Yesterday was the graduation of a coworker. Undergraduate graduation, which made me feel old as my ten year reunion is this fall. Go figure.
A few of us met up after for dinner at a restaurant called Dark Table. It's a blind dining experience, in every sense of the word. The website is slightly misleading though. The "lounge" is really waiting outside, not inside.
There are two dining options: three course, which includes the Starter, Main Dish and Dessert, or a two course meal which is either the Starter and Main Dish or a Main Dish and dessert. You can choose your Main Dish, or opt for the Surprise. Both the Starter and Dessert are a Surprise. I wanted the full experience so I opted for the full three course meal, and I choose garlic shrimp with risotto as my Main Dish.
Now that I think of it, the full experience would have been just letting it all be a Surprise.
Once all members of the party arrived, and decided on the number of courses and the Main Dish, we were led to the front door. Our server, Lazar, had us turn our phones off before leading us inside. We paused in the foyer as he issued some brief instructions, and then we formed a chain and went inside.
It is literally dark. Pitch black. You cannot see anything. It is a unnerving at first, especially as you find your chair and sit at the table. Even on all my late night walks it was not that dark. There was always some light, be it city lights, starlight or moonlight. Even in Stanley Park. Not much light, but just enough for the eyes to adjust and with some squinting, make out shapes. No amount of squinting lets you make out anything at Dark Table.
We took a few minutes to get settled, figure out who was where and which plate belong to whom. I had some fun. I sat quietly while they talked amongst themselves. Then they started asking if I was still there or not, so I piped up.
It is fascinating to sit in silence in absolute darkness and let your other senses breath. Touch and sound are vital. I noticed, as we were walking in, that Lazar called out "Careful," and he was met with a response. Call and response. From that the wait staff can tell who is moving around and where, in relation to the layout of the restaurant. Truth be told, I'm incredibly curious about the layout of the place. It is probably fairly standard, but I'm still curious. Also curious how wait staff learn the layout and what tables are where.
Think about it.
In any regular restaurant, it is divided into sections, and wait staff can count tables and know what section is theirs. The hostess has a layout with labeled sections as well in order to make sure everyone gets some business. In total darkness, how do you do that? Lazar was manning several tables last night, too, not just ours. He did have one across from us, but the others I don't know. And there were at least two other wait staff working. The place can accommodate up to 80 people, and were expecting 60 last night.
In such a setting, communication is an absolute necessity. Verbal communication at that because you can't rely on visual cues. Voice inflection becomes important, as does tone. Rather amazing how much you can tell just by paying attention to inflection and tone. Sarcasm actually comes across quite well, as does humor. And everyone's voice is distinctive. There are small things that make each stand out.
And since you can't rely on sight, we had to tell Lazar when we were done with each course and ready for the next. It took us a little while to figure that out. It was also interesting to hear who suggested we let him know, and who actually called out his name to let him know.
I had our table play the silent game, or attempt to play the silent game. We all did go silent, but were interrupted when Lazar came with dessert. However, it was still really fascinating to sit in silence, even for just a few minutes, hear other conversations and the wait staff as they move around the place.
The food was good. Portions were larger than I expected, and I actually did eat with my hands. There was much clinking at the table as the others tried to find food with forks. I used my hands to feel around the plate, especially for the Starter and Dessert since both were a Surprise. Even though I knew I got shrimp, I still felt around the plate to find the shrimp, the risotto and vegetables. Sharing food was a little challenging. You had to follow the voice, and feel around with a free hand but we got it to work.
I'm curious to see what it'd be like to go on a date there.