There are only a few places in Europe where you can find a restaurant which does this. Fortunately for us folks in London, you can experience this at Dans le Noir. No I’m not pulling your leg, this is a genuine restaurant and a very real concept.
Explain ‘complete darkness’ to me again?
The creators emphasize that Dans le noir lets you ‘completely re-evaluate your notions of taste’ as they strip you of your sense of sight and force you to rely on your other senses to truly taste the ‘truth of the food’.
Lets demystify that a little. The concept is rather straightforward, really. When you arrive, you must put away any light emitting elements, ie, mobile phones, watches that ‘light up’ in the lockers provided in the reception area. You can also have some drinks in the completely lit bar on the 1st floor. After which, the blind waiters will guide you through to the dining room which is completely pitch black.
My experience.. twice.
I’ve actually been to this place twice and both times, it was a real….well, experience. I must say that it is quite vivid in my memory because I can still remember the smell of the food and the sounds. Oddly enough, I am surprised I remember as much as I did even though I didn’t have any ‘visual’ memories of it.
Ok, if you want to eat here, you need to book about a week in advance just so they can make arrangments. It’s partly a good thing because Dan le noir actually helps promote awareness for the blind and also help to support the community. The first thing you do is order from a surprise menu and specify if you want the meat, fish or veg menu. Part of the experience is to ‘guess’ what you are eating by trying to identify the flavours. The idea is that once you are robbed of one of your senses, the others should work hard to compensate for it, with the remaining senses becoming amplified.
The first time I closed my eyes
I put my hand on the waiter’s shoulder and he takes me into the land of the dark. I have my eyes completely wide open, but the room really is pitch black (except for this faint speck of light in the distance which I can’t make out what it is..). It feels quite jarring and almost immediately my hearing is amplified and the waiter’s voice takes on a meatier baritone.
It felt like I was watching a movie. At first, all fine and dandy.. and then whoosh… the person on screen turns into a fantasy character like a Gandalf or something. ‘Welcome to a brand new world’… sorry for the dramatics, but it’s just to emphasize the point that I felt disorientated.
Decor
I can hear my friends’ voice coming from in front of me. Never really noticed she had such a sexy, smouldering voice. At this point, our waiter starts telling us where the cutlery is and he tells me that he has placed a bottle of water in front of me. So I reach out and start feeling for a bottle.
As my hand runs across the table, I feel the edges, the creaks, the items on it and the crinkly wood. I begin to imagine what the decor would look like: I hear the creaking floorboards, so I can only assume wooden floors as well. My perception of space starts to take on a life of its own as my imagination starts running free, constructing a image as I absorb my senses. All the subtle background noises, like tapping shoes, clicking heels, the chatter suddenly become part of the decor and in my mind, that information helped to build an image of the space, almost abit like the way you construct a scene in your head while you are reading a book.
What an interesting experience! At this point, I also started to notice the music, a spanish guitar in the background and someone singing in spanish. Without really trying, I could really feel my hearing slowly getting more astute, even though at this point, my head was still spinning a little but I was slowly adapting to the change.
Thumb in glass
Finally I found the bottle. It seems my mate had adjusted to the changes long before I did. In order to measure how much to pour, the waiter advised us to stick our finger in the glass to fill to the satisfactory level. At first this simple task seemed so daunting, but eventually, I got used to it and got into the swing of things.
Starting to eat blind
The starters arrive. The waiter tells me where he is and which direction he’s going to serve me from and I have to reply so that he knows where I am as well. All throughout this time, I notice that we were talking alot more to maintain that connection with the people around us, abit like a mass conference call, save for the fact that the other party is actually right in front of you.
Anyway, the starters were what I can describe as four parcels of food. Oh, I did try with cutlery at first but all I kept doing was stab either the table or the plate. So I ditched that and proceded to use my fingers to feel the plate for what ever was on it. So the first one felt gooey and moist. Two of them felt dry, like it’s been deep fried. And the last one had a gooey middle bit, encrusted in pastry.
