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 unique experience on her last night in Barcelona, so we went for dinner at a restaurant called “Dans le noir” (French for “in the dark”).
A revolutionary concept: Dans le noir
When “Dans le noir” opened for the first time in Paris, I was living in the city. The opening made a big fuss! Such a revolutionary concept: a restaurant where you eat in the dark, served by blind waiting staff.
Nowadays, “Dans le noir” is a chain of restaurants present in several cities, including Barcelona! And here in Barcelona, it is in Born.
A special night out
That was the perfect idea for a special night out, especially as some friends went a few days before and seemed enthusiastic about the experience. I won’t talk about the decor. Guess what? It is minimalist and dark :).
The staff is very welcoming and warm. Once you arrive, you leave your coat, bags and anything that shines in the lockers.
Then the waiter explains 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.
As mentioned above, the entire waiting staff is blind. Sensory because you cannot see so you have to use your other four senses!
Our menu
Then, we chose our menu. The restaurant had three set menus ranging between 38 Euros and 65 Euros. We opted for the one with a main dish, dessert and a cocktail. It is not so cheap if you consider the food only.
But taking the whole experience into account, the price is very reasonable. “Dans le noir”, you don’t know what you will eat nor drink. Therefore, 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. 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 when entering. 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, Pilar, 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. We could hurt ourselves or someone else. I would not dare to go anywhere. It was pitch dark.
While waiting for our food to come
Oh :(, my fork fell. It sounded like hell. It was so strange sitting there and being unable to distinguish anything. 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 know the distances between themselves.
In that darkness, I felt alone, and at the same time, I could sense others’ presence. Seconds seemed like an eternity. Finally, our waitress brought our cocktails. We handed our hands to her, and she transferred the glasses to us.
My drink was too sweet; my taste buds went crazy. I guess that was my taste heightening. My mum and I tried to guess the three ingredients in it, but we could not agree. I recognised one of the fruit juices, though.
Eating “Dans le noir”…
Our neighbours got their first course, and we could sense Pilar standing beside them. She asked how it was.
Then we had our main. Pilar brought two hot plates in the dark. I am amazed. How could she also recognise where we were? I felt the heat of the ceramic when taking my plate. I used my fork and grabbed something – we had four elements on our plate. The first bite was familiar. I won’t describe the menu as it will be the same for a while. I don’t want to ruin the surprise for future diners.
In the dark, I pay more attention to 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 eat with my hands. I like to think that a majority of people end up like me. My fingers became sticky and sweet with some sauce. I recognised the other elements. Yay!
Guessing what we ate
Sometimes the name of the food was on the tip of my tongue, but it was not coming out. It was so frustrating. 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 for me.
In the dark, restraint did not seem to exist. Our neighbours put a name on that vegetable I was trying to identify. We helped each other by exchanging information.
The food was simple but delicious. Dessert came with its share of textures and flavours. Then dinner was over.
Leaving “Le noir”
We were enjoying our final minutes in the dark, and I almost fell asleep. For me, being in the dark equals bedtime. It had been difficult to leave, and I felt disoriented and quite exhausted from all the efforts required to be present.
All my senses have been in alert the entire evening. We went back to the bar. They showed us what we ate. I recognised 80% of the food and the drink. In the end, all these times I spent eating (and appreciating) had a purpose other than thickening my waistline.
An eye-opening experience, no pun intended
I enjoyed the entire experience. All-of-it. It was something very different to do and eye-opening. No pun intended. I have a lot of admiration for visually impaired and blind people who move through life in those conditions. It had been challenging to try to do simple things like eating with cutlery. I cannot see myself carrying hot plates across a dark room and bringing them to the right customer.
Post edit – Dans le noir in Barcelona is closed
The restaurant “Dans le Noir” in Barcelona is now closed. You can check the locations of the other restaurants here.