Dark Table's "blind dining" restaurant turns off lights to turn on senses in Vancouver

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      Forget dinner by candlelight—how about dinner in a pitch-black room? For those who appreciate an out-of-the-ordinary restaurant, Dark Table is the ultimate adventure.

      Although Dark Table opened in September in Kitsilano, if you drive by in the evening you might think it’s closed. That’s because it operates without any lights in the dining room, and blackout curtains cover all the windows, blocking out street light.

      Dark Table is owned by Moe Alameddine, who founded O.Noir, a “blind dining” restaurant with locations in Toronto and Montreal. According to the Vancouver restaurant’s website, the concept originated with a Swiss man named Jorge Spielmann, who is blind; he would blindfold his dinner-party guests to show them what the experience of eating was like for him.

      At Dark Table, all eight of the servers working at any given time are visually impaired. The cooks—led by chef and recent Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts grad Kristina Walgenbach—are not blind, and they work in a lit kitchen. But neither servers nor guests can see anything in the dining room.

      In a phone interview, general manager Sami Mousattat explained that the servers, who were recruited through CNIB, trained for two months. They do everything from seating patrons to delivering plates to cleaning up the inevitable mishaps. “We usually expect on a Saturday night a couple of glasses will break,” he said, speaking from his experience in Toronto. According to Mousattat, the restaurant hopes to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people who are visually impaired, provide employment, and offer guests a fun few hours.

      When I arrived for dinner with a friend, the hostess greeted us on the dimly lit patio and directed us under a heat lamp to peruse the menu. We had a choice of a two-course set menu (starter and main or main and dessert) for $33 per person or three courses for $39 per person. Both the starter and the dessert are a “surprise”. For the main course, there are five selections, including peppered garlic prawns, veal schnitzel, and fresh ravioli; or, you can choose to be served a surprise dish once again. (The restaurant won’t have its liquor licence until December.)

      After the hostess took our order—three courses, one beef tenderloin, one “surprise”—our server, Lazare Hounnake, led us in from the patio, clinging to one another conga-style. As soon as the front door closed behind us, everything went black; there was no need to use the eye mask provided. I had expected some ambient light, but there wasn’t any: it was as disorienting as waking up in a hotel room in the middle of the night and having to feel your way to the bathroom.

      Initially, the loss of vision felt overwhelming. It overstimulated my other senses with a swirl of background music mingled with faraway conversation and the necessity of patting down the table to orient myself to the place setting. Though she was sitting next to me, my friend’s disembodied voice seemed to come out of nowhere as I stared into the blackness in front of me. When the first course arrived, I couldn’t concentrate on her story while trying to eat: my clumsy motor skills and the unexpected flavours and textures in my mouth distracted me. The biggest challenge was avoiding knocking over my drink while feeling for the glass to pick it up.

      “Oops! I’m having trouble finding my mouth,” my friend admitted, laughing. After attempting to use cutlery, we followed Hounnake’s suggestion and ate with our hands. (The kitchen cuts up your meat in advance, which was handy since I lost my knife early on.) While at first it was odd poking my fingers into food with unknown textures and temperatures, I was surprised by how quickly I got used to it—probably since I knew nobody could see me. Running my fingers around my plate let me gauge portion sizes and how much food I had already eaten, since I had no visual cues.

      To preserve the mystery, I won’t reveal what I ate. Suffice it to say the meal consisted of fairly basic foods that most people will have eaten before. There was nothing from Fear Factor, and for the most part, ingredients were fairly easy to identify. While part of me would have liked a bigger palate challenge, I don’t think basic flavours are a bad thing given that there’s so much else to contend with here. In my subsequent phone conversation with Mousattat, he told me that they switch up the surprise dishes every month or so, and they’ll adjust what they serve depending on the feedback they get.

      My companion found her steak—ordered medium-rare—perfectly cooked but extremely salty. My three surprise dishes were palatable but ordinary. However, I’m certain I would have enjoyed the food more if I could have taken pleasure in the presentation, which made me realize how much we eat first with our eyes.

      Dark Table isn’t just about eating; it’s about being thrown out of your element. It’s definitely an experience worth having.

      Comments

      11 Comments

      GregEh

      Nov 7, 2012 at 8:27pm

      Sorry, but I think this is the dumbest idea Vancouver's restaurant industry has ever farted out.

      john harper

      Nov 7, 2012 at 10:28pm

      great concept//will try next week .for a friend's birthday.

      robert coles

      Nov 7, 2012 at 10:33pm

      blind servers..wow.excellent idea.thanks guys for bringing this to vancouver

      Robert P

      Nov 8, 2012 at 9:46am

      If you'd like to eat a salad with your fingers. If you care to eat bread that has been touched by everyone at your table; Wait outside in the cold to later be seated beside a drafty window or possibly wedged against a wall so that the server elbows you in the head as he tries to serve the people on the other side. If having control over what you're ordering doesn't really matter to you. And let's say you enjoy challenges such as getting a glass water, asking for clean cutlery, taking off your winter jacket before you eat or going to the bathroom. If you ever felt like eating dinner in a haunted elementary school gym (screams and plate-breaking included); Maybe you're craving human contact and want to explore what it would be like to be felt-up by your server each time they hand you anything. Be charged 6 bucks for soda and 40 dollars for a very generic meal followed by an out-of-the-box grocery store pastry. If you would love these things, and don't have the creativity necessary to devise an interesting date on your own.... I totally recommend this place.

      honey bunny

      Nov 8, 2012 at 9:47pm

      we went last week ,we had the same server on the picture lol.it was amazing.i recommend it to all..

      linda brown

      Nov 9, 2012 at 2:13am

      yes!if you like to enjoy your evening,or have lots of fun,or perhaps having a unique dining experience,highten your senses.encourage blind people to work in the restaurant industry,or if you decide to go on a blind date,..may be !!.
      go to dark table! it was amazing.thank you Amy.(greatest server).

      Nick.k

      Nov 10, 2012 at 2:58am

      This is not a fine dining experience by any means !!!!!
      This is an awesome idea !!! imagine yourself as a server and then imagine a blind person that have never been a server or had a job !!! Right ???
      People who criticize the food or the service in this place are just snobs and ignorants, although they were both way above average .
      We had the best time at dark table .
      Tip : Do not go on the weekend (its loud)

      Vancouver Dining Experience

      Dec 8, 2012 at 8:12am

      WORST.IDEA.EVER.

      Little Edie

      Jan 28, 2013 at 8:46pm

      Why all the negativity? The point is a new experience out of your comfort zone. If you don't like it, don't go, but also don't add useless comments like worst idea ever. Philistines!!

      Lesley MacKay

      Sep 2, 2013 at 9:49pm

      Loved it. Overwhelming at first. I found in groups people talked really loud to over compensate for not seeing each other. I went with a friend and found I paid more attention to what she was saying because there was nothing to look at. It truly was pitch black. The appy was good... Not great. I had the surprise appy surprise dessert and shrimp as entree. The entree was awesome. The dessert was boring. Something with more surprise texture would have been better. I was nervous at first but I really enjoyed the overall experience. I recommend doing it at least once.