O.Noir

My boyfriend and I went to O. Noir on a Saturday. I ordered the surprise appetizer and the surprise main course while my boyfriend ordered the surprise main course and the surprise dessert. I ended up eating the food with my hands because it kept falling off my fork. The food was good, but it didn’t leave us feeling full. It was such a cool experience and our server was fabulous. I would recommend that you go to this place for the experience and not necessarily for the food.

I’ve really contemplated whether I should give 3 or 4 stars! Alas, my mind says 4. Here’s the dealio…
You want to dine in the dark? Well, that’s what you get here. As mentioned in previous posts, you choose your food and drinks in the lit, waiting area. Once your selection has been made, the blind servers lead you in, help you sit down and direct where you should put bags, coats and drinks.
I went with my brother, who is an self-​proclaimed olympic eater. So immediately, I knew the food would be smaller portioned and perhaps not the finest of qualities. How did I know this? We were told to grab bread from a basket. It was warm, but it was a general roll of bread one would get from the grocery store or Costco. Those little oval dinner rolls… If they left a few in a basket I’d be more impressed, but we got one each.
We quickly got our appetizers, grilled calamari for each. It was really good. It was warm and saucy/​marinated-​y and decently portioned. I didn’t really understand serving it with lumps of fresh cut tomato, the thought was quickly lost once I put that calamari in my mouth, I understood the benefits of dining in the dark. I could taste everything with extraordinary ability. I don’t think I have the greatest palette, but man, this was just a great marinade. My brother and I joked that for people who don’t really care for tomatoes, we kinda enjoyed them as well. I will say, it was hard to cut those slippery suckers in the dark!
For our mains, I got the pesto chicken and he got the filet mignon. My chicken was cooked really well. It came precut, as well as the beed, which was a huge savior. However tasty my meal was, I did feel it wasn’t anything I couldn’t cook on my own. It was with steamed string beans (can’t tell if green or yellow or mixed) and oven roasted potatoes. I will say everything was warm (added in response to the few reviews before me) and really well seasoned. I dislike too much salt and was worried I’d be able to taste it after noticing the heightened senses I experienced after the appy. So while I wasn’t impressed with the level of creativity regarding our dishes, I did like and eat all of it.
The few minor downsides… We pretty much ate everything with out fingers, so our one napkin didn’t last very long. Also, DON“T WEAR WHITE/​LIGHT COLOURED CLOTHING!
Additional upsides… the music station was 90’s/early 00’s pop and hip hop. We were loving the Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, RHCP etc, mix. Another bonus, I could totally dance in my seat and not look a fool. Our server was also SUPER freaking nice. One of the greatest customer service experiences I’ve ever had.
I don’t think I’ll rush to go back, mainly because for the price I paid I do expect better food quality, but I did have a really good time!

My husband and I went here on a Saturday night; we had made reservations for the 8:30PM sitting. I was a touch nervous at first about what the experience would be like, but it ended up being quite enjoyable.
Upon arrival, guests are provided with a menu in a lit area and you select what you want to eat then. When they are ready, they call you to the door of the room in which you will be eating and the server comes out to meet you and introduce him/​herself. We had Elias, who was great. You are then led into the room, and seated. The room is completely dark, and your eyes do not adjust at all.
My husband and I both enjoyed the food very much. I had the grilled portobello mushroom over greens as an appetizer, and my husband has the octopus. For the main, I had the filet mignon, and my husband had the shrimp over risotto. And my husband had the chocolate mousse for dessert. I did find it challenging to eat my salad greens in the dark, it was hard to tell if I was actually capturing anything with my fork. But the good news when it came to the steak is that they do cut it up for you in advance. (Which is an especially good thing since I lost my knife along with my napkin to the floor part-​way through the meal!)
All in all, definitely worth trying once. Dining in complete darkness wasn’t quite as challenging as I thought it would be; it’s amazing how intuitive eating a meal is. An enjoyable experience overall.

The food was HORRIBLE!!!
WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU START!!!
I was there last night for dinner our first time. If you want to come for the experience that’s the only thing that’s worth your time and money. The food was just awful! I got the FISH which was suppose to be salmon. which was FROZEN NOT FRESH… Roasted red peppers with goat cheese. AWFUL!!! it was literally eating a red pepper with goat cheese. nothing made these dish special or delicious. I would recommend coming to experience dinning in the dark but if you’re coming for the food don’t waste your time.

All the servers here are legally blind and it impresses me that they can maneuver around the restaurant with our food, lead us to our seats with ease etc. It also makes me happy that there are job opportunities for them here since it is catered to their expertise and I guess their experience.

