It's a travel dining experience unlike any other, and one that still remains as one of my favourite travel memories from my last trip to London. The concept appears simple, but on reflection it's quite a deep social experiment.
Dans le noir is the name of the iconic restaurant 'experience' and in english the translation is 'in the dark'. And it's literally that - a restaurant where you dine in pitch black darkness. Complete with communal tables, blind waiters, and panic buttons - it's possibly the most unique dining experience you'll ever have.
The restaurant describes it's experience as a 'sensory journey' - hosted and served by a visually impaired waiter will change your perspective of the world by inverting your point of view. A sensory experience that awakens your senses and enables you to completely re-evaluate your perception of taste and smell. the experience is about being guided by visually impaired waiters.
On entry you're invited to select a 'surprise menu' that aligns with a category of your choice, for example 'meat eaters' and then the 3 courses you will be served will be a complete mystery until after you finish and will be asked to guess what you had.
This is where the sensory overload comes into play - without your sight, your power of scent and taste goes into overdrive to guess what flavours and textures you're consuming. My husband chose the chefs surprise, and I selected the meat eaters option - and without giving too much away, when we found out what we had devoured (which was delicious) at the end of our experience, we were blown away with the 'new' delicacies we had eaten. Particularly for me, a self confessed fussy eater, I consumed (and thoroughly enjoyed) things I would never 'want to even try'.
To learn more about the experience and find our more about other global locations including Auckland, Paris and Barcelona - you can read more here.