Hurawalhi Island’s 5.8 Undersea restaurant. Photo / Supplied
Almost 6 metres underwater in the Maldives, visitors can enjoy an experience like no other, writes Katie Lockhart.
My mum is claustrophobic, so snorkelling was out of the question. But you can’t travel halfway around the world and not get a glimpse of the kaleidoscope of fish that inhabit the Maldives’ coral reefs. The solution? An unforgettable meal at the world’s largest all-glass undersea restaurant.
Reminiscent of a sunken treasure, 5.8 Undersea sits, as the name hints, 5.8m below the ocean surface at Hurawalhi Island Resort and is for exclusive use by the guests and those staying at its sister resort, Kudadoo Maldives.
Close to the equator, the sun was blisteringly hot the day I surprised my mum with this unique dining experience.
I told a white lie and said we were going to lunch at Kashibo, the resort’s overwater Asian restaurant. As we walked along a wooden jetty to the middle of the lagoon, we were greeted by the team at 5.8 and given a bright red watermelon mocktail before being led to the base of the stairs.
When we were asked to take off our shoes, the jig was up; my mum knew we wouldn’t be snacking on satay skewers and sushi rolls. Instead, we walked down spiral after spiral of the staircase as a light blue glow grew brighter and brighter.
It’s hard to prepare yourself for the awe of an underwater restaurant – especially if it’s a surprise, and the shock on my mom’s face was worth a bit of cloak-and-dagger about our lunch plans.
The restaurant’s 12.7cm-thick glass structure was made in Japan and assembled in New Zealand. Then, the 400-tonne structure travelled by sea for three weeks to the resort, where a team of 13 divers and engineers took 10 months to attach it to a sturdy set of eight steel piles. In late 2016, they welcomed their first pair of adventurous diners.
We arrived early for our lunch reservation, so all of the restaurant’s 10 tables were up for grabs. Its design is, understandably, minimalist, with sleek charcoal-grey tables and chairs on either side of the curved glass top. The floor is timber, and a long, swirling blue water-themed carpet stretches down the centre of the room.
My mom picked a table in the middle, next to a sunken dhoni (a traditional Maldivian boat), where a vibrant reef thrived directly outside the glass. The lively corals are by design; a team of divers planted a mini-reef around the restaurant. They took bleached coral, barely alive from the 2016 El Niño reef disaster, and replanted them with healthy corals. The reef’s lagoon location has a continuous backwash current, making it an easy environment for these corals to flourish. Almost a decade after opening, more than 100 different species of fish duck in and out of the various colourful reefs.
As we sat down, we swivelled our heads left to right, looking at the butterfly fish flitting by, the rainbow fish munching on corals and the tiny clown fish in the purple anemone. More than just a fantastic meal, diners can observe a magical underwater world for hours longer than any diver or snorkeler.
Typically fully booked, the other diners began to ascend the stairs, and we watched their faces light up. A go-to for couples, especially honeymooners, expect plenty of photos to be taken in various areas of the restaurant. And while dinner may be more romantic, lunch is illuminated with natural light, casting a blue tinge over everything and making it easier to see other marine life in the distance.
Unlike pretty much every other restaurant in the world, the food here takes a back seat. The star of the show is undoubtedly the fish hogging all of your attention. But the team here also delivers a fantastic seasonal meal. Once diners order their drinks, they’re presented with a five-course menu featuring “Land”, “Sea”, or vegan options.
Selecting “Land” and “Sea” so we could share, my menu stars Japanese Wagyu beef tartare with capers and chives, and a lamb saddle with carrot puree and black garlic. Meanwhile, my mother’s menu included Alaskan king crab and Maldivian yellowfin tuna in avocado cream, topped with caviar.
And while each course was a deliciously edible work of art, plated with tweezers and precision, the rainbow fish making faces at you mere inches away, inevitably steals your attention. Conversations were kept to a minimum, distracted by the marine show happening around us.
Right as we were finishing our strawberry and white chocolate mousse, we had an even better finale to our luxurious lunch below the ocean. Two black-tipped reef sharks swam directly over us, casting a shark shadow over the restaurant and giving my mom an underwater experience she’ll treasure forever.
The writer was hosted by Hurawalhi Island Resort.