Amazing food and an amazing experience. Everyone should at least try it once. It’s about $ 40 a person tax and tip not included. It was well worth it and I highly recommend taking a date.
You MUST order starter, main, and dessert as all surprises for the full experience!

Food: ⁵⁄₁₀ — Value: ⁶⁄₁₀ — Service: ⁴⁄₁₀ — Ambiance/​Décor: ⁹⁄₁₀
Would I come back? Probably not. It’s more of a one-​time experience thing.
O.Noir delivers on the experience. It really was pitch black. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. And I got a discounted Groupon too, so tax and tip included, it was $ 40/​person for a three-​course meal, which I think was a good price considering you’re paying for the gimmick.
WHAT I LIKED:
— We got to experience pitch black for a solid two hours.
— The «surprise option», which is something not even on the menu (as opposed to a surprise among the menu choices). This added a really fun element to guessing what you were eating since you couldn’t see it.
— The food tasted decent. The temperature however…
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
— The food choices. The food is really uninspired. Yes, the gimmick is darkness, but everyone is expecting to taste food more intensely because they can’t see. Give us something exciting in taste or texture. My surprise appetizer was a salad: boring. The surprise main was actually not even a surprise because it was on the menu and I got the same thing as the rest of my table: boring. The surprise dessert was a lemon cheesecake: boring.
— The food was cold. The hottest thing we ate was the bread at the beginning, and even with that, our first piece of bread was room temperature and the second one was piping hot. There are some consistency issues. Other reviews have said the same thing and we told the staff when we paid and they said they’d let the chef know. It’s clear they have no intention of fixing it or that they’ve heard the same thing before. It has nothing to do with the chef. You can’t cook food cold. It gets cold when you leave the food sitting.
— The wait. Between our appetizer and main, it must’ve been an hour wait considering we were there for two hours and left immediately after our dessert. We were really hungry by then and asked the waiter. He replied, «This isn’t fast food; it’s an experience,» which is true and false, but also rude. It’s an experience, but the experience is dining in the dark, not waiting forever for your food.
— The staff. It’s one thing to know you’ll be eating in darkness and another to experience it. One person in our party discovered they weren’t comfortable with it once we entered the room and asked to leave. Our waiter replied, «Well, I wish you would’ve told me that in the test room,» which is really insensitive and also unreasonable. We didn’t even know what test room he was talking about (I’m assuming it’s the little room right before the dining area, but no one ever identified it or told us the purpose) and that is the wrong way to address someone who is having an anxious response to the experience. It would be helpful if in this supposed test room, the waiter would give a little spiel, like «This is the test room. For the next two hours, you will be eating in pitch darkness, so get a feel for this and if you’re okay, we can proceed. If at any time, you would like to leave, just call out and I will escort you outside.» Furthermore, he made no indication that he was going to escort them outside, so when they had to explicitly say, «I can’t do this. I have to leave,» the waiter replied, «No, you’re going to have to wait. People are coming in and out,» which is a reasonable thing that should have been communicated earlier, with different words, and in a different tone.
— While it’s mostly pitch black, you can see a sliver of light at the bottom of the door if you’re facing that way. When other customers come in and out, that light will appear again, sometimes full door width-​height light if they don’t time the closing of the doors properly. Maybe adding something on the bottom of the door will minimize that. It was really dark, but it would’ve been nice if it was pitch black the entire time we were there.

Experience was cool if you enjoy not seeing anything!
Food was alright, I expected my taste would be heightened since I couldn’t see anything however the food wasn’t that great and you’re put in a large room with others so it gets quite loud but it’s nice since it creates jobs for the legally blind

Everybody should do this at least once in their life.
They only do two servings a day and they are usually full, definitely reserve your spot before going.
TIPS:
— Make sure you go with a person you are comfortable with because you can’t see them at all (no body language)
— Contrary to popular belief, you eyes dont get adjusted, it is PITCH BLACK. Cant even make out a shape in the darkness.
Experience (⁵⁄₅):
This should definitely be on everybody’s bucket list. I think this is more of an empathy exercise than anything else. You arrive there and check in, the they take your order under the light.
Then you are lead by your server to the room you will be eating in, you would put a hand on his/​her shoulder and he will guide you through the the dark room.
Your other senses become more sharp, you would be able to hear a lot more than you usually would. *Guilty Confession* we were able to listen to three different conversations from different tables at the same time, we were just checking how sharp our hearing senses had become.
FOOD (⁴⁄₅):
Filet mignon was good, tender and juicy. However, i didn’t quite like the «Vegetables» that came with it, it was just one type of veggie, i was expecting more variety.
The steak was already cut which made it easier to eat, it would have been a mission cutting the steak in complete darkness.

Great feeling when you walk in and the décor in the lit area (where you order) was beautiful. Really made it feel like a whole new place you’ve never been before and going into a whole new experience. The one disappointment is the fact that there was no brail to feel anywhere. I at least expected some brail writing that people could have touched and tried reading while looking at the brail alphabet they have displayed.
I had the filet mignon and it was pre-​cut which was good since it would have been hard to but everything in the dark. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t the greatest. It was decent and acceptable for the groupon price that we paid.
Our server was very nice and helped us whenever we needed help. Definitely a great experience and I would definitely come back and encourage others to try O. Noir as well!

I just went to O. Noir for the first time last night for a surprise birthday. The experience itself was really cool and also confronting. Having absolutely no vision meant we were very engaged as a group (with no one being able to text on their phones etc) and also humorous as people tried to feel their way around their plate to find their food.
I enjoyed the service I received. Our sever was very friendly and a few of our main dishes were late due to a mix up so he offered us an inconvenience discount without us even asking. The food however was completely unremarkable. There were limited vegetarian options for the main so I decided on the portobello mushroom app and tomato penne pasta main. The pasta was so average — I would have expected this of a cheap pub rather than a $$$ restaurant. I also ordered a gin crantini and not only did it not taste like gin it did not taste like cranberry… more like a cherry starburst liqueur.
Things I liked:
— the novelty of the experience
— nice service and server
— the discount for the wait was a nice touch
— the fact that they offer surprise mains and desserts (fun)
— the servers themselves are visually impaired and it must be a rewarding experience for them
Things to improve:
— change up the food (this is a great opportunity to be different and utilize everyone’s enhanced taste buds… So why be totally generic?)
— offer more classic cocktails (what kind of full bar restaurant doesn’t do mojitos?)
— change up the wine list
Would I go back? Maybe if they changed the menu. I don’t intend to pay for that pasta again.
* I would have liked to give this place 2 stars but I feel bad because the sever was so nice. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 on the Unilocal rating system ;)

Long story short, very gimmicky and not worth it.
The food was subpar and extremely overpriced. The foods were very typical and boring, like… Grilled chicken, a Caesar salad, vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake, etc. The most exciting thing on the menu was perhaps the grilled octopus but it wasn’t tasty, and I’ve had plenty of octopus before to compare and know how a properly prepared octopus should taste like.
The section of the restaurant that was lit didn’t look too hygienic. Once inside the dark room, I was feeling the table and the chairs and some parts felt sticky.
The server was very friendly but service was incredibly slow. The only reason I’m giving it 2 stars instead of 1 is because the server was friendly.
We got a Groupon but taxes and tip were an additional $ 22. The food and experience were not worth it, even when the Groupon discount. The darkness didn’t enhance the taste experience of these poorly prepared dishes.
I hear that there are better dark dining restaurants in other cities.

My girlfriend and I visited O’Noir a few weeks ago. This is an establishment that relies primarily on its gimmick for business. The food, while adequate, was nothing amazing. And the service wasn’t particularly great either.
On the plus side, it was a very unique dining experience. The room is completely pitch black, even after my eyes had adjusted I still wasn’t able to make out any details whatsoever. It was fun trying to eat food that you couldn’t see.
Be aware the restaurant can get very noisy. The beginning of our dining experience was much nicer, with everyone talking in hushed whispers. But it wasn’t long before a college crowd came in and everyone was yelling and shouting and it was difficult to carry on a conversation. It made for a rather unpleasant experience, although I suppose it’s not something O’Noir’s has any control over.
Overall it was an OK experience, but I’m in no rush to go back.

O’Noir was an awesome dining experience. I have came here twice, both times with a groupon.
After making reservations, we paid for parking for two and a half hours on the streets close by. Two and a half hours were a little tight for both times, I would recommend paying for three hours.
You will be able to choose your meal before hand, appetizer, main and starter. The options were:
Being a little curious of what I was eating, the plating of the food, etc. I was happy to see a waiter carry two plates of food in the dark dining hall before I was seated inside. The dishes are well plated, as well as a restaurant would if you could visually see the meal.
Once we stepped in, it was PITCH BLACK. HOLY MOLEY, I’ve never seen something as dark as this in my entire life. There was absolutely no sign of light in here. My ears felt extra sharp as I heard other people talking very close to me, my sense of touch was something that was also important, as I had to feel everything in front of me and around me. Approximation was INSANE as you literally had to approximate everything around you. The waiters slash waitresses are amazing at what they do, guiding you through the dark dining room. They carefully explained what I had in front of me based on the direction they were in as I sat down.
I absolutely loved the meals. Feeling a little spontaneous, I decided to go with a surprise main. I was delighted to find out that it was one of their selected items, the shrimp… I literally scraped off my dish to every drop of sauce because I wasn’t sure if there was something still inside.
What I phenomenal experience, I would definitely bring some relatives here when they visit.

