Food and Drink Section: DANS LE NOIR ? by Reeve Isaacs Smith

Food and drink

DANS LE NOIR ?

I’ll begin by saying that I don’t want to give too much away, but in the same breath, there’s only so much that I can tell you. In November, I took full advantage of the plethora of restaurants that there are in the UK and visited DANS LE NOIR ?, a restaurant nestled away on St Johns Street, Clerkenwell district (London). I wish I had a more profound reason for wanting to go to this restaurant but the true inspiration for this visit came from About Time, a film about true love, time-travel and living life everyday while appreciating every second of its extraordinary, ordinary happenings. In the film, the protagonist meets the love of his life in DANS LE NOIR? and fully appreciates the companionship of a stranger because all that they can do is eat and appreciate each other’s company. My experience was slightly different, as I knew my dining partner rather well and for us, it was far more about the food. The true concept of this restaurant, whose name translates to (Dining) in the Dark?, is to prove that a culinary experience should be more than what you can put on Instagram. (Although, if you’d like a great restaurant review page, IG: @restraurantreeviews might be the one for you). The experience is guided completely by a blind or partially sighted staff into a restaurant in which you cannot see a thing. It is difficult to express to a fully sighted person how surreal it can be to observe absolutely nothing, but it is an incredible bonding experience between yourself and the company you choose for the night, but it also allows “positive empathy that breaks our preconceived ideas of disability,” and an appreciation for your remaining senses.

First, we had to put our complete trust in the staff as we stashed away phones, jewellery and anything that may reflect any light which would spoil the darkness. Once you have been seated, they ask you to pour yourself some water with the instruction: “put your finger in the glass and stop when it gets wet, ” – we had a good giggle at that, and we were glad that we had hand sanitised heavily before entry! My partner and I chose the ‘red’ (meat) menu and the ‘blue’ (fish) menu respectively and the food was incredible. I won’t go into the food itself in too much detail as I feel that the experience of having simply no clue is what makes it so magical, yet I’m not sure that I will ever experience seasoning in the same way again. For me, everything seemed a bit saltier, and it is safe to say that I am less heavy handed with soy sauce now, but for my partner, he was able to try foods without prejudice and appreciate the plate that he was served. We managed to share food by ‘meeting’ at the top of the water jug and I hate to say it, but I think his meal was better than mine. One spoiler that I will give is that purple potatoes are incredible! Although this experience is a little more on the expensive side, the quality of food is impeccable, and it is an experience that I don’t think can be replicated.

Reeve Isaacs Smith