Experience unforgettable dining in one of these 5 locations

Eateries used to have a primary focus for bringing in customers: food. Exquisite dishes served in restaurants. An array of delicacies offered in cafes. Today the emphasis on the menu has shifted and new dining experiences are increasingly at the forefront. Unconventional locations and imaginative owners are behind a range of unique ideas that captivate its customers. Here are five places with extraordinary twists that are more enticing than the food itself.

Glide over idyllic landscapes in The Netherlands during a culinary trip with CuliAir Hot Balloon Restaurant

When the owner of the CuliAir Hot Balloon Restaurant dreamt of bringing her culinary passion to new heights over clouds and colourful landscapes, she thought it was just that. A dream. But in 2003, Angélique Schmeinck shared her adventurous idea and skills with The Netherlands, as one of the two only Dutch female master chefs.

Ranging between altitudes of 150 and 750 metres on average, the inside of the balloon acts as a convection oven for dishes that are cooked to perfection and lowered using a pulley construction for guests to enjoy with a glass of their finest wine and views of the sunset in the distance. Courses such as salsa of melon, country guinea-fowl and white chocolate and passion fruit mousse are incorporated in the ticket price of around four hundred euros.

The trip accommodates five to ten guests and mostly takes place in the skies over middle and eastern Holland during the prime ballooning season lasting from March to October.

How to get to Holland (departure location varies depending on weather): Get the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal (4h7m), from £110. Then catch a train to Amsterdam, Henk Sneevlietweg (19m), from £2

Escape to a Tiki paradise at the Tonga Room & Hurricane Club in San Fransisco

Once the indoor swimming pool at the Fairmont Hotel, the space has now been reimagined as the Tonga Room & Hurricane Club, bringing an essence of Tiki to San Fransisco with its bamboo interiors, coconuts and cocktails with little umbrellas.

After its opening in 1929, the Fairmont swimming pool was visited by the likes of actor and future president of the United States Ronald Reagan, and actress Helen Hayes. Hollywood set designer Mel Melvin was hired to transform the space in 1945 as a restaurant using the Tiki style that was emerging in America at the time.

The exotic Polynesian-fusion restaurant and bar centres around what is now the “lagoon”. You can feast on spring rolls, coconut curry seafood and bok choy beside a floating stage for live bands, simulated tropical thunderstorms and a dance floor made from the relics of the record-breaking S.S. Forester sailing vessel.

Address: 950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

How to get there: Fly from London Heathrow to San Fransisco (10h50m), from £200. Then get the subway to Montgomery Street (38m), from £6 and walk 14 minutes.

Make friends with the sheep in the Thanks Nature Café in Seoul, South Korea

Animals have become the spotlight of many cafés around the world. But the Thanks Nature Café in Seoul has taken the theme to another level with the world’s first sheep café.

In 2011, café owner Lee Kwang-ho came up with the idea to do something unique and let “people experience a bit of nature in the middle of the city". Kwang-ho visits Gangwon Province’s Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm once a year to change the café's two resident sheep, and he maintains their appearance with regular baths and blow-dries.

Mabo, Travel and Hala Food Vlogger for MyPlanAte, said: “The owner was super friendly and welcoming”. She said the café had a cosy atmosphere, with small plant pots on the light wooden tables and hanging decorations on the wall.

Guests can enjoy the adorable sheep-themed menu of lattes, ice cream and waffles before visiting animals in the indoor garden where they are kept.

Address: 10, Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu Seogyo Purgio B121, Seoul 04055 South Korea

How to get there: Get a flight from London Heathrow to Incheon (11h), from £210. Then get the train from Incheon Int’l Airport to Hongik University (52m), from £2 and walk 9 minutes.

Dine on the edge of a cliff face at Äscher Cliff Restaurant in Switzerland

On a small terrace overlooking stunning cliff formations and a 100-foot drop below, the Äscher Cliff Restaurant serves local cuisine using traditional ingredients like Ribelmais (a type of ground maize) from the Swiss Alps.

This small wooden guesthouse is located at the end of a path that winds through the steep valleys and caves of Wasserauen. The structure was built by farmers around 170 years ago, becoming a guesthouse 30 years later and the oldest of its kind in Switzerland.

In Spring of 2019, it reopened to the public for the usual season of May until late October after essential renovations to its infrastructure were carried out by new owners. Local food and cuisine company Firma Pfefferbeere took over from the family of Nicole and Bernhard Knechtle-Fritsche, who managed it for 31 years before its popularity lead to renovations being required.

Address: Wildkirchli, Weissbad 9057 Switzerland

How to get there: Get the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Nord (2h25m), From £95. Then catch a train from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon (7m), from £2. You then need to get a train to Zuerich Hb (4h4m), from £80, and another to Gossau SG (51m), from £24. The final train is to Wasserauen (51m), where you can walk across the street and take a cable car from Wasserauen-Ebenalp to the Wildkirchli caves and walk for 15 minutes.

Enjoy a panoramic view of the sea life whilst dining at the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant

A blue glow reflects off from the ocean that makes up the walls of this mostly acrylic structure, with stingrays, bluefin jacks and manta rays swimming within arm's reach as you dine at the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant.

Located at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort in Alif Dhaal Atoll, the name of this aquatic view restaurant derives from the Dhivehi word for “mother-of-pearl". Its unique tube-like structure was designed by Mike Murphy of M.J. Murphy Ltd. in 2004 for 180-degree views of coral gardens and marine life. It was opened to the public as the world's first undersea dining experience in 2005.

Sarah Vestal, of Instagram Travel Page @VenturingVestals, says: “They feed the sharks and fish so you’re surrounded by beautiful ocean life while you dine”. The five-star restaurant serves gourmet cuisine, fusing local and Western flavours in set dinner and lunch menus.

Address: Conrad Maldives, Rangali Island, 20077, Maldives

How to get there: Fly from London Heathrow to Maamigili (VAM) (13h15m), from £290. The resort then arrange a 30-minute seaplane or domestic flight to a nearby island and speedboat transfer to Rangali Island.