Opaque – Dining In the Dark

This is probably one of the most unique dining experiences I have ever had. It’s one thing to sleep in a pitch dark room, but actually having to have a meal with friends in a pitch dark restaurant is completely surreal.
At first it was so dark I didn’t know if I would just go crazy sitting there in complete darkness without the option of sight or light… but as the freak out meter goes down and your senses kick in, it is pretty amazing
Just making your way through all the courses is a great experience… having to feel, taste, and touch your way through different appetizers, main course, and dessert is something that everyone should experience.
This isn’t a place you will eat at a lot, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique dining experience.
Happy Eating!

Attended for my partner’s birthday in April. The tables were quite distanced apart so hearing things around us was easy enough, though it was a week day.
A small light was on for the first half of the evening, which pulled out attention, but this was addressed after a while.
The biggest disappointment was the food. The food was okay, but that is it. For the price, I expected the food to be above average — But I can’t even attest to this. As a vegetarian, I felt that the food was completely uninspired and plain to the point that I didn’t even finish most of it. Meal sizes were good.
It was good in that it will be memorable, but it is not something that I will be doing again.

My husband and I had a date night dinner here in Dec 2015 and we absolutely loved every minute of our experience and the food was off-​the-​chart delish. The service was immpecable and I would go back again. Fantastic experience all around.

I brought my boyfriend here for our anniversary. I’ve always wanted to try this place and finally got around to it. My boyfriend did the surprise menu and since I’ve already seen the menu previously online, I chose my order. I, personally, preferred choosing my own dishes because some dishes on the menu really were «better» than others and even if you choose your 3 courses, they still do 2 additional surprise courses (5 courses total) so you still get to experience of guessing what you’re eating.
The food is average for how much you’re paying, but you’re really paying more for the experience. I would really recommend for everyone to do this at least once. My boyfriend and I had so much fun! And it really makes you realize how much we take for granted because it’s tough eating without sight.
Our server, Mocha, was as awesome as her name. She was incredibly sweet and provided the best customer service. She helped us feel really comfortable, provided us with some good tips on navigating our table, and allowed us to ask her anything that we were curious about.

My husband and I dined here the other night and had an absolutely wonderful experience. The food was good; Appetizer and soup just OK but both entrees were amazing. Our waiter, Sergio was the best. His service was top notch and his calm demeanor is exactly what you need in an environment where you cant see your hand in front of your face. Overall, I would highly recommend this place for a special occasion or looking for something new to do… If anything, it puts into perspective how fortunate those of us are to have our sight

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant without being able to SEE what you’re eating?
Opaque brings this concept to life by offering the opportunity to eat in PITCH. BLACK. DARKNESS.
Finding the restaurant can be the first challenge, even in broad daylight — it’s the discrete doorway and down the stairs to the right of Indigo. Our hostess went over how everything works and asked if we’d be doing the set menu or the «mystery» menu. Of course, we went for mystery!
As we found out later, the mystery menu consists of a surprise choice from the options available on the regular menu (consisting of fairly traditional American food), so if you have a specific kind of food you don’t want to eat, let them know.
Our experience began by our legally blind waitress escorting us into the pitch black dining area. Oh boy! Single file and holding on to each other’s shoulders, we were a human choo-​choo train I was afraid would accidentally bump something, but amazingly did not! She made sure we found our chairs and got settled in. With each glass and plate she brought us, she would tap it so we’d be able to hear where it was. Eventually I got used to drinking my wine in the dark!
The meal was composed of 5 courses — an initial appetizer «for the palate», salad, soup, entrée, and dessert, with a refillable bread basket inbetween. The boyfriend and I got different mystery salads, entrées, and deserts, and got pretty savvy at switching plates in the dark to try each other’s food. It was a lot of fun tasting our food and trying to determine what it was! Plus, the food was delicious.
An amazing experience overall, just with a few minor flaws — based on the hefty price tag of ~$ 100/​person (not including drinks), this is not somewhere I’d frequent, but definitely nice for a one time visit or any special occasions. The initial appetizer was also a little underwhelming, as, from what we determined, it was simply half a baby tomato. The size of the entrée and dessert made up for this though! I was quite full afterwards. I found it a little distracting as well that I could hear the table next to us getting their food first so it kind of ruined the surprise of what was likely coming next (plus, we BEAT them out of the restaurant even though they were there first. are we gluttons or what!?).
In any case, I still loved dining at Opaque and the service was fantastic. Our waitress was very friendly and always made sure we were comfortable. You have to come in with an open mind but it’s an extremely unique and fun experience that you can rarely find anywhere else! HIGHLY recommend, especially for couples — can you pass the true test of putting butter on your bread together in the dark???

I had a really great time tonight at Hotel Majestic, with Opaque dining in the dark. Pun intended, it was en eye opening experience. All of the servers were legally blind. Beyond the realization of how it is to live without the gift of sight, the service was great; