Food served in the restaurant has changed over the years and has more recently been described as contemporary European with Asian influences.

The tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake topped at 0.31 metres (1 ft 0 in) below the staircase entrance, and caused no damage to the restaurant.

[4] In February 2004, M.J. Murphy Ltd. was approached by Crown Company in the Maldives to make a unique underwater restaurant.

Technical challenges, limited resources, and quality control problems in building a structure of 175 tonnes in the Maldives were foreseen.

[citation needed] In October 2004, the construction work was completed including the installation of 5-metre (16 ft) wide acrylic arches, air conditioning and electrical ducts.

The hotel (which at the time Ithaa was built was still called Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa) occupies two private islands, Rangali and Rangalifinolhu joined by a 500-metre (1,600 ft) jetty.