Dans Le Noir

The entrance to Dans Le Noir. (thelondonsinner.com)

I first discovered this place when I was watching the film About Time. The movie, for those who are interested, is about a guy, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), who discovers on his 21st birthday that he has the ability to travel through his own timeline. That is, he doesn't have the ability to time travel in any point in history, but he does have the ability to go back to points in his life and alter them.

In the film, Tim goes with a friend of his to a restaurant that is completely engulfed in darkness. The experience, as depicted in the film, involves going through an ordinarily lit foyer, then putting your hand on the shoulder of one of the restaurant's guides, who proceeds to take you into the completely dark dining room.

To avoid producing any light, the restaurant staff requests you put your belongings - including cell phones - in a locker in the restaurant's basement. It's a scary proposition, but one that purposefully pushes guests into a world completely devoid of distraction.

In the dining room itself, you are sat at a communal table, allowing you to get to know others without any hindrance of visual interaction. Some visitors have reported good experiences in the communal environment, others who are not particularly loquacious may not find it as appealing. But the real draw is, unlike in About Time, not necessarily finding your soulmate in the dark.

The intrigue of this place - aside from being a completely unique dining experience - is that it allows you to force yourself into the non-visual senses. In the film, this means Tim is free to meet-cute and connect with his love interest, Mary (Rachel McAdams), only through conversation. The actual experience, though perhaps offering chance encounters with others based solely on voice, is more about the chance encounter with food. An enticing concept in its own right.

Prior to being seated, you must put in your order. This was something I was quite curious about. As a vegetarian, my dietary restrictions prevent me from diving into most restaurant experiences. Since meat dishes are the staple to most menus, it's usually unsafe for us herbivores to waltz blindly (pardon the pun) into a gastro-experience. Fortunately, Dans Le Noir has already considered this and has thus prepared a menu with a variety of options.

The menu is a unique experience in itself. It involves choosing not based on any specific taste, but according to a pre-determined set of dishes. You choose between four different surprise menus which each come in their own color. The White is "Chef Surprise" which claims an exotic and unusual flavor. The Blue is a fish and seafood meal, the Red a meat option and Green for those among us who do not partake in the omnivorous lifestyle.

It's an interesting concept, really, being focused on food, unknowing of what the ingredients or the experience will be. Like a trust exercise, Dans Le Noir requires you to perceive your surroundings in a limited way, and put your faith in others that they won't feed you something terribly unpleasant.

The restaurant guarantees that they work with primarily fresh products, though, so unpleasantness is not something to worry about. Past menus are available on the restaurant's website, giving reluctant visitors a little taste of what they may actually taste should they decide to dive into this experience.

Though guests have mentioned in reviews that it can be difficult to learn to eat in the dark, others have proclaimed their time at Dans Le Noir a learning experience. For those of us who have never had the experience of living in a world without sight, this is an opportunity to discover and empathize with those who do.

Away from the many chain and gimmick restaurants that the world's population has become so used to, Dans Le Noir is an experience that is one truly worth the attempt. Though I haven't been myself, it tops the list of places I plan to dine upon my return to London. If you don't agree, perhaps you should watch About Time yourself.

Dans Le Noir is located at 30/31 Clerkenwell Green EC1R 0DU. There are other locations in Paris, Barcelona and St. Petersburg. Find more information at http://london.danslenoir.com/.