Dans Le Noir ? Was started with the intention to heighten gastronomic experience while building awareness of visual disabilities. While dining in the dark, diners are expected to use all four senses, except the sense of sight, to enjoy the whole experience.

With more than 2 million visitors around the world since 2004 in 9 countries and 13 cities, Dans le Noir ?, the cult dining international phenomenon is back to Auckland. After a three-year break due to the pandemic, Dans le Noir ? reopened its doors in partnership with Grand Millennium Auckland on 23 March  2023.

The Dining in the Dark experience will be open to the public three evenings a week, Thursday through Saturday from 6.30pm. Guests will enjoy a 100% surprise three-course Japanese-inspired menu by Chef Akihiro Nakamura with starter, main course, and dessert with or without wine pairing.

They will be served and guided by a team of visually impaired guides, to live a unique experience, a moment rich in sharing and questioning, particularly on their perception of taste or their relationship to others. The guides-waiters are recruited with the help of local organisations, which support the project by broadcasting the job offer in their network. They are trained by Dans le Noir ? team of experts. Some members of the previous team of guides are joining the adventure again. This reopening is dedicated to the memory of Parveen Shankar, former guide-waiter and pillars of the concept when it first opened in 2017 in Auckland.

“Creating an environment in which staff with disabilities can excel is exciting as it is rewarding. In a world where we take so much for granted, I find the Dans le Noir ? experience humbling and refreshingly unique,” James Billing, General Manager of Grand Millennium, Auckland shared.

A social experiment
When Dans le Noir ? began, the idea was to create a heightened gastronomic experience while simultaneously building awareness of visual disabilities. The serving and guiding staff are themselves visually impaired, and power dynamics change as diners' trust is handed over to those in charge of the evening. 

While guests will be seated with other members of their party, other unknown diners may be close by. Without visual social clues and typical dining etiquette norms, guests must rely on voice, tone, and words to learn more about those present. Some diners prefer to remain silent throughout the experience, while others have found comfort in the ability to participate without any pressures and judgment based on appearance. In this way, the restaurant suggests the experience can be enjoyed by first-time daters, people who have met online, or business colleagues looking for unique team-building activities. The dark experience can be enlightening, and diners are advised to participate with an open mind.

An invitation for the senses
"We often think that when someone loses sight the rest of the senses become more acute. But not all of them do it equally or in the same way because, rather than improve and appear more precise, they magnify," Adrià Subirana, Director of the Barcelona location, told Horse Magazine. As the restaurant explains, dining in the darkness helps diners reassess the experience of eating. Cell phones, watches, and other accessories that might bring traces of light into the space are placed in lockers. The restaurant advises that, while it is natural to move more cautiously in the dark, spills may happen, so prized outfits are best left at home. 

Though guests can't see the offered dishes, meals are made by chefs, led by Chef Akihiro Nakamura who strive to highlight textures, flavors, and smells. Menu variations are found among the locations; for example, in Madrid, dishes are served with different flavor fusions than in Barcelona, but several set menus are offered — starting at €40 for two courses to a €66 tasting menu with wine. At the end of the experience, visitors are shown photos of dishes served throughout the evening. 

Plan on spending around two hours at the location, but you may want more time to analyze your dining experience through the lens of a researcher instead of a mere restaurant guest.

Is the dining room completely dark?
Absolutely! Not a glimmer of light, and no candle! To keep the room completely dark, diners will be asked to place all potential light sources such as lighters, mobile phones or cameras in the cloakroom provided free of charge. Diners will also be required to deposit their coat and/or handbag and other bags or objects, to free themselves of any clutter, avoid losing something or creating a dangerous obstacle in the dark. Watches will also be requested to be deposited as most watches are luminous.

How diners eat in complete darkness?
When we are deprived of our main sense, sight, we tend to use our other senses more: hearing, touch, and smell. Using them, diners usually are able to eat in the dark with ease. Even if at first the experience is intimidating, it becomes more and more enjoyable when diners start to relax. Dans Le Noir ? blind guides are trained to ensure visitor well-being, they will give diners all the advice they need. It is recommended that diners don’t wear valuable clothes to avoid any stress or accidents. Rest assured that the crews are much more cautious in the dark and instinctively move more slowly, as such, incidents or stains are infrequent.