Kokova Magazine

In an area of East London lies a restaurant which, in comparison to any other I have visited, offers a fundamental difference in its dining experience. City office workers who have commuted into London, and locals alike, pass this restaurant, often oblivious to its dark secret.

But this month I took a step inside... after I accepted an invitation from fellow journalist Lyn Funnel, who had some prior knowledge of the venue and had therefore arranged our visit.

Dans Le Noir? London is located in the charming Clerkenwell area, near Holborn and Farringdon. Lyn had arranged to meet me outside Farringdon station - a short walk away and having met up with her, I arrived at the restaurant knowing absolutely nothing about what was to follow.

On arrival we are introduced to Dominique Raclin, the General Manager of Dans Le Noir?, who informs me that 40% of the staff bring their dogs to work(?) and there is a room set aside for these dogs to be looked after. Now that IS different. However, this is just the beginning of what makes this restaurant unique. As the conversation became more relaxed, and further explanation was offered, it became apparent that the restaurant is in darkness the whole time. I recall thinking that it would probably mean seeing the silhouette of other diners, and felt that this should make it interesting and different.

The lounge was by now quite full of diners enjoying a drink before passing through into the restaurant, and it was obviously buzzing with noise and conversation. Dominique continued speaking further, and above the noise I thought I heard him say that 50% of the employees are blind. All of a sudden, the 'doggie creche' began to make sense - and I should have thought to ask why so many people brought their dogs to work! They are indeed Guide Dogs.

After depositing our personal belongings, bags, etc. (and in particular phones and any light emitting devices) into a gym style locker and taking charge of the key, we were asked to choose from a menu with four options: Meat, fish, vegetarian, or the Surprise Menu. Those who know me will guess correctly, that I went for the meat. Lyn chose to be surprised.

We were led to the eating area, and the immediacy of instant darkness as you enter through a couple of layers of heavy curtains is striking and also a little disconcerting. Waiting for your eyes to acclimatise is quite pointless, as you soon realise that this is never going to actually happen. It is pitch black, and it will remain pitch black. Yes, the whole time. From when you walk in, to when you walk back out to the lounge. Complete darkness. The blackest of black.I actually held my hand in front of my face to see if I could make out anything, but to no avail. The walls could be draped with the dead bodies of previous diners, who had dared complain about the food - you would never know!

Describe the restaurant? Black. The décor? Black! You get the idea. Your sightless waiter is definitely at an advantage. With tables and chairs all set out to a plan which he knows better than you know your own home, and a serving system devised with precision to suit the staff, you are at his mercy.

On sitting down with the assistance of my waiter Roberto, I found myself quickly exchanging introductions with my neighbour, and the female friend opposite her. Both girls, by sheer coincidence, were in journalism - one a writer, and the other a photographer. However, after five minutes one of the girls began to feel a little claustrophobic, and a call to Roberto eventually led to their early exit.

Apart from seeing to the culinary needs of the diners, trips to the toilet have to be marshalled by the waiters too (well, as far as the lit area outside the toilets, of course!), after which you have to come back into the darkness, call your waiter by name, and place your hand on his/her shoulder to be escorted back to your seat. You may have to show a little patience as he or she may be serving food, but you will receive a vocal response to your call, letting you know that you have been heard, and will be led back to your friends shortly.

Once Roberto had told me where the glasses for water and wine were, pouring a drink for myself and Lyn was an eye opener (excuse the pun) to what these amazing people have to contend with. Even this simple task was a challenge.

When our food was served, I had to feel the plate and ascertain its dimensions, then fish around for my cutlery. Detecting the food on my plate was indeed the strangest of experiences, especially when I had eaten most of it and was looking for the last 25%. Once we had finished the meal and were back in the lounge we were shown a picture of what we ate, to see if we 'recognised' our dish.

I personally felt that although the food was cooked to perfection, the portion size offered seemed rather small and I felt I hadn't eaten enough and would have remained hungry if i hadn't asked for a second basket of bread rolls during the meal. Perhaps not seeing how much food is on your plate adds to your hunger? I would not have thought this to be the case, so other than small portions, how would this be explained?

At our pre-dining talk, Dominique had seen the incredulous look on my face once I realised that the waiters were indeed, blind, and knowing I was wondering how this all worked, said he would outline the three concepts which the restaurant was set up to highlight - The Personal Experience, the Social Experience, and the Empathy- which naturally follows when temporarily experiencing first hand the difficulty a blind person has to go through on a daily basis.

Personal Experience

80% of the information regarding what is around us passes through the eye. The question posed during this eating experience is supposed to be: 'What am I eating?'. This is a 90-minute experience where it is intended you come to the realisation that food is enhanced when a sense is dulled, or as in this case, completely shut off.

Social Experience

Anonymity is equal in the dark, Dominique tells me 'You have no idea who is on your left, or right'. He was right. There are no small individual tables in the restaurant. You sit at a very long table, school-dinner style. Either side of you could be a famous person, a taxi driver or someone you went to school with. Incredibly, you will never know. However, because of this inability to see, there seemed to be a need to compensate, which manifested itself in a heightened desire to connect and therefore people introduced themselves to their neighbour with far less reservation than under normal conditions.

Empathy

Once you've been kept in the dark for a short 90 minutes you begin to understand a little of what it could mean to be blind. This is where the empathy comes into the equation, according to Dominique. You are guided to your seat and waited on by a blind person, who will take care of you throughout the experience. There are four waiters serving 60 people, each waiter therefore having an allocation of 15 heads to look after. These incredible people do not write your food order down. Instead, they memorise every order, every drink. The brilliance of these individuals and the way the floor plan has been set out to accommodate them is marvellous but it does make you think of what a blind person has to go through in everyday life.

They are deprived of the images most sighted people take for granted but as a result of this sensory deprivation they are also unable to move freely in an area unless, as in this case, it is set up and kept the same - allowing them to 'know' the lay of the land, literally. Thus, the way it works is you have blind people, who in this environment 'can see', leading us, who are temporarily blinded and experiencing a little of what they have to endure every single day. For 90 minutes we live in their world and despite the nervous fun and uniqueness of the situation, we experience for ourselves and begin to understand too what it is they face everyday. This is the whole point of the Dans Le Noir? concept, and it works.

My experience here was indeed very unique, although I would say that this is not the ideal setting to bring someone to for a first date. Or for a quiet meal. It appears that when the mouth of someone speaking is not visible to the listener, the speaker has to talk louder, especially when others nearby are speaking too. Of course, everyone is in the same predicament and so we all found ourselves speaking extremely loudly. It is by no means a cheap meal but the whole experience is unlike any other and you should be prepared for the £75 per head charge.

Dominique revealed that Dans Le Noir? hosts regular food tasting for large food and drinks companies, is used regularly by corporate clients as a venue for team building events - and there is a very relevant movie connection to this brand. Richard Curtis used Dans Le Noir? and its concept, in his film 'About Time'.

If indeed you are planning a night out at Dans Le Noir? you should look forward to just having fun. Don't waste too much time on your hair or make-up and definitely don't worry about that unattractive spot which appeared on your forehead, as no-one will see it……….. or you, for that matter!

During the course of the evening it came to my attention that somewhere there is also a spa with the same night theme. Hmm, interesting…

Full address and booking details are:

Dans Le Noir?
30/31 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0DU
Tel: 020 7253 1100
booking@danslenoir.com
www.danslenoir.com

Forget Dancing in the Dark a la Bruce Springsteen - this truly is, Dining in the Dark!