Foodie Trends: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Diner's being led to their table at a Dark Restaurant

Looking for a spooky dining experience for your Halloween evening?  You may want to give a new foodie trend a try—dining in the dark. Dark dining fans say limiting your vision strengthens your other senses, like taste and smell, intensifying the flavors of your meal.  Several pitch-dark restaurants have opened up around the world, including Paris, London, and Barcelona, and New York City.

At Dans Le Noir in New York, they say their experience is like “dinner and a show,” where patrons’ senses will be awakened, as they are allowed to completely re-evaluate their perceptions of taste, smell, and texture.

So here’s how it works. You arrive in a lighted lounge, where a host describes the dining process, hands you a waiver to sign, and offers four different menu categories for you to choose from—but with no specifics. You will be asked to leave your cell phones, lighters, and any other sources of light behind before you are guided into the dining room. All servers are blind or visually impaired, both because they are more efficient in the darkness and to raise awareness about blindness and disability. 

You will not find bones, pits, or fat on your food, and dishes are kept simple to avoid spillage—no soups on these menus! 

After dinner, your guide brings you back to the lounge, where you can chat about your experience, see pictures of what you ate, and enjoy a post-meal coffee or tea.

The three-course menus range from $54 to $69 per person, not including beverages. You can learn more about the experience here, as well as make reservations.

Would you try a meal in a dark restaurant?