What are the World's Weirdest Theme Restaurants?

seated in this cave like area. And the first thing most patrons noticed is that all the weight staff is wearing these hard hats like construction cats. And then when you order your food, the trays are all super super heavy. But the entire concept of the place is that sometime during your meal, you'll actually experience a simulated earthquake that measures seven point eight on the Richter scale. All right, so let me get this straight. I'm actually paying to

eat and feel an earthquake at the same time. And why is it a seven point eight? I think because that's the optimal earthquake setting for maximum dining enjoyment. But no, I have no idea. But but the whole concept is that you don't know when the earthquake is actually gonna happen, So I guess it's for thrill seekers, or maybe for people who love playing Russian Roulette over a fine meal. So I have to know that was was the food

any good? Yeah? Apparently the food is great. And like most theme restaurants, business was initially strong because of the buzz, but eventually the novelty wore off, and the fact that the drinks build all over the place regularly and you couldn't wear nice clothes there took its toll. So I guess the owners snuffed out their beloved disaster cafe. But today's Nine Things is all about theme restaurants, because even if we don't want to eat at them or invest

in them, we definitely want to talk about them. Let's dig in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm joined by my good friend Mangueshot Ticketer, or at least halfway joined by Mangeshot Ticketer. I'm in New York waiting on Mango and Tristan to come up here tomorrow. Now, Mango, I have to know, is is Tristan sitting behind the glass, and if so, what is he doing today? He is indeed sitting behind that glass, and today he's looking at recipes

from his Bubba Gump Shrimp Company cookbook. Wow, he's always up to something interesting. Hey, that's perfect because I don't know if that still exists up here in New York, but if it does, we definitely have to take him over there and just just drop him off. I don't want to go in, and we'll drop him off at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. So now today, Mango, we're talking about theme restaurants. So I'm curious, what are your feelings about theme restaurants? You know, I was thinking about

this earlier. I'm actually kind of conflicted because I mean, they're they're obviously tourist trots, and I feel like there was an age when I was super into them, right like maybe when I was eleven or twelve, I was all about going to like hard rock cafes and Planet Hollywood's. Then if there was, I don't know, like a Hedgehog cafe in my neighborhood, I'm sure I would have begged

my parents to go. But then you kind of age out of them, right like like medieval times and where you want to get dragged as an angsty teen unless you're into like dragon con or Renaissance fairs. And then you get a little older and it's exactly where you want to drag your nephews or nieces. I mean I subjected my little nephew Ryan a ton of things that he wouldn't want to do, Like what what do you mean? Like I forced him to go to that Ninja cafe

in New York. Yeah, they're They're all those like secret hiding spots and the ninja's jumped out at you and like clouds of smoke and the sushi comes on a bed of dry eyes, so it's all smoky too. And I think the weirdest thing is that the ninja's come around to your tables to do card tricks. Well, speaking of magic, I do know you wanted to talk about your favorite magic cafe, and that's David copper Fields Magic Underground, right,

that's right. So you know when I was a kid, I mentioned this to you, but I David Copperfield and we actually went to see him when he came to Wilmington's. My my mom used to take the specials on TV so we could watch them, and I had, of course heard about his legendary statue of Liberty trick. That's where he made it disappear on TV, right, Yeah, that's right.

And over the years, of course I saw him more as a character than that cool magician you love as a nine year old kind of more of a job character. But apparently in the mid nineties he spent three years trying to launch copper Field's Magic Underground restaurant, and the plans were so elaborate. So apparently the first one was supposed to be in Times Square and it is just too good. So I'm actually gonna read you the description

from the New York Times article about it. So, the designs from the Times Square restaurant called for a heroic forty five foot figure to stand astride the front entrance, flanked by a pair of eighteen foot gas torches. Neon signs were to erupt every hour in a ninety second light show, with lights proclaiming the site copper Field's Magic Underground emerging from the display. So it's already ridiculous, right,

