Source: by iStock_dinner-table-needpix_themed-experiential-dining-restaurants
A bite of your favorite comfort food after slaving away all day at work, your school, or in college just hits the right spot. Everyone likes eating- it is a necessity. Everyone also likes, what we call, the Experience. This experience is what compels people to go out and eat their food while also experiencing something new and interesting.
This makes way for ‘Experiential Dining’- a trend which has been here since a long time to entertain food lovers. There are restaurants all around the world which are all about themes, sensory-focused meals, and décor. Such joints break away from traditional concepts of dining and reconstruct their avenue to resemble some theme. Today, we have such food joints across the globe to increase the ambience of eating and enjoying meals.
The Animal cafes of South Korea
Source: Jalala Cat Café @ Akihabara Guilhem Vellut _Flickr
The idea of the first pet café came to a restaurant in Taiwan; soon this craze spread to other Asian countries too. It reached as far as Sweden, the UK and the USA, and today, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is home to some of the most innovative and fun pet cafes.
The animal cafes there are of many varieties and includes animals like cockatiels, cockatoos, macaws, finches, sheep, dogs, cats, and even Capybaras! You can pet and care for every animal here, all while enjoying your favorite beverage and food- imagine sipping on delicious juice with one hand while petting your favorite cutie little animal with the other.
The environment is built accordingly- for example, sheep cafes have lots of green plants around- and people who might not be able to keep pets can always go here to enjoy time with their favorite animals.
The Hospital themed restaurant of Singapore
Source: Clinic, a hospital-themed bar in Singapore _ in the evening …Flickr
Chicken Clinic is such an awesome name. And the place is equally awesome as well.
Chicken Clinic in Singapore is a restaurant which is hospital-themed and specializes in Korean Fried Chicken. It is also one of the only restaurants in the world which uses surgical equipment for representation purposes which includes metal trays, syringes, and medical tweezers.
So, while Korean fried chicken is there in every other restaurant out there but Chicken Clinic knew how to set itself apart from the other ones. Their best-selling items are Chicken Nanban and Seasoned Spicy Chicken served on laboratory-like metal trays along with sauces and toppings in metal cans.
The Jail themed restaurant of Japan
We are done with a hospital. How about a jail restaurant now? Don’t be surprised because one does exist in Tokyo and is quite a hit amongst the locals as well as international visitors.
A prison-themed izakaya (Japanese gastropub) has been made in Tokyo which emerges on top whenever someone looks for a themed restaurant in the city. A fierce competitor of the maid themed and robot cafes around, this izakaya is a spooky lockup prison with individual rooms for every guest. Once you enter, you won’t see anyone else around and you will have to call upon the staff by putting your hand through a hole in front.
Then, you will get handcuffed and taken to your personal prison cell which can fit 2 to 40 people. The lights go out every now and then, staff dressed up as terrifying clowns and ghostly dolls scare the customers, and loud sirens can be heard regularly. You get the real jail experience here!
Dinner in the Sky
Source: Dinner in the sky Resturant in the Sky has arrived in Sout…Flickr
You go to a new restaurant. You sit down in your seats and place an order. Before your food arrives, you are hoisted up 150 feet into the sky. How would you like such an eating experience? Many do. This is why the restaurant service ‘Dinner in the Sky’ has become such a big hit.
The idea came to David Ghysels who collaborated with bungee jumping organizer, Stefan Kerkhofs to create this sky view dinner for customers. It started in 2007 and quickly escalated to the level of a proper food chain by August 2009. This dinner operates in 60 countries today. Guests just love it when a crane takes their table and their waiters up in the sky to eat while enjoying the view from above.
The earthquake café of Spain
The next candidate on this list, Disaster Café, located in Spain, offers customers a truly unique dining experience. This earthquake-themed restaurant is definitely out of the ordinary and might not be everyone’s cup of tea!
Once the guests enter, they will feel as if they have entered a natural disaster zone with their tables shaking and walls trembling. This is exactly how an earthquake feels like and guests will enjoy an authentic experience of the ground trembling here. The staff is made to wear hard hats for protection and they serve food in very dimly lit areas to make it feel more dystopian. This is just another out-of-the-box idea which has won the hearts of all of its customers.
So, the next time you want to go for an all-out experience, look up for the themed restaurants in your locality. Experiential dining has become a global phenomena now and you will surely find a great themed dinner in your area as well.
Resources
- What Is Experiential Dining? Everything You Need to Know About the Trend. (2023). Paste Magazine. https://www.pastemagazine.com/food/restaurants/experiential-dining-trend-2023
- From Trend to Restaurant Reality: What is Experiential Dining? (n.d.). Lightspeed. https://www.lightspeedhq.com/blog/experiential-dining/
- ‌Hotel Montaña Magica – Huilo Huilo. (2019, November 15). Huilo Huilo. https://huilohuilo.com/en/where-to-stay/hotels/hotel-montana-magica/
- Chiang, E. (2021, April 21). The Lockup Tokyo: A Prison-Themed Restaurant With Skulls & Eyeballs. TheSmartLocal Japan – Travel, Lifestyle, Culture & Language Guide. https://thesmartlocal.jp/the-lockup-tokyo/
- ‌Hui Jun Ng. (2015, November 13). Chicken Clinic – Singapore’s First Hospital-Themed Korean Fried Chicken Restaurant. Ladyironchef. https://www.ladyironchef.com/2015/11/chicken-clinic-korean-fried-chicken/
- Ladner, M. (2018, April 4). A Wild Tour of Seoul’s Best Pet Cafes. Culture Trip; The Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/a-wild-tour-of-seouls-best-pet-cafes
