Themed Restaurants From Around the World

There’s something about themed dining that foregoes our sensibilities. When a restaurant goes novelty our judgement seems to fly out the window and suddenly we’re willing to pay top dollar for canned food or slurp a curry from a toilet bowl. So, join us as we take a look at some of the strangest themed restaurants from around the world.

Mr Kanso

If you like tucking into crappy canned food then Mr Kanso in Japan might be for you. Mr Kanso is a popular franchise of restaurants that only serve canned food. The cans are on display on high shelves as you walk into the restaurant; the novelty for diners comes from browsing over 300 different types of preserved treats. Highlights include:  omelette in a can, bear curry in a can and some gelatinous brown stuff in a can.

Once you’ve chosen your meal, the waiters attempt to gussy it up with a bit of garnish and a side sauce but really it’s just slop plopped from a can. Tonight we dine like kings.

Robot Restaurant

In a restaurant in Kunshan China more than a dozen robots help to serve up an automated feast. Customers are greeted at the door by two dome-headed androids while four short waiter-bots run on dedicated tracks around the restaurant, busily delivering food to hungry diners. Patrons simply order by pressing numbers at their table then the food is prepared by two specially designed robo-chefs, one a master of stir-fry, the other a dumpling whiz. Apparently the robots can understand up to 40 everyday sentences like ‘Shut up and feed me!’ and ‘Hey R2D2, where the hell’s my meal?’

Disaster Cafe, Spain

Normally when an earthquake hits you pee your pants and run for safety but for diners at the Disaster Cafe in Spain you are guaranteed a 7.8 earthquake with every meal.

Upon entering the restaurant you take an elevator down into what seems like the centre of the earth to a large cavernous dining hall. All the waiters are wearing hard hats; there is a strange feeling of anticipation in the room. The plates are heavier than usual. All you can do is tentatively nibble at your meal then it hits. The room starts shaking, the lights pulse then turn off. There’s screaming. The whole room is rumbling. The lights come back on and your cocktail is now on your lap and food is everywhere. The best part is: you pay for this experience. There is no shortage of punters either, as you have to call to reserve a spot and apparently the food is pretty good, well what’s left of it. But remember you can always peel the gambas off your trousers and slurp your Mojito from the tablecloth.

Modern Toilet

Located in Taiwan, this bizarre restaurant is filled with toilets. There are urinals on the walls and every seat in the house is a shitter. Customers get their own bathroom throne to sit on while they eat their meal served out of a tiny toilet. There’s nothing quite like licking up some chocolate soft-serve ice cream out of a tinkler.

Starting back in 2004 the original concept was simply soft-serve ice cream served out of little toilets.  But soon the dream digested into something even bigger and steamier. Now diners can look forward to a full a la carte menu of spicy hot-pots, curries and runny brown fudge.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, why aren’t these restaurants all around the world? Sadly we’re all missing out on Modern Toilet but maybe we can create our own. Next time that special someone is over why not light some candles and invite them into your toilet for a hearty meal? Chuck steak and gravy anyone?

Cannibal Sushi Restaurant

In Japan there is a restaurant that serves up a mock human corpse. To begin, waitresses dressed as nurses, wheel in the meal on a hospital gurney. And there it is a meticulously re-created human body all of which is edible. The nurses start by slicing the pastry abdomen open with a scalpel, spilling blood red sauce to reveal piles of sashimi made to look like intestines. The diners then pick at the corpse with their chopsticks till they’ve had their fill. It should be noted that patrons have the choice of either a male or female to dine on, which makes the whole experience just that bit creepier.