16 Haunted Restaurants From Around The World

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For as long as humans have been telling stories, we've been telling ghost stories — and that's not an exaggeration. Back in 2021, historians from The British Museum detailed a translation of an ancient Mesopotamian tablet dated to around 1500 B.C., and revealed the both very neat and slightly terrifying fact that it contained instructions on performing a ritual that would send earth-walking spirits back to the realm of the dead. 

Whether or not you believe in the existence of ghosts is sort of irrelevant, because we would argue that we should all be able to appreciate a great story. That's especially true for foodies, because there are bars and restaurants across the U.S. that come with their own ghostly tales. But what about other countries?

From Canada to South Africa, from Scotland and Wales to Australia, there are plenty of inns, pubs, taverns, and restaurants said to be home to something extraordinary. In some cases, unexplained phenomena happen with such frequency that it's enough to make the biggest skeptic rethink things. Also, if we're going to be coming back as a ghost, we can think of worse places to spend eternity than a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Today, L'Auberge Saint-Gabriel is the kind of ultra-trendy hotspot that has social media filled with photos of fondue, cocktails, and carefully-crafted plates. Since being built back in 1688, it's been called one of the most haunted places in the city, and there are plenty of stories of encounters with the creepiest ghosts of all: small children.

They're reported to have been heard laughing, and have been said to occasionally touch people. One particularly heartbreaking story dates back to the fur trade days. Two rival traders were involved in a knock-down brawl, the story goes, when one threw a handful of gunpowder into the fireplace behind the other in a last-ditch effort to save his life. He did, but when he ran outside the now-burning building, he looked up to see his daughter in an upper window. She died that night, and it's said that sometimes when the phone rings a little girl's voice is heard, pleading for someone to save her.

aubergesaint-gabriel.com

+1 514-878-3561

426 Rue Saint-Gabriel, Montréal, Québec, H2Y 2Z9, Canada

This place stands on a spot that has been serving up food and pints since 1516, and the guest list reads like a who's who of historical figures that have defined life in Edinburgh. That includes Robert Burns, the poet famously associated with the uncertain origins of Scotland's national dish, as well as notorious bodysnatchers William Burke and William Hare. (Supposedly.)

Part of the tavern (which long sat alongside an execution site) has been rebuilt, but the oldest part is the cellar — and that's where employees report seeing a pair of ghostly legs. Some have claimed to see a figure going down into the basement only to follow it and find no one there, while others have reported being touched, seeing barware and barrels move, and the standard sort of ghostly activity. Some have reported seeing a presence standing by the stairs, a young woman in the bar, and a cloaked figure in the cellar.

belhaven.co.uk/pubs/edinburgh/white-hart

+44 131 226 2806

32-34 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH1 2JU, Scotland

Kyteler's Inn is an incredible, ancient place that was founded in the 13th century by its namesake, Dame Alice de Kyteler. Over the course of her life, she accumulated several things en masse, including husbands, wealth, and enemies that eventually decided to get rid of her with accusations of witchcraft. She fled before she was executed, but her maid was burned at the stake. 

The maid's name was Petronella de Meath, and she confessed to practicing witchcraft ... but only after several days of public torture and whippings. Left behind when Kyteler fled, she was executed on November 3, 1324, and it's her spirit that's thought to be the sad presence still felt around the inn today, sometimes heard sobbing. Others think that Kyteler herself has returned to haunt the place that she was forced to leave all those centuries ago, keeping an eye on everyone that visits.

kytelersinn.com

+353 56-772-1064

27 Saint Kieran's St, Kilkenny, R95 RP40 Ireland

The Hero of Waterloo is often called Sydney's most haunted pub, and there's no denying that there's some seriously great stories here. Built in 1843, this is the kind of place that has secret tunnels once used by smugglers and human traffickers, with shackles still hanging from the cellar walls all these years later. Creepy? Yes.

One of the most famous otherworldly residents is Anne Kirkman, who was murdered by her husband in 1849. The pub's current owners — who live in the apartment above the public space — would close, retire, and be kept awake by the sound of classical music being played on the piano below them. Countless employees refuse to go into the upstairs Duke Room alone after being touched, and furniture is regularly rearranged during closing hours. Unexplainable footsteps, cold spots, and reports of people getting dizzy while at the top of the stairs that Kirkman was pushed down ... this place has it all.

heroofwaterloo.com.au

+61 02-9252-4553

81 Lower Fort St, Millers Point, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia

The Keg is an upscale Canadian steakhouse chain with a number of locations, but the one on Jarvis Street in Toronto comes with some serious history and more than a few ghosts. This gorgeous Gothic mansion dates to 1868, and for the story of who supposedly still haunts this place, you'll need to go to 1915. It was the home of the Massey family then, and that was the year the last member of the family died. According to the story, her maid died by suicide not long after, and her spirit remains. 