It was truly an amazing experience. To be able to only use 4 of our senses — touch, smell, hear, and taste. After our meal, the moment we stepped back out I actually felt thankful that I can see.
I felt adventurous so I ordered surprise everything (appetizer, main dish, and dessert). It was quite interesting trying to figure out where my food was. I fumbled around and probably dropped food on the table without realizing. I had to feel for my cup of water and napkin. Which wasn’t too too bad. The food was only decent, but hey. I didn’t come here for the food. I came here for the experience. Instead of «eating» my food, I was «tasting» it.
The service was marvellous and the place was very nicely decorated (can’t say for the inside though lol).
I would definitely recommend O.Noir.

SPOILER ALERT — I will be revealing what the Surprise dishes were…
I got there at 8pm for the 8:15pm seating. I later noticed that people who got there after us, were asked what they wanted from the menu and then were seating before us. So it seemed to be random on how they brought people into the dark rooms.
Strike 1.
When they came around to us, my date and I both ordered the Surprise for each of the 3 courses because I heard that’s part of the fun, guessing what you’re eating.
When they called for us they brought us to wait outside one door. About 10 min later, after seating several others before us they then tell us to go to another door for another room.
Strike 2.
They seemed extremely disorganized as the way they were seating people at each table in the rooms seemed to be some odd system of writing things down on scrap pieces of paper. Took a quick glance at my cell and it was 8:40pm already.
We were finally seated and probably waited for may be 15 min before being offered bread when others around us were being offered it.
Strike 3!!!
I stopped counting from here.
We then waited for maybe another 20 min (no cell or watches allowed to be used in the dark rooms) before the server brings us dishes and says «mushroom appetizers?» We said, no we ordered the surprises. Another 30 min passes while everyone else is eating it seems. Server comes and says «can I clear your dishes?» We’re like «what dishes? we didn’t even get our food yet.»
He puts in another order, and he brings 1 plate out just for me saying my date’s is coming soon. Not wanting to pass the dish through darkness, I started to eat and was disappointed to find that it was just a normal salad. When my date’s dish came it was also a salad but seemed to have some sort of warm sauce on it.
I would say the kitchen was likely disorganized as well since they seemed to forget our appetizer and before the entrees, the server came around and asked several tables including ours, what we each ordered.
Entrée came fairly quickly (compared to the apps at least) and was much more fun. Had 3 different meats which we had to guess on a pile of couscous. The couscous was way over done though.
Dessert was just a simple cheesecake which tasted store bought.
When we went to pay I turned on my cell and it was 10:48pm.
Overall, the food was not that great and apparently the MASSIVE gratuity is included in the price.
Fun experience? If you like sitting in the dark, waiting lengthy periods for your food, unable to flag the server down properly to tell him you’re waiting a long time, then sure, it’s fun.
Oh yes, and the entire time there was this weird smell in the room the entire time. No idea what it was but it wasn’t all the appetizing.
Would I return? No.

Is it better in the dark? Well, no, it isn’t. I like to see what I am eating. Sight is part of the eating experience, and I enjoy using all my senses while eating. Regardless, was invited to come here for a dinner, so I decided to join in.
Don’t come for the food, at the price, you would expect some better quality food.
Here is what I got.
App: Was some oversized potatoes, and some salad. Very plain and unappealing. Potatoes weren’t cut up either, so I was eating it like a apple basically.
Main: Filet Minion. With the amount of marbling and fat in the meat, this was definitely not a filet. This was most likely a top sirloin. Meat was cut into chunks, so you wouldn’t need to use a knife.
Dessert: Random pieces of cheesecake. As I was reading in other posts, the manager was saying the desserts were bought and not made fresh on site. I am not a fan of that. I want to get fresh food when I am paying for it in a restaurant.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed. I was hoping for an experience where the food was a bit more mysterious. If I order surprise, I don’t want to be able to guess it within seconds. Also, the same experience could be made by wearing a blind fold while you eat. I wouldn’t pay a premium to eat at this place over a better restaurant.

