Uncanny koi pond installation spotted on the floor of a restaurant: ‘Diabolical’

It’s a design choice worth pondering.

A Tennessee restaurant’s very unique koi pond installation went viral on X over the weekend — and it’s drawing comparisons to other remarkable animal habitats at eateries around the US.

On Friday, X.com user Phillip Thurgood posted a snapshot with the caption, “Chinese buffet koi pond is one of the more ridiculous things I’ve ever seen.”

The image, which shows a koi enclosure built directly into the floor of an ostensible restaurant dining room, has since gone viral with nearly 7 million views.

The pond, located at the China Buffet in Kimball, TN, is delineated only by a squat, white tile wall and lined with the same ubiquitous brown tile as the flooring outside of the tank. It’s also outfitted with a modest waterfall and a few indoor plants.

Notably, a submerged flood drain appears surrounded by cracked tile, indicating an architectural anomaly may have previously occurred.