And then you get inside. They're supposed to be a seventy foot atrium with gargoyles perched on steel trusses in a style Mr Rockwell called industrial Gothic. Diners were to sit on terraces, nestled around a model to the statue of Liberty's torch and to the eye, banquettes and a bar would levitate, while a section of diners would suddenly disappear, and once an hour a death saw would appear to

cut a diner and a half. Everywhere there would be what became known as the David's large scale likenesses of Mr. Copperfield. I mean, it is so amazing, And apparently it was like a thirty thousand square foot place, and the New York Times rights the restaurant's greatest trick was making thirty four million dollars of investment money disappear thirty four million dollars and nothing ever came of this. That's not amazing, That is that is an impressive trick. All right, Well,

here is a place I'm fascinated by. It's called oh now Are in Montreal, And when you go in, you're actually asked to surrender anything that glints light, so we're talking watches, phones, anything like that, and then you're let into this completely dark room where you eat your meal and the experience is supposed to be incredible because all your other senses are heightened when you're just focusing on touch, smell, and hearing. So I'm curious about this, dude. People ever

get scared of the dark or uncomfortable when they're there? Well, actually, that feeling of discomfort is part of the experience. You know. People occasionally will want to leave because they're scared of the dark, and then they'll be calmed down by the weight staff. But you know, the really interesting thing about the place is that all the weight staff is blind, and the proceeds from the restaurant go to the local

groups that support the visually impaired. And the whole idea is that people initially go to the place because of the novelty of it, you know, or because the food is actually supposed to be really good. But from the articles I've read, they've really come away from the experience with more empathy and kind of this appreciation for how the visually impaired navigate the world. That is awesome. Well, I've got to say the next theme restaurant on my

list has a far less humanitarian mission. It's a place I have no intention of going and it's called Taiwan's Modern Toilet Restaurant. So I read the section on the website about it that says business philosophy and direction, and it says in April two th six, all Mordern restaurants changed their name to Modern Toilet Restaurants. In the future, a greater range of washroom facilities will greet new customers and old friends alike. So what's the story behind. I

don't know. I guess it's just good branding. But apparently it started because an owner was reading his comics on the toilet and inspiration struck and the shop began as actually as an ice cream parlor where they served chocolate only ice cream and put the scoops in these squat toilet containers, and for some reason people went wild for it. And then I expanded to like a full restaurant where

you got hot pot and mini commodes. I I really don't get this, but according to the site, I know that they've launched over sixteen places, and apparently there was even like a short lived one in Vegas where you could sit on a throne as you ate from a tin year throne, but for some reason it didn't take off. I can't imagine why. I'm it just seems like such a brilliant business model. All right, Well, here is a

fun one. If you're tired of watching the pit master at a barbecue restaurant do his work or board by the local hibachi chef, you need to head to the El Diablo restaurant in Spain. And that's where the chefs actually cook over an active volcano. So I don't get it, Like, what is it with Spain and all these disaster restaurants, Like first the earthquake thing, now we're real volcano. I have no idea, but this one actually does sound pretty fascinating.

And it's not like those viral videos of people cooking steak over lava. It's more just a giant grill over a four hundred and fifty degrees celsius fire pit in the ground. But it's still pretty cool. And in the view from the place it's actually on a national park and it's supposed to be just stunning. Man, well, I can definitely see the feel of that. Well, if we're going for something scarier, I think we should move from

volcanoes to Spain to Japan's alcatraz e Er restaurant. But it sounds a little bit weird, but but what is it? It's so weird and again, not a restaurant I would ever go to, but it's fun to talk about. So according to Atlas Obscura, this place is a kitchy horror themed restaurant. Instead of being sort of playful horror, you know, like like Beetlejuice or something, it's it's more of a

jail slash haunted mental institution live. So you go in and you get thrown on the floor of a cell with some drinks, and to get any more service you actually have to rattle the bars and yell desperately, which sounds terrible, and then the drinks coming heads, which is, you know, kind of tacky but okay, But this is the most terrifying part to me. Every so often, killer clowns come out to harass you and a friendly. They take people to the middle of the room and then

manhandle them and poked them with fake syringes. It just sounds awful to me. Yeah, I was. I was okay with the general idea until you got to the killer clowns cooking with fake synches. But what I'm curious, like, what are the reviews like, do people like it? I think they're pretty med from the most part. Like most people say, the food is good and the service is terrible, but you shouldn't go in the afternoon because the scaring

is sort of halfhearted them. That's good to know. Well, here's one that I don't know if it counts as a theme restaurant, but it's from North Korea, so I do want to talk about it. So, I mean, I realized it's a little late to discuss this, but what are you using as your criteria for a theme restaurant? All right, Well, so the definition I've found says it's where the concept of the restaurant takes priority over everything else.

