People are looking for new and fun ways to dine out — the white tablecloth experience on its own just doesn’t necessarily cut it anymore. Enter experiential dining, which brings guests memorable, unique meals. From lunch beneath a waterfall to dinner in the sky, here are the restaurants you need to reserve now for a meal you won’t soon forget.

San Francisco, California

Price per diner: $50 and up

What do you get when you cross North African cuisine, Michelin-starred hospitality and acrobatic performances? The answer is Berber, an opulent San Francisco restaurant that’s earned rave reviews for its unique spin on dinner-and-a-show (Thursday to Sunday). The cabaret-style layout ensures that everyone has a view of the stage and the dazzling evening theatrics, which includes a weekly-changing line-up of dancers, aerialists, acrobats, contortionists and musicians. Menu highlights include a trio of dips with house smoked bread, mains such as a camel burger or lamb tagine plumped up with spiced prunes and apricots and desserts such as Turkish coffee creme brulee or baklava paired with pistachio ice cream. Once a month, you can bring your dog to a special brunch, when Fido will also get to enjoy a three-course feast.

Multiple locations across the U.S. and worldwide

Price per diner: $80 to $110, depending on location

If it’s true that 80 percent of people eat with their eyes, what happens when the lights go out? The folks behind entertainment company Fever bet that eliminating sight would heighten diners’ sense of taste and smell. Turns out it does, and Dining in the Dark is a trend with staying power — it’s now available in 30 cities worldwide including top U.S. culinary destinations such as New York, Miami, Chicago and Houston. Diners choose their menu ahead of time according to their dietary preference. Upon arrival, guests are blindfolded throughout their meal (barring bathroom breaks, of course!) and a three-course menu unfolds. Project manager Isabella Szpigiel shares that some of the most popular Dining in the Dark menus have included modern twists on traditional Balkan dishes, Southern Italian flavors and Mexican cuisine.

Various locations worldwide

Price per diner: $200, on average

The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to adventure dining. Since its inception more than 15 years ago, Dinner in the Sky has hosted over 10,000 unique events and featured 100 Michelin-star chefs across more than 80 countries. It’s all made possible thanks to the joint forces of Hakuna Matata, a communication agency specializing in gourmet experiences, and The Fun Group, a company specializing in amusement park installations. Owner David Ghysels shares that one memorable event featured chef Joel Robuchon cooking for Prince Albert of Monaco, while another featured a soprano serenading guests from a fishing boat while diners nibbled dessert from their lofty perch in the air. Visit their site for the latest offerings, like "Santa in the Sky" come Christmastime or an "Opera In the Sky" at the Tower of London.

San Francisco, California

Price per diner: $48

Stepping into the legendary Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar feels like walking into a kitschy tiki bar on a movie set. No wonder — the space was designed by a Hollywood set designer, who installed lush tropical foliage, thatched huts, towering ship masts, a lava rock and "lagoon" that formerly served as the San Francisco Fairmont’s hotel pool. It’s from this lagoon that Island Groove, the house band, plays feel good tunes from a thatch-covered floating barge, while diners sip Mai Tais and sup on Poly-fusion favorites like ahi tuna poke tostadas and coconut curry seafood. Don’t be startled if you hear rumblings: the evening’s ambiance is enhanced by light tropical rainstorms, complete with thunder and lightning. Seating is first come, first serve, but book the Tonga all-night package for a guaranteed reservation and overnight stay at the Fairmont San Francisco.

Boulder, Utah

Price per diner: $55, on average

If hidden gems are your game, Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm is the name you need to know. Though it’s located in a remote mountain town of 276 people, chef-owners and founders Jen Castle and Blake Spalding have been serving outsize flavors showcasing farm fresh ingredients from the property’s 6.5-acre farm — to the tune of 20,000 pounds annually — for more than two decades. Dinner comes with a view too: The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is practically in their backyard and boasts 1.9 million acres of stunning wilderness. Seasonal creations have included Blue Hubbard squash-apple soup with sizzled sage, juniper lamb posole, pumpkin gruyere tamales with red chile pecan sauce and spicy cowgirl meatloaf made with locally ranched beef. Don’t miss the dark magic pear gingerbread with salted butterscotch sauce for dessert, or one of executive chef and food historian Tamara Stanger’s legendary handmade pies.

