We're all familiar with restaurants offering seaside views, but one restaurant in Norway is upping the stakes and giving diners the opportunity to dine underwater!

There'll be no need to don a scuba suit to reach the seabed though, as the new building will be part of the southernmost point of the Nordic coastline, so guests will be indoors as they make their way to the dining room.

Just outside the village of Baly, the new project by architects Snøhetta will see the building integrated into the landscape, with the entrance on the shore, half-sunken into the sea so that when you reach the restaurant you are underwater and on the seabed 5 metres below.

The bad news is that if you're hoping to book in for a dinner date, you'll need to be patient; the restaurant is still in the early stages of the design and building process, although the architects' website has the timeline suggesting they're aiming to have it completed by 2019.

However, Snøhetta has already given us a glimpse of what to expect with a series of artwork, and the whole restaurant just looks incredibly cool.

The building will be half-sunken into the sea (
Image:
MIR and Snøhetta)
The restaurant will offer views of the seabed (
Image:
MIR and Snøhetta)

The 600sqm property will hold 80-100 guests and will also serve as a marine life research centre.

Consisting of three levels, there'll also be a champagne bar just where the shoreline turns to ocean, so diners can sip on cocktails and take in the unusual view from the narrow window.

Then there's the restaurant itself, which will consist of two long dining tables and several small tables in front of a huge panoramic window that looks directly out to the waters.

For extra security, the walls will be 1-metre thick and made of concrete to withstand the water pressure and, on windier days, the choppy waters.

Plus, the walls are kept coarse to attract mussels in the hope that it will create a natural reef and attract even more fish for diners to look out for.

The building is currently in the design stages (
Image:
MIR and Snøhetta)
It will be integrated into the coastline (
Image:
MIR and Snøhetta)

What is a little surprising is that seafood will play a big part on the menu in this marine centre.

In fact, Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard Pedersen will be offering up a wide array of locally-sourced seafood including cod, lobster and mussels, as well as 'truffle kelp', a local delicacy that is said to taste just like truffles.