A restaurant in Amsterdam built small greenhouses for diners to enjoy a meal in while social distancing

By:Monica Humphries

How and where we eat may look vastly different than it did a few months ago. As countries begin to ease from lockdown restrictions and restaurants start to reopen doors, the world is wondering what will change.

Restaurants in China have added temporary dividers, often made from cardboard, plastic, or glass. While McDonald’s in Taipei, Taiwan, list the temperature of the person who cooked your food.

But in Amsterdam, Mediamatic Eten has a different idea.

The vegan restaurant plans to seat its diners in small greenhouses.

The restaurant named the enclosures “serres séparées,” or separated greenhouses, and the glass structures offer a view of the water.

Mediamatic Eten, which has plans to open on May 21, has five greenhouses. The cubicles are designed for two diners — ideally, two people who live together.

“It’s super cozy, it’s really cozy, it’s nice and the food is delicious,” diner Janita Vermeulen told Reuters.

In addition to the greenhouses, the waiters wear face shields and serve food on a wooden board to prevent any direct contact between diners and staff.

“We are now learning how to do the cleaning, how to do the service, how to get the empty plates out again in an elegant way, so you still feel taken care of nicely,” Willem Velthoven of Mediamatic told Reuters.

The restaurant also plans to reopen its normal dining area with some adjustments to help guests maintain social distancing, the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post.

According to Lonely Planet, the restaurant is still waiting for permission from local and national authorities to use the greenhouses for dining.

However, reservations opened and were quickly filled through June for the greenhouse dining experience, which involves a four-course meal.