Hot Springs, Virginia

Price per diner: $95 on Saturday; $55 on Sunday

Whether it’s a Mad Hatter tea party or a Beethoven-inspired four-course meal, Garth Newel Music Center takes dinner and a show to new heights. Snag tickets for a Saturday concert and you’ll be treated to a world-class chamber music concert, followed by a one-of-a-kind dinner fashioned after the evening’s music selection. Sunday concerts are an afternoon affair followed by a picnic buffet, ideal for al fresco dining with the fam on the center’s lush grounds with views of the Alleghany Mountains. Recent offerings include informal tea concerts that pair music from different cultures or philosophies with its tea and food traditions, like a traditional Japanese tea ceremony or a Mad Hatter tea party, complete with tiny cakes, cucumber sandwiches, fanciful mushroom desserts and Alice in Wonderland-esque music performed by the Garth Newel Piano Quartet.

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Price per diner: $50 to $75

An apothecary-inspired speakeasy on a private island? Sign us up. Book a stay at Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and make a reservation for the aptly named, adults-only La Isla Secreta. A boat whisks you from your suite-side private dock to an elegant bohemian jungle lounge. Settle into a plush seat and take in the verdant foliage and soothing sounds of the winding lagoons while you peruse the menu. Many of the classic cocktails celebrate Mexican spirits and cocktail culture by utilizing small-batch agave spirits (think Mezcal Negroni), local gin and whiskey, and sugar cane distillates such as rum and charanda. The list is rounded out with Mexican wines, artisanal beers and spirit-free options such as custom tea blends and infusions.

Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines

Price per diner: 1,800 PHP (about $35)

This is the kind of restaurant that invites you to kick off your shoes — literally. Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort Waterfalls Restaurant is situated underneath the Labasin Waterfalls in Tiaong, Quezon, about two hours from Manila. The price listed includes a day tour package: a museum tour, carabao cart ride, culture show and a Filipino buffet lunch. Soak your feet while you take in the kamayan style-feast, a communal and colorful line up of dishes such as beef caldereta, slow cooked beef marinated in tomato sauce with fresh vegetables and a grated cheese topping, grilled pork belly (inihaw na liempo) and marinated chicken roasted until crispy (lechon manok). Wash it all down with a fruit shake or tree-to-table coconut juice, freshly harvested from Villa Escudero’s working coconut plantation. Cap it all off with a cup of locally sourced Liberica coffee, strong enough to fuel the rest of your day, whether your idea of adventure includes rafting on a traditional bamboo raft or lounging by the resort’s pool.

Cary, North Carolina

Price per diner: $150 and up

Cooking is often considered an art, and meticulously crafted and plated food is one of its finest expressions. But Herons’ chef Steven Devereaux Greene and his team (which includes this article writer’s brother) take that notion next-level with The Art Tour, a seven-course, seasonal dinner inspired by several artworks from The Umstead’s 95-piece collection. It kicks off with seven whimsical canapes, like the aptly named One Oak Farm, which features a seasonal ingredient from the restaurant’s own farm. Fall’s "farm carrot three ways" featured dehydrated carrot with caramelized yogurt, carrot kakigori and carrot crudite, baby carrots in field pea hummus and lettuce cream topped with porcini mushroom soil. For a recent spring Art Tour dish, Devereaux Greene took cues from Veronica's Veil CLVII, a painting by Herb Jackson, and paired foie gras mousse with a foie gras stuffed strawberry, accompanied by veils of lemon sorrel, chamomile, vanilla and strawberry. Cap off the evening with a post-dinner stroll to take in more artwork or tour the grounds’ lush surrounds.

Suđurađ, Croatia

Price per diner: €90 (about $99)

At the family-owned Croatian eatery BOWA, which stands for the Best Of What’s Around, every ingredient is caught, farmed or produced within a 50-kilometer radius of your table. That ethos extends to the restaurant’s scenic locale on an isolated bay on the island of Sipan. Each of BOWA’s tables overlooks the bay’s crystal blue waters, and diners are invited to take a dip in between courses. Dishes change frequently but you can expect to linger over a leisurely Mediterranean lunch, starring freshly shucked Mali Ston Bay oysters; a daily catch of fresh fish, say swordfish, or bluefin Adriatic tuna filleted into tartar before your eyes; Mali Ston gazpacho, a cold eggplant and tomato dip served with tuna steak and simply-prepared fruit and vegetables from the restaurant’s own garden. The island’s lush carob, fig and olive trees add to the idyllic surrounds and supply the olives for the family’s homemade olive oil and carob for the chocolate cake.