The world’s largest underwater restaurant offers more than just seafood

Page date: Published 24 Mar 2023; updated 21 Sep 2026. 4 min read.

The article profiles Under, a half-submerged restaurant on Norway’s southern coast, with an 11-metre-wide window looking onto the seabed about five metres underwater. It presents the venue as a restaurant, marine-research base and architectural project intended to support local marine life.

Designed by Snøhetta, the structure uses rough, untreated concrete and thick concave walls intended to withstand waves and currents. The textured exterior is intended to provide habitat for molluscs and kelp, forming an artificial reef. Core Marine helped with technical and structural work, including transport, submerging and anchoring; the article says a new barge was developed to tow the building into place.

The article says researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research use the site as a base, with sensors monitoring marine life and research into how fish respond to sound. It reports that the team had found a jellyfish type not previously observed in that local area; no species name or study details are given.

The restaurant’s chef, Nicolai Ellitsgaard, is described as focusing on local ingredients harvested near the venue in cooperation with marine biologists. Dishes include Northern stone crab, Norwegian squat lobster, ling head, fish roe and seaweed. The article frames the use of less familiar and often-discarded seafood as a way to broaden food sources, while emphasizing sustainable management and overfishing concerns. Related link: Under restaurant.