Did that actually happen? Maybe, maybe not. There is, however, a more historically accurate story of another maid who shot and killed Charles Massey earlier in 1915, and there's also the story of a 10-year-old boy who also died on the property. Visitors have reportedly seen him, still playing on the staircase ... and asking passing children if they'll play with him. There are so many stories of ghostly encounters that the staff have compiled them into a book, and they'll show it to curious diners who ask.

thekeg.com/en/locations/mansion

+1 416-964-6609

515 Jarvis St, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2H7, Canada

First, we need to do a little debunking here, because The Ostrich Inn is often said to be the site of at least 60 murders. The story involves a trap door and a bloodthirsty landlord who killed rich visitors for their wealth, but historians have traced that story to a work of fiction. "Thomas of Reading" was published in 1602, and somewhere along the line, the tale got confused with history. (It's still up for debate on whether or not it was inspired by true events.) 

Regardless, this quaint old inn and pub is still serving up an outstanding Sunday roast, and along with a menu of pub classics and delicious burgers, it also has its fair share of ghosts that include a mysterious figure in white, an old man, a little girl, and a woman said to be wearing Victorian-era clothing. There are reports of employees being touched, of hearing strange noises from empty rooms, and feeling as though they were being watched by the inn's paintings.

ostrichcolnbrook.co.uk

+44 01753-682628

High St, Colnbrook, Slough, Berkshire, SL3 0JZ, England

This place dates back to at least the 1600s, and the story goes that the oak beam above the stairwell was used for 183 executions. Visitors who suddenly smell lavender might be smelling the perfume of the 19th-century innkeeper named Fanny Price, while those who stay in one of the guest rooms say they've seen ghostly figures of former courthouse employees.

In 2019, the inn's owner wrote a piece for The Guardian. Geoff Fiddler bought the place as a skeptic, but admitted that he'd been witness to some things that he just couldn't explain. It started with his wife, who was often awakened by the sensation of someone pulling on her feet. They later learned that when hangings went bad and loved ones wanted to speed up the fate of the slowly dying, they would pull on their legs. Others have woken with what appear to be rope marks around their necks, and some have seen full-body apparitions, too.

skirridinn.com

+44 1873-890258 

Llanvihangel Crucorney, Abergavenny, NP7 8DH, Wales

Dragsholm Castle is home to the Michelin-starred Dragsholm Slot Gourmet, along with several other restaurants and reportedly, at least 100 ghosts. Constructed in 1215, this place has weathered sieges and uprisings, and was used as a royal residence as well as a prison, so it's safe to say there's a ton of history here. As for the ghosts? 

Visitors report hearing crying attributed to the ghost of the last Bishop of Roskilde, along with nonsensical mutterings said to be the mad ramblings of former prisoner Ejler Brockenhuus. The Fourth Earl of Bothwell died here, too, chained to a wall as punishment for abandoning his betrothed and stealing her dowry. He's believed to still be haunting the entirety of the castle, along with a lady in white. There are a few historical figures associated with her, but all feature an ill-fated love story: A noble woman who fell in love with a man she was forbidden to marry, she was sealed into her cell and rediscovered during a 1930s renovation. That last part, at least? That's reportedly very real. 

dragsholm-slot.dk

+45 59-65-33-00

Dragsholm Allé, 4534 Hørve, Denmark

Kavanagh's has been a Dublin staple since 1833, and anyone who's familiar with Irish culture knows that death and celebration often go hand-in-hand. This pub gets its fairly recent nickname — The Gravediggers — from the fact that it shares a border with Glasnevin Cemetery, and often hosted both these workers and the families of those buried on the grounds. It's only been serving food since the early 2000s, and given this centuries-long connection with the dead and the grief-stricken living, it's not surprising that there are plenty of ghost stories.

There are stories of dogs reacting in strange ways to unseen entities, with some members of the Kavanagh family saying they've seen the fully-formed figure of a smiling girl in old-school dress appear, then vanish. Another well-known repeat visitor has been a man in tweed, who appears at the bar and drinks his Guinness. Those working the bar say they know they never served him, but later, his empty glass remains.

facebook.com/JohnKavanaghTheGravediggers

+353 87-296-3713

1 Prospect Square, Dublin, D09 CF72, Ireland

Built in the late 1700s by a Cape local, Damhuis Restaurant was initially the homestead of the Brand family. It has official status as a national landmark today, and the restaurant opened in 2009. Given this place's history as being a site of the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, it's easy to see why there are some who believe the dead never left.

