Last Sunday my husband and I tried something totally new to us: eating in complete darkness. We went to the unsicht-Bar restaurant in the Schanzenviertel.
When we went inside we didn’t know what to expect. We were there with a Groupon Coupon for a surprise 4 course menu. We were greeted by a very friendly lady, which explained to us how the whole concept works. At the restaurant they not only offer the surprise menu which they change up twice a year, but also fish, lamb, poultry, cheese and vegetarian 4 course menus. The menus are predefined and are kept as a surprise for the guests. But don’t worry, they ask you at the beginning if there are foods that you are allergic to or you don’t like to eat and then they adapt the meals accordingly.
After we left the coats in the wardrobe and chose what we want to drink, we were escorted into the dark room. Before the dark room there is a small corridor with two doors, one leading outside and one leading to the dark room. You can only go inside the dark room after the door towards outside is closed. That way it is insured that inside the dark room there is complete darkness at all time. Even the guests are asked to turn off their mobiles and stow away their watches or any other source of light.
In the corridor we were greeted by our waiter for the evening. He is near-blind. He has only 7% vision. He was really nice and friendly during the whole evening. And it was fascinating to experience how he moved effortlessly through the dark room between the tables and how he knew exactly where to put the plates and glasses.
We went inside the darkroom in a line, one behind another, with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front, with our waiter at the front of the line leading the way. While we were moving in a line between the tables in complete darkness I felt insecure and unable to orient myself in the room, but as soon as I was seated at our table and the waiter explained to us where our cutlery was positioned, I was able to relax. It made me realize, how much I rely on my sight in my everyday life and gave me a small glimpse into what it means to only be able to rely on your other 4 senses to perform simplest everyday activities, like walking.
My husband and I were seated on a long table for 8 people with couples seating on our left and right side. Usually in a restaurant I would like us to sit on a separate table, but here I think it is even better that you have other people around you because you can talk with each other and guess together what you are eating. It is also very interesting to observe how different people experience eating in the dark completely different.
The food was good, but I won’t tell you guys exactly what we had, in case some of you want to go to the unsicht-Bar restaurant. I can tell you that it was easier for me to eat in the dark then I thought it would be. I was scared with the soup, that I will spill it all over me and burn myself, but somehow from the first sip I knew exactly how high I need to bring the spoon and where I need to position my head. The only thing I found difficult to do, is to eat with fork and knife. Unlike my husband, who was quite disciplined and managed to eat only with fork and knife, I must admit, I was impatient and used my fingers as well.
It was interesting to feel how my other 4 senses were heightened due to the fact that I was not able to use my eyes. The taste of the food was more intense, the smells from the food were stronger, I noticed the structure of the food more and I heard the other guests in the restaurant louder than I would in another restaurant.
The whole experience was a lot of fun. I liked the fact that we didn’t know what we were eating. It was fun to guess what each meal consisted of. There were some things, which I wasn’t able to guess and which I found out only after we went outside of the dark room and the lady that greeted us at the beginning showed us the whole menu.
When we went inside we didn’t know what to expect. We were there with a Groupon Coupon for a surprise 4 course menu. We were greeted by a very friendly lady, which explained to us how the whole concept works. At the restaurant they not only offer the surprise menu which they change up twice a year, but also fish, lamb, poultry, cheese and vegetarian 4 course menus. The menus are predefined and are kept as a surprise for the guests. But don’t worry, they ask you at the beginning if there are foods that you are allergic to or you don’t like to eat and then they adapt the meals accordingly.
After we left the coats in the wardrobe and chose what we want to drink, we were escorted into the dark room. Before the dark room there is a small corridor with two doors, one leading outside and one leading to the dark room. You can only go inside the dark room after the door towards outside is closed. That way it is insured that inside the dark room there is complete darkness at all time. Even the guests are asked to turn off their mobiles and stow away their watches or any other source of light.
In the corridor we were greeted by our waiter for the evening. He is near-blind. He has only 7% vision. He was really nice and friendly during the whole evening. And it was fascinating to experience how he moved effortlessly through the dark room between the tables and how he knew exactly where to put the plates and glasses.
We went inside the darkroom in a line, one behind another, with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front, with our waiter at the front of the line leading the way. While we were moving in a line between the tables in complete darkness I felt insecure and unable to orient myself in the room, but as soon as I was seated at our table and the waiter explained to us where our cutlery was positioned, I was able to relax. It made me realize, how much I rely on my sight in my everyday life and gave me a small glimpse into what it means to only be able to rely on your other 4 senses to perform simplest everyday activities, like walking.
My husband and I were seated on a long table for 8 people with couples seating on our left and right side. Usually in a restaurant I would like us to sit on a separate table, but here I think it is even better that you have other people around you because you can talk with each other and guess together what you are eating. It is also very interesting to observe how different people experience eating in the dark completely different.
The food was good, but I won’t tell you guys exactly what we had, in case some of you want to go to the unsicht-Bar restaurant. I can tell you that it was easier for me to eat in the dark then I thought it would be. I was scared with the soup, that I will spill it all over me and burn myself, but somehow from the first sip I knew exactly how high I need to bring the spoon and where I need to position my head. The only thing I found difficult to do, is to eat with fork and knife. Unlike my husband, who was quite disciplined and managed to eat only with fork and knife, I must admit, I was impatient and used my fingers as well.
It was interesting to feel how my other 4 senses were heightened due to the fact that I was not able to use my eyes. The taste of the food was more intense, the smells from the food were stronger, I noticed the structure of the food more and I heard the other guests in the restaurant louder than I would in another restaurant.
The whole experience was a lot of fun. I liked the fact that we didn’t know what we were eating. It was fun to guess what each meal consisted of. There were some things, which I wasn’t able to guess and which I found out only after we went outside of the dark room and the lady that greeted us at the beginning showed us the whole menu.
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