The experience of eating out is no longer solely about eating. The following venues have placed just as much emphasis on atmosphere, décor, and providing entertainment to customers while they dine.
Hubertus Lounge
Eisenbahnstrasse 6, 10997 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 600 318 65 www.hubertuslounge.de
Hubertus Lounge pays homage to the patron saint of hunting Hubert, as such huge stag heads adorn the walls of this East Berlin café-bar. Mismatched armchairs, sofas and tables are scattered around, menus take the shape of photo albums with handwritten memories in amongst the drinks and food.
Mainstream brands such as Coca-Cola and Becks are avoided in favour of lesser known Fritz-Limo and Almdudler. In a further twist, a non-descript cupboard in one corner of the room is in fact a doorway with steps leading down to a basement bar which hosts music and poetry on selected nights.
Tasca Jesús Pobre
Carrer Bisbe Hervás 4, 03749 Jesús Pobre, Spain
(corner with Carrer Convent)
+34 96 575 6285
This charming restaurant in the tiny town of Jesús Pobre is located in a cavernous building with no paint or décor other than a series of coloured fairy lights that adorn the terrace. Plastic tables and chairs fill the space which is mostly open-air, and when it rains waiters will simply pick up your table (along with its contents) and move to where there’s shelter.
The food focuses mainly on tapas from the La Rioja region of northern Spain, seafood and fish dishes (cod, octopus) are heavily featured. The menu changes daily and is written up on a large blackboard, austerity may be the key but the food is of an extremely high standard.
Inamo
134 – 136 Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZP, UK
+44 207 851 7051 www.inamo-restaurant.com
Ordering food is a fun game at Inamo, thanks to interactive touch screens on every table. Diners can scroll through each dish on the menu which comes complete with a picture and description, ordering is via a simple tap of the button. Aside from the interactive menu there is a ‘chef cam’ which allows you to peak into the kitchen, as well as screens allowing you to plan your route home by viewing local buses, tube maps and even ordering a cab.
Inamo’s interactive touch screen tabletops, image source www.inamo-restaurant.com
The cuisine is a mixture of Thai, Chinese and Japanese. Desserts are particularly good (such as Thai basil pannacotta served with coconut foam, kiwifruit and pineapple) and there’s an impressive array of teas. If that’s not enough, the touch screens provide further entertainment in the shape of games such as battleships.
Frankie Tomatto’s
7225 Woodbine Avenue, Markham, ON L3R 1A3, Canada
+1 905 940 1900 www.frankietomatoes.foodpages.ca
Frankie Tomatto’s (not a typo) just outside Toronto is an all-you-can-eat buffet where you can load your plate with pizzas, pastas, cold meats, antipasto and desserts for as little as $10.99 (Canadian dollars). The quirk? The restaurant comes complete with its very own leaning tower of Pisa. Visitors to the area are known to eat here purely to be able to witness this mock-up of Italy’s famous tower.
The inside of the restaurant is a replica of an ancient Roman town, complete with columns, rusty wheels and barrels. The self-service food stations are designed to look like market stalls, and diners weave through the ‘town’ to fill up their plates.
Tharen’s Restaurant & Bar
13-15 Kellet Way, Kings Cross NSW 2011, Australia
+61 2 9326 9510 www.tharens.com.au
You know that you’re going to get a unique dining experience when served by Snow White, Alice from Wonderland or Dorothy and diners are encouraged to dress up. Our Jen, Founder of I Ate My Way Through, dons a red cowboy hat for a hens party and discovers Sydney’s first fancy dress restaurant in her JENIUS food blog.
The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant
Office: Level 1, 566 City Road, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia
Tramstop 125: Normanby Road (near Clarendon Street), South Melbourne VIC 3205
+61 3 9696 4000 www.tramrestaurant.com.au
Exploring Melbourne in a historic tram with plush décor conjures up images of a corny tourist attraction but this ride is actually a restaurant with dining booths, air conditioning, heating, and toilet. Hop-on-board and dine on modern Australian cuisine with a 4-course luncheon, 3-course early dinner or 5-course late dinner whilst passing through suburbs (bookings are essential). The waitstaff will top-up your beverages which are unlimited and even belt out classic hits. We have photo evidence of this delightful dining experience on Jen’s JENIUS food blog.
Melbourne’s unique all-in-one experience (historic tram, dining, sightseeing, and ride), image source www.tramrestaurant.com.au
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