Farringdon isn’t the first place that comes to mind for a culinary experience, until you try Dans Le Noir?
Dans Le Noir?, 69-73 St John Street, EC1M 4AN London (020 7253 1100), 2 course set menu £48 – £56, 3 course set menu £55 – £63, degustation menu £75, tasting menu £100.
Even the saying ‘black as night’ doesn’t quite explain the blackness you can expect when dining at Dans Le Noir?, which prides itself on a unique human and sensory experience by inviting guests to dine in complete darkness. But rest assured you’re in safe hands by guides who can confidently guide you to your table, find you when you need them and always deliver on getting your food, with the occasional cheeky comment – you almost wouldn’t realise all servers there are visually impaired. While this might not sound like your typical dining experience, Dans Le Noir? looks to, as they put it, ‘reawaken senses overwhelmed by the omnipresence of sight.’
And that it did. With an option of red, blue and green menus with matching wine, which you need to choose when making your booking (no walk-ins here) you’ll use taste, texture and touch to guess what you’re eating.
If this doesn’t sound too pleasant, know that every mouthful generates a new combination of flavours to experience. Starters offer a mix of hot and cold with a thick sauce, sweet popping pomegranates and cherry tomatoes – all of which is deciphered as we use one hand to feel for food to put on our fork, nervously hoping not to drop it on our lap during transit. All accompanied by a rather generous glass of white wine to help ‘cleanse the palate’ ready to go back in for another bite.
We often hear we eat with our eyes and with that, Dans Le Noir? shouldn’t work because today, you want to see if your food is instagrammable, to share your location with others as an extension of the experience. But with the temporary loss of sight, it allows you to slow down with your food and enjoy how the texture of each ingredient influences the overall enjoyment of the meal. ‘Pouring a glass of water is an experience in itself’ cheerfully says our server, Remi as he finds our plates in the abyss with ease, ready for the mains.
Our mains arrives and has the texture of something soft, squishy almost, but packed with flavour. ‘Grilled aubergine maybe?’ I enquire to my companion. It’s accompanied by warm sweet potato with a slightly crispy skin, lots of sweet peas, leaks and lots of leafy greens. With a meal this big and rich with herbs, I take my napkin and turn it into a bib, just in case any greens are lost along the way. Not my normal etiquette when dining, but that’s the saving grace of being in the dark.
I’m always a fan of a good dessert to finish a meal, and this evening did not disappoint. I use my hand to find the plate and immediately feel ice cream – it’s soft, but structured to hold the round shape and it’s freezing cold. It’s been paired with a warm cake and after finding my spoon to take a bite, I find a warm thick sauce-like texture pour out – lava cake, my favourite. It’s been unmistakably garnished with sweet strawberries and blueberries. A true triumph of a dessert.
The service is friendly and very efficient, with servers making jokes and welcoming a conversation with guests like you’ve known them for years. Dans Le Noir? is able to make a black room feel like a catch up with your friends. I’ve made it clear that while a lack of sight is something you need to get used to at Dans Le Noir?, I truly loved my experience and was very intrigued by the end of my meal to find out how many ingredients I got right, when they share your menu to round off an unforgettable experience.