I try each one in succession. The first one definitely was some sort of stuffed ravioli.. I wasn’t really sure what was inside, pumpkin maybe? And another meat… venison? The smell was quite strong, but I couldn’t seem to place it at all. The same went for the rest of the other starters, I kind of knew, but at the same time, didn’t really know what I was scoffing.
At this point, I think I was still very concious of the fact that I was eating blind.
Strong smell Mains
I must say, everything smells so much stronger. To the point where some of the dishes were a little overpowering. The mains is definitely lamb. Lamb in a thick sauce with lentil beans I believe it is. The smell of lamb was so strong that it stank. And it was abit on the spicy side too. I really did try to use my cutlery, but in the end I was just using my hands to pick the food up. I didn’t know if I managed to finish everything on my plate, but I did poke around just to make sure.
Phew, I think I survived that. The jarring feeling of not being able to see has kind of left me now and I was feeling more comfortable relying on the remaining senses. I was also reaching out to try and poke my friend. I think I got her in the eye a couple of times.
Dessert and back to the light
Oh yeah, dessert was pleasant. It tasted like chocolate mousse, but it was really grainy instead of a smooth texture. You know, this was fun, definitely an experience, but I’m really ready to head back to the light again.
Hand back on the waiter’s broad shoulders and before long that faint speck of light in the distance, slowly got brighter and brighter…
…Wow, I felt like I was transported into another world altogether. At the reception area, I was glad to get back to reality, yet at the same time, my mind couldn’t help but play back the experience I had in the dark room. At times, it was jarring. Eating became a challenge (especially when I was trying to nick my mate’s food from her plate) and I noticed chatter and noise can actually be rather interesting things to tune in to.
In terms of discovering the ‘truth of food’, I must admit the food is full of pretty distinctly contrasting flavours, though I found it hard to identify what they actually were. When we were shown the menu at the end, some of our guesses were right and some weren’t. At least I managed the major ingredients, ie the lamb.
1400 words of continuous writing with no pictures, that is a record for me! Is it worth it? Well, 2 courses start from £32 and 3 courses can be had at £38. This does not include drinks or service so it’s alittle on the pricy side. However, something like this, you really go for the experience and not just the food alone. Jay Rayner panned the food during his visit, but I actually thought the food was alright. I was so distracted by the fact that I couldn’t see it, my mind just didnt really concentrate on whether it was actually spot-on cooking or not.
You only live once and you’ve got to try this out if you’ve not already done so. An experience, you’re unlikely to forget.
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Tags: blind, dark, food, london
Oh, wow! Great post, Kang! What an interesting experience! I’ve seen bits about restaurants like this on TV, but have never been to one in person. Seems to make sense that your other senses would take over. And I agree with you that it seems to be more about the total experience than just the food. Sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll check, but I don’t think any restaurants around Boston do anything like this.
Neat. Thanks!
+Jessie
a.k.a. The Hungry Mouse
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Wow, that is absolutely incredible! I’ve never dined in the dark, save for the few electrical outages we’ve had in my lifetime…and even then we usually managed to find a candle or two. Great writing, too…I felt like I was really there. Thanks for sharing, I’m going to have to see if anyone in my area is doing this.
-emily
MyricaRubra/Chicago Dining
great post, really interesting to read. thanks for taking the time to describe this very unusual restaurant.
Rather do it at home lol
What a coincidence! A friend of mine was just at a benefit/fundraiser for the blind – and the dinner was served will they were blindfolded. Your experience sounds even more intense! This is a great write-up; I felt more compelled to focus on the words since I felt I would HAVE to read to be able to understand (which is impossible, but perhaps a little insight). My friend was also very frustrated by not being able to actually enjoy the food, since she couldn’t easily use silverware etc.
What a great concept and a wonderful experience to have. And very adventurous! Those waiters/waitresses must be pretty awesome to serve in the dark.
That actually sounds like a really cool concept.
I wish there were a place like that across the pond that I could try.
That’s a really great concept for people with sight to experience what it was like to be in a world of darkness for the blind. Great write up!
Jessie, Emily, Topper Harley,
It was really fun writing up on this I must say, its abit of a break away from food writing and focusing on everything else!
thanks for the kind words
Banu,
at home…with your special person
thepinkpeppercorn,
lol, good to know you were focusing on the words! thanks for the insight by the way
Renni,
Oh yeah, absolutely awesome waitress/waiters, totally a transfer of trust as you depend on them completely when you are in the dark!
