The Restaurant That Leaves You In The Dark — Literally

The unconventional presentation of dining in the dark rests on the premise that your senses, such as taste and smell, are heightened in the absence of sight. Theoretically, you can smell all of the herbs in your chicken or taste the complex flavors of the sauce on your pasta with much more clarity. But does this idea really hold water, or is it all just a trick of the brain when we find ourselves unable to see? The answer may be a little bit of both.

According to LiveScience, people who were blind at birth or from a young age may have “enhanced senses” due to the brain adapting to make the most of one’s surroundings. While it certainly does not mean a blind person has some sort of “super” hearing or taste (at least, as far as we know), the process of neurons in the brain making new connections to better interact with the environment is what is responsible. A 2019 study from the University of Washington on the differences in hearing between the blind and able-sighted revealed that the former had a narrower “neural tuning,” meaning that blind individuals can better pick up sounds in an environment. 

While eating in the dark to more strongly call upon other senses may sound a bit odd, this is hardly the first time restaurants have done something bizarre to create a unique atmosphere for those willing to partake.