Going in Blind: Dark Table

Blind dining is a concept that has been steadily increasing in popularity. The idea is that by taking away  vision, the other senses will heighten as a compensation mechanism. I had been looking forward to trying something like this for some time now, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out about Vancouver's first dark dining restaurant.

What your meal will look like

The experience starts outside the doors, where somebody will take your order. They offer a set menu from which you can pick either a starter/dessert and a main for $33 or all three for $39. Once everyone decides on what they want, you are led single file by your (visually impaired!) waiter into the opaque abyss that is Dark Table...


For my entree, I had the peppered garlic prawns with citrus risotto and seasonal vegetables. To be honest I wasn't expecting very much food-wise because presumably, dining at Dark Table focuses on the experience rather than the tastes. But to my pleasant surprise, my meal was actually very yummy! There was quite a generous amount of prawns, all succulent and quite large in size as well. The citrus risotto was amazing, going way beyond my expectations. Usually with creamy foods I tend to get sick of it really fast, but the strong citrus flavour really balanced out the heaviness of the cream.

I couldn't really identify what my dessert was, but vast majority of it was a clump of custard. It was tasty, but a little on the stale side. The texture of it made it quite obvious that the dessert had been prepped a while ago and kept cool.

Now that we've gotten food out of the way, lets get down to what most of you are probably wondering most about -- what's it like eating in complete darkness? In one word, terrifying. I've never experienced so much darkness before! I was expecting my vision to adjust to the low light levels after a while, except it was pitch black inside so that never happened. It came to a point where I became disoriented and even slightly nauseous. Supposedly this gives you a chance to really concentrate on tasting the food, however I felt that I wasn't able to fully enjoy my meal because the lack of light was so daunting.

I could go on and on about my experience at Dark Table, but really the best way is to go try it for yourself! Even though my meal was more scary than enjoyable, blind dining is still one of those must-do activities, so be sure not to miss out on this fun opportunity. Be prepared for an all new dinner experience....and food on your fingers!

Dark Table
2611 W. 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Taste: ★★★☆☆

Environment: ★★★★★ (For novelty!)

Service: ★★★☆☆

Price: $$$$