ArmyofAardvarks,
Well, the next time you come to London, you know where you must go
Foong,
Thank you for the kind words! It really was a great, great exp, hope you enjoyed reading the post!
I really enjoyed reading this, it sounds like a very interesting place!
This is proof that with a little creativity you can sell a yuppie anything. Does the decor in your restaurant need an upgrade, or some renovation? Does your chef not understand the term, “presentation?”
Don’t spend money on a new coat of paint, or a certified chef. Serve them in the dark and tell them it’s a “special” experience.
I bet that restaurant wouldn’t have any issues hiring a blind person.
Sam, Yea it is!
Nicole, no they don’t, All the waiters/waitress in the restaurant are blind, they have pretty active efforts to help raise awareness about the disability and is one of the few places in London where they help support blind employment!
I have a question.
how did the waiter know what table to serve you?
I’ve done this in Sydney once – it was given to me as a birthday gift. It’s the most amazing sensual experience – loved it! The waiters had night vision goggles though…
Misba, the waiters are blind themselves, but when they come around with the food, they kind of announce themselves and call out to the diners to check where peopel are, so alot of communication involved
christie, cool! yeah it is a pretty sensual experience…. and so much fun! I’m thinking of going again, my parents are in town so I may take them there!!
the best
This is truly amazing! Very fantastic and very interesting I love it!
Escoofield-
http://alotofit.com
Have Fun!
WOW! I love this idea – hadn’t even heard of it before.
Just had a thought though, did you worry there might be something nasty like a hair or something in your food?? LOL
That is very, very cool. One of my dreams is to visit London. I’ll have to add this to my list of things to do while there.
Escoofield, Great that you love it
Met T, lol now that you mention it, it might be abit worrying, but when i was in the dark i was so distracted by the fact that it was dark that it never really occured to me if I was eating hair or something alot worse or not. Guess its total trust on the chef!
Cary, yes you must try this one out when you are in London, it’s def one you will remember!
Great post and a fantastic blog. We are hoping to take a trip out to London next year and your blog is a great thing to look at when trying to think of where to eat!
[...] what you really like when you come to this site. And 45% of you tell me that you want more of the eating in the dark post. That’s a staggering stat line which I don’t think I can replicate again. I mean, [...]
Great post! I’ve been to that kind of restaurant in Zurich quite a few years ago and I still remember it clearly; most of all taste and texture of the food (not to mention the fun trying to steal food off your companions’ plates ..)
Now I live in Spain and don’t think I’ll have the pleasure of blind eating again any time soon – the Spanish are not much into experiments when it comes to food..
It sounds interesting just to try it for the whole sensation… Almost reminds me of the movie 9 1/2 weeks with Kim Bassinger years ago, but this is perhaps a bit more formal
Forcing you to rally use your sense of smell and taste buds rather than your eyes would make it kind of neat to do… It’s even worth trying this at home perhaps, as long as someone was feeding you bites so you didn’t get it all over your face !
[...] is a superb typo on my blog. Superb because my eating in the dark write-up should have been about dans le noir and not dan le noir and its amazing how this little [...]
[...] Eat in the dark. Yes, complete and total darkness. Food is so-so, but who cares whether it is or not, go for sheer novelty factor. Some say, it’s like that scene from 9 1/2 weeks… you just have to go experience this yourself. Full review here. [...]
it is a great way to feed people old food as nobody can see if the meat is green or the vegetables rotting, just add up enough spices and – there you go!
[...] get me wrong, I do enjoy dining in near complete darkness, but the photographer in me breaks a sigh every time I go into yet another underground cavern of [...]
[...] blog gain 1000 hits a day , the post continues to receive views, and ironically, my post about eating in the dark at Dans le Noir, which has no pictures of food (since we were literally in the dark..) , still stands as the most [...]
There’s a similar restaurant to this in Montréal, Québec, Canada, called “O noir”.
I’ve never been but my friends tell me it’s excellent.