Europe’s first underwater restaurant opened in Norway with more than 7,000 customers already booked in to eat among the fish. Situated on the southern tip of Norway, the restaurant looks like a large concrete tube partly submerged in the North Sea. It is called Under, which means ‘wonder’ in Norwegian. It was designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snoehetta, which also created the Opera house in Oslo and the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York. Snoehetta Founder Kjetil Traedal Thorsen told reporters, “The fascination is just this movement from above water to underwater through the building. The big window exposes the underwater not like an aquarium, it’s the real thing.” Entering Under initially feels like going into a sauna, as wooden planks cover its upper section. Then an eight-metre flight of stairs leads down to a large dining area that sits about 40 guests, walled by a gigantic transparent window to the sea. Published in Daily Times, March 23rd 2019.