So it could be the architecture or maybe the feeling or some novelty aspect like killer clowns, poking with sorrentious. But I think North Korea's pizza restaurant does count though, because it's a manufactured experience of the West that it's supposed to be novel there. Okay, so so what's it like? Well, apparently it's really weird. Kim john Ill spent ten years trying to get it up and running. He brought an Italian chefs to train the cooks. He imported cheese and tomatoes.

They made these very specific rules, like the exact measurements that one olive should be from another, and supposedly they worked over and over to perfect the recipes. But I read this one review on Epicurious. It says this. It says, the whole thing is supposed to be someone's idea of New York or Italy, but the olive oil is rancid, the pizza tastes like cardboard and flavorless. Maybe the whole idea is propaganda to give the West a bad name.

But the best part is that at the end of every night to North Korean lounge singers come out and seeing off key Frank Sinatra tra tune. For anyone who needs another reason not to go to the US, that's ridiculous. Well, I know we've got two more restaurants to go, but why don't we tackle those after the break? Welcome back to part time genius, who were talking theme restaurants so will So far you've talked about cooking over a volcano and visiting North Korea for what sounds like pizza and

possibly food poisoning and a horrible lounge act. It almost feels like you're going for a disaster tame here. So how are you going to close this out? Well, I did have that one touching story about the totally dark restaurants. You gotta give me some credit for that. But but you're all right, I'll try to make up for it. So I've got one that's sure to keep you relaxed, and it's my Hico Mono a k a. Tokyo's Hammock Cafe.

And I think part of the appeal of the cafe is that if you're visiting and kind of running around the city NonStop, this is the perfect place to kick your feet up and get a drink. And in fact, there actually isn't a single chair in the place. It's just hammocks. So that reminds me of my favorite place that used to be in the Empire State Building. It was like a nap store where you could go in and take ten or twenty minute naps in these space

egg ponds. It was so great. Yeah, exactly, But but actually there's one catch to this place that there is a time limit on how long you can stay. And if the restaurant is big, see your cap to a ninety minute time still too bad. Yeah, I don't not ninety minutes feels like enough time to have a nice nap. But uh, I mean, I really do like hammocks, but I hate falling asleep around other people, and I'd have such a hard time not falling asleep if I nestled

into one. But I do like that idea. Okay, So here's my last theme restaurant, and it's also from Japan. Have you heard of the Future Sweets Factory and Santa City, Japan? I haven't even heard of Santa City. What what is this? So this place is it's kind of like a kid's only Willy Wonka factory for pastries and it sounds amazing. So apparently no one over twelve can go in. And this famous pastry chef started because he remembered a time in Japan when kids could run wild and be kids.

But in a growing city, he felt like there wasn't enough for them. So parents actually leave their kids at the door, and then the kids go in and they watch chefs work with crazy robots and making new types of inventions and delicious sweets. But the other part of the whole experience was that the chef thought that parents weren't talking enough to their kids, like they were always

on social media or doing work on their phones. So the only way you can actually find out what sort of fun and mischief happens inside is to ask your kids about the experience. And I guess I have a conversation over some of the delicious pastries they bring out. I love that well. I think after your talk of ice cream, toilets and psycho clowns, you've totally redeemed yourself with this one, Mangoes. So I think I'm gonna give you today's trophy and thank you so much. That's it

for today's nine Things, Mango. I look forward to seeing you and Tristan up here tomorrow, and I can't wait to see the look on Tristan's face when he gets to go to Bubba Comstrom Company, when he just gets draft off there. All right, we'll be sure to check back in tomorrow. We'll be back with a full length episode. Thanks so much for listening. The brok