Bloody Norwegians.

First the 2018 World Happiness Report comes out, showing that they are the second happiest country in the world (cheers, Finland), and now we find out that they’re about to open Europe’s first underwater restaurant.

If you’re keen to dine with the fishes then you will have to wait until early next year for Under to open, although the plans show it might just be worth the wait.

Designed by Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta, the concrete structure will include a 36-foot wide panoramic window. It has been designed in such a way that it can become part of the marine environment, with a menu that will focus on seafood.

Here’s CNN with why it’s making a splash:

It will stand on the sea bed five meters below the surface, with thick walls designed to withstand the most variable sea conditions. It will be Snøhetta’s first underwater project…

Visitors can expect three levels and a capacity of up to 100 people. Below the entrance and the cloakroom there will be a champagne bar, to mark the transition between shoreline and ocean. Further down there will be a dining room, with two long tables and several smaller ones positioned in front of the large acrylic window, which will be 13 feet tall…

Head chef, Nicolai Ellitsgaard plans to offer a menu that will follow the flow of the seasons, with local vegetables in spring/summer and mushrooms and nuts in the winter, with shellfish influencing most dishes year-round.

Environmental considerations have guided the design, which is housed in a coarse concrete shell to invite mussels to cling on. Outside of opening hours, the unit will double as a marine biology research center, with planned experiments to study the behavior of marine life through shifting seasons.

Maybe we can send local restaurant expert Dax Villanueva over to look around and see how this one compares to his top three seafood restaurants in the Cape Town CBD.