15 BREATHTAKING RESTAURANTS THAT LITERALLY TAKE DINING TO NEW HEIGHTS

These 15 Breathtaking Restaurants Literally Take Dining to New Heights
By Neal Wallace, Scribol, 2 April 2015.

15. Fangweng Restaurant - Yichang, China

Image: Don Faw

Fangweng Restaurant represents one of the world’s most rewarding dining experiences - for those brave enough to set foot in a restaurant impossibly carved into the side of a cliff. This eating spot-in-a-cave is positioned approximately seven miles from Yichang in China’s Hubei province, and just getting to it requires diners to cross a 98-foot bridge skirting rocks.

Image: Don Faw

After sampling the local cuisine and taking in the beautiful scenery around Xiling Gorge, extreme diners can further experience the unique setting at a nearby attraction: a bungee jump with an incredible 200-foot drop.

14. Piz Gloria - Mürren, Switzerland

Image: Piz Gloria

Perched more than 9,700 feet above sea level amid Switzerland’s snowy peaks, Piz Gloria seems, at first glance, a restaurant fit for a Bond villain. And in fact the high-altitude eatery was precisely that, acting as the hideout for the evil Ernst Stavro Blofeld in 1969 spy flick On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Image: Piz Gloria

Piz Gloria accommodates 400 diners and, naturally, offers a culinary Bond theme, serving up delights such as the “007 breakfast buffet” and “James Bond spaghetti.” The rotating dining room here also affords all guests a look at over 200 Alpine summits - and perhaps the chance to hatch a dastardly plot to take over the world.

13. Sirocco, The Dome at Lebua - Bangkok, Thailand

Image: Lebua Hotels & Resorts

The vertiginous Sirocco restaurant is perched on the 63rd floor of The Dome at Lebua, around 820 feet above the bustling streets of Bangkok, Thailand. Here, head chef Gonzalo Ruiz serves high-end Mediterranean food as up to 150 diners endeavour not to think about the dizzying drop below.

Image: Edu Romano Maqueda

Unveiled in 2003, Sirocco apparently represents the planet’s loftiest al fresco dining experience - so perhaps plan to visit when it’s not too windy. Moreover, The Dome at Lebua has played host to a ground-breaking ball drop, as a luminous sphere plunged 49 feet from a pole at a height of 872 feet to mark the start of 2015.

12. The Summer Cave, Hotel Ristorante Grotta Palazzese - Polignano a Mare, Italy

Image: Grotta Palazzese

It’s not so much the height as the dramatic location that thrills diners at Hotel Ristorante Grotta Palazzese’s The Summer Cave restaurant. It’s an apt moniker, too, as the eating spot is ensconced literally within a limestone cliff there on the southern Italian coast. Furthermore, the restaurant’s position some 74 feet above the majestic Adriatic Sea means that diners can feast to the music of the moving water.

Image: Grotta Palazzese

The uniquely placed restaurant’s setting has been enchanting visitors for generations; indeed, as far back as the 18th century it served as a beguiling banqueting hall for local dignitaries. These days, however, it opens as a contemporary restaurant in the summer months up until October, while a slightly higher indoor space is available from fall to spring.

11. Singapore Flyer - Singapore

Image: Singapore Flyer

An inimitable dining experience awaits visitors to the Singapore Flyer, which is among the tallest observation wheels of its kind on the planet. Diners here can indulge themselves in a private glass-walled pod for two with a unique full butler service and a four-course meal - all while rotating to an elevation of 541 feet and observing Singapore’s famous shimmering skyline.

Image: Guowen Wang

There’s plenty of time to admire both the food and the surroundings, too, as the package incorporates two full revolutions of the wheel and takes around 60 minutes to complete. Then as an added luxury, guests can kick back in the Flyer Lounge and imbibe a Singapore Sling or two in front of the marina.

10. Le Panoramic - Chamonix, France

Image: chamonix.net

Le Panoramic is perched atop the peak of Sommet de la Saulire, opposite the imposing Mont Blanc and at an altitude of almost 9,000 feet. The elevated French Alps eatery has been satisfying diners’ need to refuel and relax for more than half a century.

Image: chamonix.net

This sky-high spot is accessible via cable car, and when diners arrive they’re treated to a varied menu that belies the restaurant’s remote location. Indeed, there’s a simple snack bar for those seeking a break from a full day on the slopes, while more discerning customers can tuck into sophisticated international cuisine. Moreover, two terraces together offer an al fresco option on those sunnier days.

9. La View Restaurant, Kupu Kupu Barong Villas and Tree Spa - Bali, Indonesia

Image: Kupu Kupu Barong

La View Restaurant is part of Bali’s charming Kupu Kupu Barong Villas and Tree Spa resort, which is itself set within a magnificent stretch of tropical Indonesian gardens. Here, diners can soak up nature in all its beauty, with views from the open-air terrace taking in a lush canopy of treetops. There’s also a pool bar that offers the same glorious food-and-view combination.

Image: Kupu Kupu Barong

Meanwhile, the food on hand has a French-inspired southeastern Asian theme, and the restaurant offers tailored packages to make the experience extra special. These options include the Birdnest Dinner, whereby customers sit in a cocoon-like structure above the Ayung River Valley.

8. Stratosfare Restaurant & Bar, Skyline Queenstown - Queenstown, New Zealand

Image: Skyline Queenstown

Vertigo sufferers might want to avoid this one, as before even entering Stratosfare Restaurant & Bar, customers face a trip on the most precipitous cable car south of the equator. Still, when diners do get to the top, they’ll be located almost 1,500 feet above Queenstown - and in awe of New Zealand’s famously beautiful landscape.

