The world’s most exclusive dining experiences

From dining in a volcano to enjoying five-star dishes underwater, we reveal the restaurants that are sure to tickle your taste buds.

Why have a meal when you can have a dining experience? Chefs around the world are ready to treat you to your most memorable meal yet by raising their restaurants 11 meters above ground, plunging you into a volcano, or even taking you into the ocean (both actually and virtually). They have shown that fine dining doesn’t need to be within four walls – and if it is within four walls, not the ones that you might have envisaged.

Intrigued? All you need is an empty stomach and a sense of adventure to enjoy these out-of-this-world feasts.

Eat underwater in the Maldives

Leave your footwear at the door of a sala that lies at the end of a jetty and take a winding staircase, which leads down to the ocean floor. It’s here you’ll discover one of the world’s most unique dining rooms, 5.8 Undersea Restaurant at Hurawalhi, Maldives.

With seating limited to just 20 per service, diners can enjoy lunch or dinner in the domed, glass eatery submerged 5.8 meters below the surface, offering jaw-dropping views of the coral reef. Dine on fresh, seasonal ingredients surrounded by a variety of marine species, including parrotfish and manta rays.

The five-course lunch and seven-course dinner menu are comprised of dishes such as Tuna Tartare with wasabi sorbet and seasoned wakame, Smoked Lobster and Sea Urchin Mousse, and Seared Wagyu Tenderloin With Wagyu Cheek Confit. The chefs aim to give diners a theater-like experience, serving their dishes on trays of pebbles or within giant oyster shells, celebrating the aquatic environment. No wonder some fine-dining lovers fly in for just for lunch.

Feast within a tree canopy in Thailand

Fly by private jet to the island of Koh Kood in Thailand and take a stroll through the ancient jungle at Soneva Kiri to find one of the world’s most extraordinary dining rooms – Treepod. Hand-crafted by artisans from rattan, this outdoor art installation restaurant will lower from its lofty position in the forest canopy to greet you and once you have taken your seat, it will rise 11 meters into the air to give you a bird’s eye view of the Gulf of Thailand. There are four sittings each day so you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner with up to three friends.

The dishes, which play on a woodland theme include Canapes in the Canopy (crispy sweet potato, banana, and taro chips) as well as Forager’s Basket (featuring wild mushroom, garlic, zucchini, and chili rillettes); and Woodland Offerings (galangal baked with fish in banana leaf). Each fresh-tasting dish is created from ingredients that have been plucked from the resort’s organic garden. However the pièce de résistance is having your meals delivered to you by a waiter via zipline. If you have ever wanted to feel like the king of the jungle, this could be your moment.

Dine in a 5D restaurant in Shanghai

When it comes to immersive dining, the Ultraviolet restaurant at a secret location in Shanghai is hard to beat. Not only do the chefs stimulate your senses through taste at Ultraviolet, but the wait-staff also use scent diffusers, 360-degree wall projections, and movie-style sound systems to trigger all of your senses.

Michelin-star chef Paul Pairet, who runs multisensory restaurant Ultraviolet in Shanghai, once said he chose to create an experience rather than just a dish “to offer a bold and exclusive dining experience that engages all the senses to create the ultimate luxury: Emotion.”

Just 10 diners a night are able to enjoy the 20-course menu. When each dish is brought into the dining room by waiters, the room fills with different visual projections, sounds, and scents to build a very individual and tailored experience for each course. You can go from eating truffles surrounded by a woodland scene, to enjoying a gourmet picnic in the countryside with the scent of freshly cut grass. It’s not just a meal at Ultraviolet, it’s an event, which is why it counts three Michelin stars among its many accolades. Tickets to get into the restaurant are released each night at midnight for a booking 90 days away. It can be difficult to get a reservation. But the wait is worth it.

Enjoy Pacific oysters in the Tasman Sea

Enjoy the freshest oysters around by eating them plucked straight from the sea while sitting at a dining table set knee-deep in the ocean. Saffire Freycinet, the luxury hotel that already boasts one of Australia’s most exclusive restaurants called Palate, will arrange for its guests to enjoy one of the most decadent dining experiences yet – a pop-up dining room in the Tasman Sea. If you would like to enjoy a mouthwatering mollusk you will need to don a pair of waders, then take a short walk from the shoreline to reach the table that is set within Coles Bay. Once you take your seat at the table you can enjoy a glass of vintage sparkling wine and take in the scenery. As you quench your thirst, your chef will be busy shucking the freshest Pacific oysters you’ve ever tasted. The oyster experience is included as part of your stay.

Dine in an Icelandic volcano

If you want to sweep someone off their feet, how about flying them by helicopter to dine inside a volcano? Start your day by flying from Reykjavik to Hjörleifshöfði mountain, where you’ll stop for lunch. Then fly on to Strútslaug where you can take a dip in a hot spring before you finish your tour of Iceland in a truly unique dining room. This room is carved out of magma and lies at the base of the Landmannalaugar volcano. You will need to take a Jeep transfer across the Fjallabak Nature Reserve to reach the cave. It’s here that your private chef will be waiting for you, and he or she will take you into the dining room that features white table cloths, crystal goblets, and silverware. You will then enjoy an array of fine-dining dishes before taking a flight back to the capital. If you ever wanted to enjoy a James Bond moment, this has to be it. Visit Jacada Travel for more information.