UnderFive metres below the surface of the North Sea

Why it was put in the water

Lindesnes, Norway — Half-submerged restaurant under the North Sea.

Half of the building stands on land and half sits under the water. The concrete shell is set against the rocky shore at Lindesnes and the entrance is on dry ground, so the room where you eat is the part below the surface.

The window is a single sheet of acrylic, like a periscope let down into the water. Beyond it lies the ecology of this stretch of the North Atlantic, and the dining room itself is five metres under the surface.

The walls are built thick and the concrete shell follows the shape of the rock. Left in the water it takes on algae and limpets, and the structure is counted as an artificial reef.

The radius it buys from

The sustainability page on the official site is specific. Ingredients from southern Norway come first, and the test is carbon footprint rather than an organic certificate, on the argument that most Norwegian farmers are not certified while what they grow is often better than organic produce brought in from abroad.

Foraging is part of the daily work, on land and in the sea, much of it at the door. Dairy comes from Herikstad Gård in Bryne; the farm was picked for how it treats its animals, and the quality came with that.