Dark Fork: The dine-in-the-dark restaurant comes to Ottawa

Dark Fork restaurant on George Street in Ottawa. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

There's a new restaurant experience in the ByWard Market opening this week that gives you a chance to 'dine in the dark.'

At Dark Fork, customers eat in a pitch-black room — no lights, no phones. You will not be able to see your food or even your friends across from you, says owner Moe Alameddine.

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"You can't even see your finger," he says.

Alameddine says the darkness of the restaurant transforms the dining experience into a sensory adventure and allows people to experience life without vision.

Patrons will begin their experience at the restaurant in a lighted lounge where they can view the menu, but the restaurant "goes dark" as you are seated in the dining area.

This is to give a unique culinary experience, says Alameddine, but also to see what it's like to live and eat as visually impaired person.

"You will be blind for (the) 90 minutes (of your meal)," he says. "To heighten your senses because, you know, we don't eat with our eyes. We have to use our smell or taste."

You can order off the menu or, for the more adventurous, ask for it to be a complete surprise.

"You can even ask for a surprise drink," laughs Alameddine.

There are more than 20 dark dining restaurants around the world, including in Paris, London, New York, Montreal and Tokyo.

It's a first for Ottawa, but another first for the city is that all of Dark Fork's servers are visually impaired.

"While patrons are unable to see the table or anything else around them, the servers use their lived experience of blindness to expertly wait on tables," the restaurant says. "A guide server explains where patrons can find everything on their table and access the lighted bathrooms—with the assistance of their visually impaired guide, of course."

Those like Aaron Prevost, who says taking on the role is an exciting opportunity. He says he had heard of dining-in-the-dark restaurants in other cities and wondered if he'd ever be able to work one.

"It really puts kind of every server on the same level," explains Prevost. "Whereas we're all in the dark. No one, whether they have more vision or not, they don't have an advantage here. Right? So, everyone's using the same tactile stuff to move about the dining room."

It's a segment of the population that can experience a high unemployment rate.

Prevost says he just hopes that people will enjoy the experience.

"I really just hope people enjoy their time here," he says. "It's a unique experience. It's a lot of fun."

"We want to go into their world," says Alameddine. "We want to try that the sightless world for a 90-minute experience. And you will be very amazed how beautiful they are, how they can do the job perfectly."

Prevost says he just hopes that people will enjoy the experience.

"I really just hope people enjoy their time here," he says. "It's a unique experience. It's a lot of fun."

Dark Fork opens its doors at 25 George St., on Sept. 25 and will be open Wednesdays to Sundays for dinner.