the sun, but you see the transformation of the sea. The coral was lit up so diners could still keep an eye on marine life, and larger fish came out to play.
About two hours into the dinner, we were served poached lobster, embellished with truffle caviar and lobster claw emulsion beurre blanc. The smoked trout beet ravioli was a perfect accompaniment, as was the cucumber yuzu and galangal foam.
While the meal itself is $280, you can add a wine pairing with hand-selected wines and Champagnes for $99 per person.
I noticed that almost every table in the restaurant had opted for the pairing, which included a Taittinger Rose, Brut, Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand 2018 and Brolettino Ca Dei Frati Lugana Italy 2016.
It was too dark to take a photo of the Wagyu tenderloin with Wagyu cheek confit (the main dish), but the mango cheesecake had bright, cheerful colors.
If you're planning to dine here, I recommend taking breaks like we did to come up for fresh air — and to catch the last of the sunset. Otherwise, you'll never see how beautiful (and futuristic) 5.8 Undersea Restaurant looks at night.
After the three-hour dinner, the bridge back to the main island is beautifully lit up. Hurawalhi is a small island, so there's no need to call for a golf cart. We were back in our villa in less than five minutes by foot.
Note: If you can't splurge on a $280 per person dinner, the restaurant also offers guided afternoon meditation for a $60 fee, which is a great way to spend time inside 5.8.