Ghostly stories here are more stories collected from those with otherworldly experiences than the sort of tales that are connected to a particular spirit, but those who work there claim to have seen both an old woman and a young girl haunting the restaurant. One woman was so distraught by the presence of a female spirit she refused to go back, while another customer insisted that their four-month-old baby reacted to something in the bathrooms. A non-functional clock is known to occasionally chime, and shadowy figures have been seen through the windows. 

diedamhuis.co.za

+27 21-553-0093

32 Beach Rd, Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, 7441, South Africa

History lends itself to hauntings, and plenty of reportedly haunted buildings have gone through a few incarnations over the decades. Tennessee's haunted Greenbriar restaurant was previously a lodge, and that brings us to Halifax's Five Fishermen. The building used to be Snow & Company Undertakers, and the story gets more eerie. This was the place that received the bodies recovered from the Titanic, as well as the thousands of victims of history's largest, pre-atomic explosion. In 1917, the explosives-laden SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Imo, and the following explosion damaged buildings as far as 16 miles away, caused a 60-foot-high tsunami, and killed between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

Coffins lined the street around what's now the Five Fishermen, and there are plenty of ghostly stories — including some from understandably former employees, who claim to have seen ghostly figures in the kitchen. Multiple witnesses — including some from a family who had no idea about the building's history or reputation — have described the same young girl on the restaurant's staircase.

fivefishermen.com

+1 (902) 422-4421

1740 Argyle St, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 2B6, Canada

There's a lot going on at The Mitre Tavern in Melbourne. There's a bistro and a beer garden, and there's also a steakhouse that's serving up some seriously delicious food. It's only two years younger than the city itself, and looks remarkably similar to what it did when it was built in 1837, then turned into a tavern in 1868. 

According to the oft-told tale, it's known exactly who is still haunting the tavern, and has been for some time. In 1909, the Barrier Miner newspaper ran the scandalous details of the divorce case of Sir Rupert Clarke. Clarke's wife had filed for divorce on the grounds of his long-standing affair with a woman named Connie Waugh, and the news clipping declared those accusations were correct. The Clarke family had connections to the Savage Club, which neighbored the Mitre. It's said that Waugh died by suicide at the Mitre, and is still seen in the tavern.

mitretavern.com.au

+61 03-9670-5644

5 Bank Place, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Gold Rush-era Red Onion Saloon is one of the best historic restaurants to visit for a taste of the Wild West, and visitors stopping for a bite to eat today can check out the museum to the building's storied past. They might even catch sight of one of the saloon's ghosts.

One is friendly, and her name is Lydia. Those who see her report smelling lilacs or feeling her light touch, and some say she's been captured in photos. The story goes that she was a brothel worker who reportedly died by suicide, and remains in the saloon to watch over women in particular. The other spirit, though, is a more hostile one who's been said to even push customers. He's supposed to be the angry spirit of a former employee who was stabbed and killed by a brothel worker he harassed one too many times, and his presence is supposed to be heralded by the smell of sweat and a very unwashed body.

redonion1898.com

(907) 983-2222

201 Broadway, Skagway, AK 99840

Mike's Heritage House in Parktown is a turn-of-the-20th-century house that was very nearly destroyed in the name of progress and a new highway. Public backlash to the proposed destruction helped put it in the hands of the restaurant company, and according to the oft-told tales, the ghost has a very immediate sort of connection to the restaurant: He was supposedly a grill worker who lived on-site, and was murdered as he slept. No motive or murderer was ever discovered, and his spirit apparently remains. 

Employees say that things will mysteriously go missing, only to turn up much later, in completely different places. The ghost of the murdered man isn't the only spirit to blame, though, and it's also said the Goch family still haunts the house they built. James Goch and his wife are both seen, the former being hostile, and the latter, a mournful soul even in death.

mikesheritagehouse.co.za

+27 11-484-2688

No. 15 St, Andrews Rd, Parktown, Johannesburg

The ghosts that reside in the centuries-old wooden building now occupied by Bryggen Tracteursted have a disturbing connection to the food industry, and before we tell this terrible story, we'd also like to add that this isn't unheard of. If you're getting into Anthony Bourdain's written works and starting with "Kitchen Confidential," you know things can get pretty rough. That was reportedly the case hundreds of years ago in this admittedly picturesque Norwegian restaurant.

Opened in 1708, this tale goes back to some time in that first century. According to the story, new employees would be hazed by being suspended over a bonfire for around 12 hours, and survival cemented your place in the kitchen. It's the kitchen — where the hazing took place — that seems to be at the heart of the hauntings here, and we're honestly with the ghosts on this one.

bryggentracteursted.no

+47 55-33-69-99

Bryggestredet 2, 5003, Bergen, Norway

The Old Spaghetti Factory is a chain with more than a dozen locations, but it's the one in Gastown that has multiple ghosts. According to long-time employees, descriptions of some of the spirits are incredibly detailed and eerily consistent. Several are frequently seen in and around the restaurant's vintage train car (pictured), including a man who appears to be a conductor and a blond-haired boy in blue overalls who apparently likes to bend the restaurant's cutlery. 

There's also a little girl who sits at one of the tables, and holds a balloon. Eerily, she's reported to have told those who speak to her that she's waiting for her mother, only to disappear, and finally, there's a red-haired man who's been seen in the women's bathrooms. He's been described as wearing a red shirt and laughing at those he surprises.

oldspaghettifactory.ca/locations/gastown

+1 (604) 684-1288

53 Water St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 1A1, Canada