Awesome experience! As a city folk like myself, sometimes we forget to slow down our pace and just…read moreenjoy the things around us. This is a very intriguing restaurant concept which was why it was drawn to my attention. Since I was on vacation, what better way to remember a place than to experiment with something I haven't before?
Definitely a very cool concept.... dining in complete darkness of course. Yes, pitch black and not a single glimpse of light (so if you're scared of the dark, this might not be the place for you). And uh, no. You may question if this place is completely dark, how did you find it? Easy. The outside area wasn't dark haha. So when you enter the restaurant, it's actually a very romantic well lit kind of black and red ambiance along with glass champagne ceilings, yes, very elegant indeed. Once you choose which course you would like to proceed with, (if I didn't remember wrong they start with 2 course meals and goes all the way up to 4 course meals) we settled with the 3 course meal. The host will ask you if you have any allergic reaction to any types of food and the reason being is because you're simply trusting what they'll serve you since you won't be able to see it and won't find out what you ate until the very end, which to some of you can turn out to be a nice guessing game so you can put your taste buds to the test. Don't worry, your meal is prepared by a French one star Michelin chef. So once you picked out everything, they'll let you choose a cubby of your choice so you can put all your belongings in there, especially anything that will reflect or project light. Don't worry, you'll have the key so everything will be safe.
Once you're ready, you'll be paired with a server that'll guide you into the dark dining room. They do ask you for your preferred language and we chose English over Spanish. Do keep in mind, you will be guided by vision impaired servers so please be aware of that. You'll be placed single filed line, and for the person in front of you, you'll place one hand on their left shoulder, one following another to enter the room. The server will guide you to your seat. KEY PART: please remember your vision impaired server's name as they'll be the one servicing and helping you. Also, PLEASE BE PATIENT! This experience will run you about an hour and a half and you are working with more sensitive workers!
Once you get seated, here's the fun part. It's so mind-fucking because you'll start questioning yourself if you should keep your eyes open or close because they're both the same, pitch black. Slowly you'll realize how your other senses will become or alert and attentive like if someone dropped a fork and your ears will react to it or if a swift of smell come by your nose, you know the food is here. So we ordered a glass of prosecco and a glass of beer. HAH, here's where your memory comes into play. PLEASE remember where you place your drink so you won't spill it and since you can't see it, good luck buddy. The food comes in courses, as you're working on a course, your server will check up on you to make sure you're done before they start the other course. As you're enjoying your meal, it's awesome how you can't see anything around you because then you're forced or I shall say it allows you to engage with the people around you and for you to feel for your food. It quite interesting, it's LITERALLY a blind date haha, which is quite cute.
Food was actually amazing. Everything was done so well, and don't worry about the food temperature, it's warm enough for you to not burn yourself but not cold as well. Your server will tell you how many little trays/ items are on your next course so you can feel for it.
Of course if you needed to use the restroom, simply let your waiter/waitress know and they'll be happy to guide you, and don't worry there will be lights!
Lastly once everyone's done, the same person will guide you back out and you'll get to guess what you thought you ate before they unveil what was actually on the menu. It was nice being able to chat with one of the managers there I believe. He stated they actually have many locations around the world. They initially had one in New York for about 2 years but didn't turnout so well since their pace of living were more rushed so it didn't work out. He did mention the are looking to see if they can open one in San Francisco so Bay Area peeps, look out!
Just wanted to mention what a great opportunity this is, after browsing on their website to better understand where they're from and what they stand for, it's truly beautiful. Needless to say this course wasn't crazy expensive but within the prices we pay, certain proceeds goes towards safety for the restaurant in order for them to ensure a safe environment for the workers, also goes toward charities, and of course paying their workers.
Highly recommended experience when you're around!
