Unusual Restaurants In The World

Fat Duck

Bray, England

www.fatduck.co.uk



The current tasting menu at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck includes nitro-green tea and lime mousse (shown here) as well as snail porridge, salmon poached with licorice and mango and Douglas fir puree. Blumenthal’s latest book, In Search of Perfection, inspired a television series of the same name currently airing on Britain’s BBC 2.



Ninja

New York

www.ninjanewyork.com



While patrons work their way through the tasting menu at this Japanese restaurant, servers dressed as ninjas perform magic alongside their tables. Expect to spend quite a bit on the sushi--but realize you’re really paying for the entertainment.


Dans Le Noir (In the Dark)

Paris

London

Moscow

www.danslenoir.com/



Dans Le Noir founders Edouard de Broglie and Etienne Boisrond believe that the act of consuming food becomes more satisfying when you're relying on senses other than sight, and they hired a primarily blind and visually-impaired staff to prove their point. Does the food at Dans Le Noir really taste all the better for it? Book a table at one of their three locations--Paris, London or Moscow--to find out.



WD-50

New York

www.wd-50.com



Chef Wylie Dufresne cut his teeth at Jean Georges as sous chef and then at Prime in The Bellagio, Las Vegas, as chef de cuisine before opening WD-50 in New York City’s Lower East Side. His dishes, such as butternut squash sorbet with coffee soil and basil (shown here), are adventurous. And at $105, the nine-course tasting menu is one of the most reasonably priced in the city.



El Bulli

Costa Brava, Spain

www.elbulli.com



El Bulli's head chef Ferran Adrià Acosta is a scientist with the passion of an artisan. That's why Adrià closes for six months every year to dream up all sorts of new and nearly unbelievable dishes (such as the artful beet-based sorbet shown here) in his "El Taller" laboratory. El Bulli’s dynamic menu earned it the title of 2006’s Number One Restaurant in the World, according to Restaurant magazine.



Ice Hotel Restaurant
Sverige, Sweden

www.icehotel.com



The main restaurant of the famed Ice Hotel chain is, oddly enough, not made of ice. But they do serve meals on plates made from the ice of the Torne River, which borders Sweden and Finland. Elk and reindeer appear frequently on the restaurant’s winter menu.




Linger Lodge

Bradenton, Fla.

www.lingerlodgeresort.com/restaurant.htm



Chunk of Skunk? Road Toad Al A Mode? Yes, these are some of the offerings on the road grill menu at the Linger Lodge Restaurant. If you’d rather refrain from snacking on snake or sparrow, there’s a traditional menu with classic southern favorites such as Good Ol' Fashioned Catfish and Old-Florida-Style Fried Chicken.




Dinner In The Sky

Brussels, Belgium

www.dinnerinthesky.com



Call it a floating restaurant if you will--patrons who dine at Dinner in the Sky are suspended by a crane in midair while feasting on the executive chef’s specialized gourmet menu. Based in Brussels, Dinner in the Sky now brings its table to cities throughout Europe.




Annalakshmi

India

Malaysia

Singapore

Perth, Australia

www.annalakshmi.com.au



The typical Indian fare at this restaurant isn’t shocking, but your bill may come as a bit of a surprise. The Annalakshmi mission is "eat as you like and pay as you feel," which means there are no set menu prices. One dollar or $100--it’s your choice. You might be inclined to leave a hefty tip for the staff, however--they’re employed on a volunteer basis only.




Moto

Chicago

www.motorestaurant.com



From edible menus (above right) to patent-pending edible advertisements (the details of which are being kept under wraps), chef Homaro Cantu is taking the science of cooking to another level at culinary laboratory Moto. The “nachos and cheese” dish (left) is actually more sweet than savory: the “tortilla chips” are a mix of Mexican sweet corn and flan, the “ground beef” is a grainy Mexican chocolate and the “Monterey jack” is grated Mexican mango spiked with liquid nitrogen that allows it to melt when sprinkled on your plate.



By Lauren Sherman