This Unique, Luxurious Eatery In Germany Is A Feast For All Of Your Senses

Not every restaurant has its own movie-style trailer, but Eatrenalin isn't just any kind of restaurant. Located in the southwestern corner of Germany, Eatrenalin is self-purported to be "the world's most exciting gastronomic experience" (via the Eatrenalin website). How does a restaurant pull off such a distinction? Outstanding food, of course — but as you'll see in the dramatic teaser below, Eatrenalin also uses sophisticated design, complex video projections, and "floating chairs," which transport diners from place to place.

This may sound more like a ride than an eatery, which kind of makes sense: Eatrenalin is located inside Europa-Park, a massive theme park in the town of Rust. The park is well known for its rollercoasters, waterslides, and VR features, so a multi-sensory experience like Eatrenalin, with its high-tech simulations and mobile seating, seems like a natural fit. Many Europa-Park visitors may balk at the $213-per-diner prix fixe menu, opting instead for something more convenient, but founders Thomas Mack and Oliver Altherr want you to enjoy more than just dinner: Eatrenalin is an immersive world unto itself, something they hope you'll remember for years to come. Europa-Park has plenty of options, but most of them have Disney-style concepts like Beer Cellar, Cantina Amigo, and Silver Lake Saloon. Eatrenalin strives to be original and unique; you could easily add Eatrenalin to a list of the weirdest restaurants in the world.

For starters, a single meal consists of eight distinct courses. The fussy, experimental dishes were created by Michelin-starred chef Alexander Mayer, so you can already expect spectacular combinations of ingredients and flavor. The menu changes regularly as well, ensuring new tastes and textures at least once a year. That alone would be worth the price of entry for most patrons; in a regular fine-dining establishment, couples might pay about the same and savor some aperitifs and entrees by a window, speaking across a candle and white tablecloth. They certainly wouldn't be eating in a technology-infused room, surrounded by digital videos of jellyfish.

But that's the kind of imagery you find at Eatrenalin, where each room represents a different mood and geography. The chairs ease you through such spaces as "Ocean," which simulates an underwater environment, and "Umami," a Japanese-style dining room, as well as several others. The chairs themselves took four years to engineer, and each contains more than 2,000 parts. The idea is to guide visitors smoothly through a kind of imaginary ecosphere, where they lose themselves in the state-of-the-art sounds, visuals, and culinary creations. If Disney's Star Tours ride were combined with The Savoy — with maybe a little "Avatar" in there as well — the result might look something like Eatrenalin. It's likely that the name is a portmanteau of English "eat" and German "Adrenalin" (adrenaline), but have no fear: This place is meant to engage and inspire, not make your heart race.

Founded in 1975, Europa-Park celebrates diverse cultures and monuments across the continent. Fittingly, it's also the largest theme park in Europe, drawing 6 million visitors each season. Aside from looping coasters, the park boasts about 100 major attractions on its 235-acres property, including the Fairy Tale Gallery, a Limerick Castle play structure, and the Vintage Cars track. Europa-Park recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and a great deal has taken place here since its grand opening: the reunification of Germany for starters, plus the construction of six four-star hotels on the premises and a series of green initiatives, such as on-site solar panels and a hydroelectric power station. The park's mascots are two mice, Ed and Edda, and while they're little-known outside of Europe, the pair will star in a feature-length CGI movie in summer 2025.

Europa-Park is a great diversion, especially for families, and you can easily tie the park into a scenic car trip through Germany. The park dominates the small town of Rust, which is a stone's throw from the French border but not close to any big cities; the nearest sizable airport is in Stuttgart, about an hour and 45 minutes away. Rust is packed with hotels, which generally start at about $120 per night and shoot up to several hundred. The park is less than an hour from the Black Forest, and although Rick Steves warns that some parts of this region are a tourist trap, he recommends some beautiful hikes as well.