In my post about laser tag and eating at la Boqueria :), I wrote about some activities I did with my parents. They came to visit me here in Barcelona. Then my dad left while my mum stayed a bit longer. I wanted her to have a special experience for her last night in Barcelona so we went for dinner to a restaurant “Dans le noir” (French for “in the dark”).
When “Dans le noir” opened for the first time in Paris, I was living in…Paris. The opening made a big (goood) fuss! Such a revolutionary concept: a restaurant where you will eat entirely in the dark served by blind waiters. “Dans le noir” restaurant is a chain of restaurants that is now present in several cities including Barcelona! And here in Barcelona, it is situated in Born.
That was the perfect idea for a special night out, especially that some friends went a few days before and seemed enthusiastic about the experience. I won’t talk about the decor. You guessed: everything happens in the… dark. The staff is very welcoming. Once you arrive, you drop your coat, bags and anything that makes light in the lockers. Then they explain the concept to you: eating in the dark is a human and a sensory experience. Human because you put yourself in the shoes of visually impaired and blind people. Indeed, the waiting staff is all blind. Sensory because as you cannot see, you have to use your other 4 senses!!!
Then, we chose our menu. There were three options. We opted for the main with dessert and a cocktail. It is not so cheap if you just consider the food. But taking the whole experience into account, the price is ok. “Dans le noir”, you don’t know what you will eat nor drink. Everything is unknown. So you need to go with an open mind.
So what about the experience itself?
Entering “Dans le noir”
The staff introduced us to our waitress for the night, Pilar. And then we entered in single file behind her holding each other on the shoulders. Being in the dark is quite daunting at the beginning. I panicked a bit in the beginning. The music also seemed so loud. Thankfully I was with my mum so I felt safer. Not that it was dangerous, of course not!
Our waitress sat us down. She showed us where we would find our napkin and cutlery. Then she left. She advised us not to move from our seat so not to hurt ourselves or anyone else. To be honest, I would not dare, it was pitch dark. They did not want to tell me how they make the room so sombre so I cannot share the secret. My fork fell, it sounded like hell. It was so strange to be sitting there in the dark. I tried to guess the room setting, how big it was and where the big group I saw upstairs was. I could only hear them, they spoke really loud. The staff warned us that sometimes people shouted as they did not have any idea of the distances between themselves.
In that darkness, I felt alone and at the same time I could sense others’ presence. Seconds seemed like eternity. Finally, our waitress brought our cocktail. We handed her our hands and she transferred the glass. My drink was too sweet. My tastebuds went crazy. I did not recognise all of the 3 ingredients it was made of. My mum and I tried to guess them but we could not agree. I strongly believe I recognised one fruit juice though.
Eating “Dans le noir”…
Our neighbours got their first course and we could sense Pilar standing beside them and asking how it was. Then we had our main. She brought two hot plates in the dark…I am amazed. How could she also recognise where we were? I strongly felt the heat of the ceramic when taking my plate. I used my fork and grabbed something – we had four elements on our plate. That bite was familiar. I won’t describe the menu as it will be the same for a while.
In the dark, I pay more attention textures and tastes. I am not distracted by anything else. The second element seemed to be a piece of meat. It was too difficult to cut it with a knife and fork. I have no patience so I ate with my hands…I think a majority of people end up like me. My fingers became sticky and sweet with some sauce. I recognised the other elements. But my mother and I do not agree on what we ate again.
Sometimes I could not name what I had. The name was on the tip of my tongue but it was not coming out. So frustrating… A visual would have helped greatly in those moments but I was in the dark (haha!). I could hear my neighbours talk. They were also trying to guess what they ate. I answered some of the questions although they were not addressed to me… In the dark, restraint did not seem to exist. They put a name on that thing I was desperately looking for. We helped each other exchanging information.
The food was simple but delicious. Dessert came with its lot of textures and flavours. Then dinner was over.
The end of the experience
We waited for a while in the dark to enjoy our final minutes. And I almost fall asleep. For me being in the dark equals bed time. It had been difficult to leave. We went back to the bar. They showed us what we ate. I recognised 80% of the food and the drink. What I did not recognise where usually things I rarely have, like gin! In the end, all these times I spent eating (and appreciating) had a purpose other than thickening my waistline… I enjoyed that experience. It was something very different to do and eye opening…
I have a lot of admiration for visually impaired and blind people who go by everyday life. It had been challenging to try to do simple things like eating with cutlery. I cannot imagine myself carrying hot plates across a dark room and serve it to the right customer…
If you too, you have experienced eating “dans le noir”, leave us your impressions.