Photo: Alexey Potov - Noblige (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Gastronomy · The Maldives
Dining beneath the sea
A meal in a glass restaurant five metres beneath the surface, surrounded by the reef and its fish.
Ari Atoll · The Maldives
The experience
The Maldives offers something rare: a meal in a glass restaurant set entirely beneath the ocean. The first and best known is Ithaa, at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in South Ari Atoll, five metres down, under a curved acrylic roof.
A spiral staircase leads down from an overwater pavilion and you find yourself in the middle of the reef: bright fish, turtles and sometimes reef sharks pass around the table. The restaurant serves set menus at lunch and dinner.
Seats are very few, so we reserve them when your stay is confirmed and ask the kitchen in advance for a halal or seafood-only menu. Similar restaurants sometimes accept guests from other resorts, depending on availability.
Lunch shows the reef's colours best in daylight; dinner is quieter and more romantic.
The Maldives
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