Dans Le Noir is a concept restaurant with venues all over the world (including East London), where guests dine “in the dark” hosted by blind waiters. Our host for the night was a young, enthusiastic guy named Trevor.
It’s somewhat daunting at first when you enter a pitch-dark room, but slowly you begin to discover your other senses. As we were led to our table all we could do was transfer our trust onto Trevor – we were in his world now.
A few minutes later, paranoia kicked in. How am I going to eat my food when I don’t know what’s on my plate or where on my plate it is? As it turns out, it’s really quite simple… You jab at your food with your finger then lift it with your fork – messy, but easy! I could hear Trevor chuckling behind me as I struggled in the dark, dropping my fork twice and probably even some food.
Next on the list, pouring your own wine. That’s easy too – just don’t order any!
Trevor came to us whenever we called his name. It’s amazing how, in such a short space of time, he remembered our voices, while not only waiting on us, but 3 or 4 other tables.
I loved the spirit of the place. The hosts were absolutely amazing, with their own techniques for working efficiently – dodging each other “watch out!” to make sure they’re working the room in harmony “watch in!”
Apart from the food, which is expertly crafted to focus your taste buds and sense of smell, Dans Le Noir gives you a real-life perspective of being visually impaired. It’s a great way to raise awareness about blindness and disability in general – and the food’s fantastic too!
