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I
came across this restaurant about a year ago and was
intrigued by the unusual concept of eating in the dark,
so I decided to fulfil my curiosity and partake in the
experience. For those of you who haven’t heard of it
before, Dans Le Noir? literally means ‘in the dark.’ It’s the
only restaurant in London where you can dine in the dark;
and I’m not talking about dim light, it is absolutely pitch
black! Some of you are probably thinking why on earth
would I want to go to a restaurant and eat my food in the
dark? Well, when you take away sight, the concept of taste
is completely reborn and the perception of flavours
becomes subtler and more intense.The first Dans Le Noir?
was opened in Paris and branched out in London, Barcelona
and now New York.You can’t honestly tell me that you’re
not the slightest bit intrigued by this idea?
Upon our arrival,my partner and I were welcomed with
a drink and asked to pick a category on the menu that con-
sisted of meat, vegetarian, fish and ‘surprise’. Naturally I was
attracted by the surprise; so we mixed it up a little and
chose ‘surprise’ and fish and shared the dishes. Let’s face it,
who doesn’t like a surprise?
We were introduced to our guide, Mr. Takashi and
instructed to stand behind him in a line and place our right
hand on each other’s shoulders as he led us through the
darkness. Slowly and carefully,we paced into the black room
leaving behind any trace of light; the short walk was an
unusual path to our unlit table. He helped us get seated and
explained how to find our cutlery and drinks on the table
without knocking anything over. The staff that guides us
are all blind; therefore they become our eyes for the night.
It enabled us to experience everything from their perspec-
tive and we can feel how they manage day to day life.
General manager Dominique Raclin also wants to prove
that it’s possible for a company to employ blind and partial-
ly sighted people without any help from the government or
donations from the public. In addition to providing perma-
nent jobs to the visually impaired and being the first
European organisation to make disability awareness part of
its business (raising awareness about disability is part of the
mission statement of “Dans Le Noir?”), the company has
helped other companies in fundraising efforts. Dans Le
Noir? is committed to re-distributing 10% of its holdings
THE THOUGHT OF DINING IN COMPLETE DARKNESS MAY NOT BE EVERY-
ONE’S IDEA OF ENJOYING FINE CUISINEWITH A FRIEND OR A PARTNER BUT
IT WILL GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE A SENSATION OF
FLAVOURS FROM A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. INTRIGUED? READ
NATASHA YEXLEY’S UNUSUAL RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE AT DANS LE
NOIR? IN CLERKENWELL GREEN, LONDON.
A Date With
Darkness