Dans le Noir in London is a restaurant where, as the French title literally meaning In the Dark suggests, you can go and dine in darkness. When I say darkness, I mean DARKNESS. Me and my friend were discussing what we thought it would be like beforehand and how naive we were! We thought that you might just be able to make out shapes or figures like you can in your bedroom at night time but no, you literally can not see a thing. It is like being in an abyss where your other senses are immediately heightened.
The way I tasted my food that evening was changed – not being able to see what was on my plate and not being told what we were eating was a very bizarre experience. We had no idea what to expect and all you knew was what you thought the food was, you couldn’t actually be sure what you were eating. Before you go in to dine, there is a dimmed bar area where the very hospitable staff members come and ask you to choose one of the set menus they have available so that you know whether you are getting vegetarian, meat or fish – or a combination – but you don’t actually know what the food will be.
We had a lot of fun trying to guess what the food was and even more fun trying to figure out WHERE our food was! We both gave up on our knives and forks after a while and gave into our cave woman instincts; desperately snatching and shovelling this mysterious food into our mouths with our hands as if there was no tomorrow.
We found ourselves conversing about topics we had never spoken of despite 20 years of friendship. We pondered which of our other friends and family would enjoy this marmite experience and who would hate it. One of us had to be the designated wine pourer (Laura) due to the other being too clumsy to be trusted (me.) Wine glasses were not allowed due to their delicacy and fragility and we were instead provided with tumblers which was very fun and unusual.
I found myself sat forward very tense with shoulders hunched the whole time, choosing to keep my eyes firmly closed due to deciding that having them open was pointless. I had began to find the severity of the darkness a bit uncomfortable for my eyes, that ten minutes ago, could see everything around me. Laura on the other hand, ever needing to be in control of situations as much as she can, made a point of keeping her eyes open the whole time and retaining a relaxed posture, refusing to give in to her sudden loss of sight.
It was a curious experiment – comparing how the two of us were reacting to the sudden temporary loss of one of our major senses. We are fundamentally very different people who happen to have a lot in common. This experience was very telling of just how different in nature we really are, which was fascinating for us to analyse and made for a great point of conversation.
The restaurant likes to remain as mysterious as possible in terms of the food that they serve so they do ask that you refrain from divulging what is actually on the menu so as not to ruin it for other diners – something that left Laura very perplexed before we dined as she desperately searched the internet for clues and information about what the restaurant had in store for her – to no avail due to the secrecy of the place. This was very amusing to be witness to; watching a self-confessed control freak fail to find the answers she so desperately craved!
This will be a photo-less blog post due to there literally being nothing to take pictures of due to being submerged in darkness. You can’t even have your phone with you, you are given lockers to put all your belongings in before you go and dine in the dark room. You are literally stripped of everything that we are so used to having in our possession in the modern day society; our handbags, our phones, our cameras, our money. Everything, gone. Left with nothing but conversation, taste, touch and imagination.
We had an absolutely wonderful host taking care of us called Fabio. All the restaurant staff are blind and know their way around the restaurant so they collect you at the entrance and guide you to your seats. There is a lot of communication, so much more than what would normally be needed due to the host needing to know where we were at all times and having to figure out exactly where to place our food and drinks. Our names were used constantly by the host as otherwise there would be no way of us knowing when he was talking to us. In a short time, you develop a fantastic and trusting relationship with your host which just makes the experience even more special and memorable.
I have just never known anything like this and it was an absolutely unique experience, one that I would like to do again with different people to see how they would react to it but not one that I would do very often due to it being so challenging. Admittedly, I did feel relief when it was time to go back into the light and it felt like so long since we’d seen anything even though it had only been about an hour. I think this is is a very natural reaction due to the sudden loss of control you have experienced and it certainly does make you feel grateful for what you have.
I would definitely recommend this experience if you want to find out what life is like every day for a blind person. It gives you the ability to be able to empathise with people with disabilities which is extremely important and it helps to raise awareness of impairments, such as blindness.
Much of the proceeds of this chain restaurant are given to visual impairment charities so your custom is going a long way with helping to raise awareness and earning money for worthwhile causes. Other Dans le Noir restaurants can be found in Paris, Barcelona, Auckland and St Petersburg.
It is worth knowing that the price to dine here is a little more than what you would expect to pay in other restaurants but then this isn’t other restaurants; Dans le Noir is of gourmet standard and uses only the best local ingredients and a big part of what you are paying for here is to indulge in an experience like no other so I would say that you actually get a very good deal considering everything you get.
It is worth every penny and if you are looking for a completely different dining experience, I couldn’t recommend this restaurant enough.
Thank you to all the hard work of the staff members at Dans le Noir, you all helped to make our experience very special and memorable.
Keep doing what you do, you are fabulous!