We made reservations here before and came in on a pretty slow? time. The dining area we were showed in had only me and my hubby and another couple who came in after.
The experience all together was very unique indeed, its nice to eat in the dark and not have to be picky about whats on my plate for once, lol. Our server was really, really nice and she was quick to serve us in whatever we requested. As for the food? it was okay, nothing amazing from what I tasted but I guess it depends on what you order I guess.
I would go back here if I wanted to show a friend/​family another kind of dining experience.

My grandpa’s completely blind so my mom and I decided to try this place out and get a sense of what it’s like.
I have to start by saying that our server (Gavin I believe) was great – he was friendly, helped us adjust to the dark, and every time he came to bring our plates to our table he would ask us if we needed anything. BUT my experience here was HORRIBLE and this was mainly due to the long wait. I had a 3-​course while my mom had a 2-​course and it took us TWO AND A HALF HOURS. This wasn’t because we took long eating or anything, it was because our server just rarely ever came to our table. He would only come when delivering food, and the wait in between each course was way too long.
I’ll go into more detail about why it was a terrible experience though:
First, there are only 2 reservation times on their website. I couldn’t make the 5:45 so it had to be 8:15, which is already pretty late. When we got there, the hostess was so unclear with the instructions. We weren’t sure who would be taking our orders, when we would go in, whether we pay before or after, etc. Then, when it was time to go into the dark dining area, our server led us. The place is PITCH DARK. I can’t remember ever being in such darkness so at first I felt pretty anxious and uneasy, but I got used to it after a while. While I was ordering outside, I asked the hostess what the sweetest cocktail was and she said Sweet Tart so that’s what I got. It was anything but sweet – terribly blended and tasted like pure alcohol. So that was the first thing I received from the server and already pretty disappointed. Next, we got bread and the server helped us feel where the bread basket was so we thought he would leave it at our table for us to enjoy but NOPE, he was just letting us each grab a piece of bread and then he took it away. Then we waited around 30 minutes in the dark for our starters. I had the calamari and my mom had the octopus – both were so hard to eat. By that I mean they were either overcooked or they were sitting out for too long because I couldn’t even stick my fork into it… that’s how hard it was. Then we seriously waited for around 40 minutes for our mains. I had the chicken and she had the fish: the serving size was big and it was cut up for us. The chicken was really good, with potatoes and artichokes. But by that time, it must’ve already been almost 10pm and I had lost my appetite so I couldn’t finish mine. Then we waited a long time for our dessert – fruit sorbet. It tasted good in the dark but I’m pretty sure if I saw it with lights on, I would say it wasn’t worth the money. At the end, I felt puking. Must have been a combination of the time, the dark, and the food.
On top of that, the washrooms are so dirty. Most of the stalls had no toilet paper, they ran out of paper towels, and the garbage cans were overflowing.
So overall, it was a TERRIBLE experience. If you want to try eating in the dark, cook at home and turn the lights out and close the blinds. I would never ever ever go back.

Some restaurants have a unique niche and generally they should be applauded for it. However it does not matter how great that niche is, if the food is not great, then well, you are just not a great restaurant.
O.Noir has a GREAT niche which boils down to: You dine in pitch darkness. So yes, by all means, come out and give it a try, once. Maybe twice. It makes for an interesting date at some point in your dating life or to invite friends who come from out of town.
For those wondering, you arrive at the restaurant, and spend some time at their bar meanwhile they prepare your «room» for the dining experience as you order your meal in advance. The rooms are large and can hold a number of tables, so no, you two (or four) will not dine alone.
You are ushered by the serving staff, who are blind themselves, to your table and there, you wait, you chat, and eventually as the food is served, you eat.
My date and I were seated against the wall, which made the whole experience fairly easy for me as I could use the wall as a 3D point of reference to where everything else was even in total darkness. I would assume the experience would have been a bit different if we sat away from the wall.
One of my friends who had recommend the place had hinted that your senses get used to the darkness and that the meal may taste different because of it.
I had no such experience, the food tasted like it was meant to taste. Was it «sensual» as it described on their website? No. It was a bit fun yet still, the old saying that your other senses get enhanced due to the lack of sight may be true although not something that is going to happen in 1 hour. Unlike the blind servers who for what I could hear were able to easily maneuver the room while carrying everyone’s food from sheer memory alone.
How about the food you ask? I found the food, for the price, to be okay. It was just alright and really not all that memorable. I had the Filet Mignon with potatoes and vegetables and the strongest memory I have is of eating the carrots due to their shape. Even when special attention was paid due to the fact I could not see what I was eating, the whole thing was just alright. I was probably more excited about the company than the whole experience.
Definitely worth doing so you can say you have tried it although I would not suggest repeated visits. I mean, why? You could probably replicate the experience at your own home and maybe, even with better food.