The Ultimate Alfresco

You can't beat the view, though you may want to use the restroom before you sit down.

We're talking about Dinner in the Sky, a new dining concept introduced last year in Europe in which a group of 22 guests sit around a table and get served by a chef and two helpers, while the whole setup dangles from a giant crane up to 180 feet in the air.

Guests are strapped into their seats, which swivel 180 degrees so that they can check out the view. The rental fee is $11,500 for eight hours (which includes setup, but not the food).

The contraption is mobile and can be trucked anywhere they'll let you hang around. One dinner group last year ate while suspended over Amiens Cathedral in France. Others have enjoyed pie-in-the-sky (literally) views of Brussels and the Belgian countryside (the company is headquartered in Belgium).

Earlier this year, the first American dinner-in-the-sky was held in Orlando during the annual International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions convention, where the idea was pitched to park operators. One possibility is a “restaurant in the sky” with multiple tables and even platforms for performers to provide dinner music.

Just resist the urge to get up and dance…