Image: Kathrin & Stefan Marks

That said, glimpses of Coronet Peak and The Remarkables aren’t all the eatery has to offer, for the buffet-style menu serves local cuisine with an international twist. A viewable rotisserie oven, meanwhile, makes for a dramatic kitchen area. And there’s even the chance to converse with the chef as the food is made for the hungry - and perhaps dizzy - diners.

7. Dasheene at Ladera - Soufrière, St Lucia

Image: Ladera

The island of St. Lucia offers a dining experience like no other in the form of Dasheene. Part of the exclusive Ladera resort in the town of Soufrière, the luxurious restaurant is set high above the sparkling Caribbean Sea and the Pitons, a pair of volcanic peaks.

Image: Ladera

Head chef Nigel Mitchel serves up responsibly sourced contemporary St. Lucian cuisine that’s available to all for lunch and dinner. That, of course, is assuming potential diners can stand to look at the water from a height of 1,000 feet.

6. Hotel Schafbergspitze - St. Wolfgang, Austria

Image: Jack Lau

When Wolfgang Grömmer developed the Hotel Schafbergspitze in 1862, he couldn’t have picked a more perfect location for Austria’s inaugural mountain guesthouse. However, it’s likely that not everyone will be thrilled by the hotel’s position - after all, diners at its restaurant must place their orders on the edge of the 5,840-foot-high Schafberg peak.

Image: Jack Lau

Still, the restaurant’s food is bound to prove ample recompense, with all of its ingredients originating from the local Salzkammergut region. The eatery’s tables, meanwhile, are reached via the late 19th century-built Schafberg Railway, which increases in elevation by almost 4,000 feet over its three-mile-plus journey.

5. At.mosphere - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Image: At.mosphere

At.mosphere raises the culinary bar to a whole new level. Certainly, the fine dining venue offers a dizzying window-seat view to a sprawling metropolis more than 1,450 feet below patrons’ feet. Then again, daring guests could surely expect nothing less when eating in a restaurant set in an enviable position on the 122nd floor of the Earth’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Image: David Jones

In fact, At.mosphere holds the Guinness World Record for loftiest eating spot when measured from the ground. Here, a non-stop elevator whisks diners to the restaurant to enjoy inventive cuisine courtesy of executive chef Jerome Lagarde. And those hoping for an even higher lookout can always travel two extra floors to the panoramic observatory deck.

4. Lauda, Andronis Boutique Hotel - Santorini, Greece

Image: Andronis Exclusive

The Greek island of Santorini hosts the Andronis Boutique Hotel and its lavish Lauda restaurant, which delivers traditional island dishes mixed with contemporary Greek cuisine. And the resort is impeccably placed for those who dare to dine with a hint of danger, as it’s positioned near not only the beautiful village of Oia but also an active caldera.

Image: Andronis Exclusive

The views over the caldera and the Mediterranean Sea are, naturally, the main draws at the indulgent hotel. Indeed, diners are fortunate enough to get the opportunity to sit right on the edge of the cliff while consuming their meals. It’s a setting fit for a Greek god.

3. Le Jules Verne - Paris, France

Image: Le Jules Verne

Soaring more than 1,000 feet above Paris is one of the world’s most iconic structures: the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece was only supposed to stand for the two decades following its 1889 construction, but luckily for extreme diners it’s still there today - and is now home to an impeccably elegant fine-dining restaurant.

Image: Christopher Michel

Alain Ducasse’s Michelin-starred Le Jules Verne opened in December 2007 on the tower’s dramatically perched second floor. Diners can enjoy modern French fare while gazing out past the structure’s iconic girders at the French capital’s streets 377 feet below, and the sophisticated space is the perfect accompaniment to the sights that surround it.

2. Hotel Edelweiss Mürren - Mürren, Switzerland

Image: Hotel Edelweiss Mürren

The fact that Hotel Edelweiss Mürren’s village setting can only be reached by train or cable car should tell prospective guests something about its relative inaccessibility. Indeed, at over 5,400 feet above sea level, Mürren is the loftiest constantly occupied village in the Swiss Canton of Bern, even if its population numbers less than 400.

Image: Hotel Edelweiss Mürren

The restaurant within the hotel accommodates an admired al fresco terrace, which is ideal for fearless types eager to peer over the edge at the towering Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch mountains at sunset. The site was refurbished in 2011 and serves local fresh fare coupled with an all-encompassing wine list.

1. Sky Restaurant 634 (Musashi) - Tokyo, Japan

Image: Sky Restaurant 634

One of the Japanese capital’s most recent landmarks, the Tokyo Skytree opened its doors in 2012 and imposingly overlooks the city from a height of more than 2,000 feet. This vertiginous elevation makes it the world’s loftiest building of its kind and the second-highest freestanding structure behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

Image: dazstudios

Its Sky Restaurant 634 (Musashi) - so-called because the structure is 634 meters tall - sits on the Skytree’s Tembo Deck, 1,131 feet up from the ground. Visitors can dine on innovative Japanese cuisine while taking in the panoramic vista - which, on a clear day, can stretch as far as the daunting Mount Fuji.

Top image: Stratosfare Restaurant & Bar, Skyline Queenstown, New Zealand. Credit: Skyline Queenstown.

[Source: Scribol. Edited. Top image and some links added.]