去伦敦"黑暗餐厅"体验盲人就餐

在伦敦市金融区有一家名为“在黑暗中？”的餐厅，所有服务员均为盲人，能够容纳60人的就餐区域一片漆黑，伸手不见五指，客人进入就餐前需将手机、手表等可能光源寄存在前台。这家餐厅来自于法国，2004年在巴黎开了第一家店。进入该餐厅的客人先在一个有照明的吧台选择菜单，有鱼、肉和蔬菜三种，但是菜单包含的具体菜品以及就餐过程中提供的鸡尾酒的配料在就餐前一律保密。之后，客人可以将手放在盲人服务员的肩膀上，跟随其进入就餐区，在一张大桌旁就座。就餐过程中，如何将食物送到嘴里、如何判断酒杯是否倒满等都是客人们面临的全新体验。这个时候，暂时将餐桌礼仪抛开，用手吃东西，用手指感觉酒杯的深浅以及跟邻座的陌生人交谈都会是有趣的体验。用餐结束后，客人会被带回到点菜的吧台，所有食用的菜品会在这个时候全部揭晓。

Dining in a completely dark room, unaware what's on your plate while sitting next to a complete stranger may not sound like an ideal restaurant experience but it's certainly an intriguing way to spend a rainy night in London.

Dans le Noir?, close to London's City financial district, is staffed by blind waiters and waitresses who become your eyes according to the restaurant, whose original Paris branch opened in 2004.

In the lit bar, you choose whether you want the fish, meat or vegetable menu but the dishes themselves remain a secret, as do the ingredients of the "surprise" cocktails.

Bags, coats and devices that light up, including watches and mobile phones, are stowed away in lockers, making no distracting texts or emails one of the perks in this restaurant.

Placing your hand on the shoulder of your guide, you are led to a table in a pitch-black dining room that seats up to 60 people. And it is dark. Darkness of a kind you never get to see in a modern world of light pollution.

Only once did we glimpse a square of faint light from a doorway and there were certainly no candles on the cake for a birthday at a table somewhere off in the inky blackness.

The waiters tell you when the food is being placed down in front of you, then the fun begins of first, trying to get food in your mouth, then identifying just what it is that's on your plate, and finally whether you missed any of it.

It's also a great chance to break free of social convention and eat using your fingers. Those same fingers are also the only way you can tell how much wine you're pouring into your glass.

The convivial atmosphere in the dining room also made the night memorable.

You can't really avoid talking to the person next to you at the long tables and guessing what the dishes are certainly provides adequate fuel for the conversations.

Having no idea what your interlocutor looks like, of their facial expressions or whether they're waving their hands about to get their point across (until they poke you, that is) is a real eye-opener in terms of preconceptions too.

All is revealed at the end of the meal, as you are led back out into the lit bar, conga-style. Not only do you finally get to see what you've just been eating but also who you've been talking to for the last 90 minutes.