Candlelight Dinners Are Passé? Try Dining In The Dark At This Restaurant In Goa

Ever heard of dining in the dark? Well, a shot in the dark is what we took while checking out this dinner invite we received. We thought we would definitely be bumping in to furniture or people, or at least knocking down drinks and maybe, the stewards too. Fortunately for us, this experience only left us amazed and pleasantly surprised.

Alila Diwa Hotel in Majorda has introduced the popular concept of ‘Dine In The Dark’ in their Ballroom every Thursday evening.  And we set out to try it out and left the space pretty impressed, with no major accidents other than some food on our clothes. It is a set menu (veg and non-veg) priced at INR 1,200 (plus taxes). Drinks are available too and it’s advisable to remove that stirrer to avoid poking your face {that happened}. The experience started with a walk from the lobby to a very dimly lit reception area right outside the main restaurant. Kimberly, our hostess for the evening, first asked us our preferences and then, off we went with our hand on each other’s shoulder, with her leading the way. Suddenly, it was pitch dark and the aroma of the food took over. we were seated, and introduced to our steward for the evening, Tukaram, we eased into the environment, and noticed how suddenly all the other senses were heightened. Having never tried this before, it seemed like a fun challenge to eat multiple items and guess them correctly. The food was tasty and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience (including stealing food from our friends’ plates). We kept wondering what technology the team used to navigate and do such perfect service in the dark, but we were amazed to learn that unlike their foreign counterparts, these guys actually just use their wit, counted steps, and relied on their memory to remember where every guest was seated.

It is a community dining table set up, so you never know who you’re seated next to (in our case, there was an exceptionally loud conversationalist). But it sure was an experience in learning how much more your senses are attuned to sound and smell when your vision is taken away.