Strapped in and ready to eat

Enjoying a meal in a restaurant where you can get high quite legally, and safely.

Recently introduced to South Africa from Belgium, Dinner in the Sky is a dining experience where table, chef, waiters and guests are suspended 50 metres in the air on a platform, which is currently situated just opposite Montecasino in Fourways.

Ranked among the world's Top 10 most unusual restaurants by Forbes Magazine, the platform is slowly hoisted high up into the air by a crane – offering you and your guests total privacy while enjoying this gastronomic experience coupled with spectacular views.

The crane is capable of lifting 90 tons, and as the entire restaurant assembly weighs a maximum of five tons, there's plenty of safety factor built in. The chairs themselves are shaped like racing car seats and are fitted with a four-point safety harness and bolted in place. Each seat also incorporates a steel safety cable. The equipment and crane are rigorously checked before each event, and the entire assembly has been built according to German TÜV certification norms, one of the toughest safety certifications in the world. Everything, from the seatbelts to the crane, was conceived with an obsessive attention to detail as far as safety is concerned.

However, this does not ease the trepidation, or take away the thrill, for many. “I am not afraid of heights, but I definitely found it quite scary at first,” says Dani Ettridge of Aon South Africa, a leading global insurance broker and risk management company – the company which has provided insurance cover for the Dinner in the Sky concept.

“Although when you finally do get up there, and perhaps have a few sips of wine, it's so easy to relax and enjoy the magnificent views,” she adds.

“When we went up, it was the middle of rush hour traffic, but it was surprisingly quiet and peaceful up there. The whole experience gives you quite a buzz.”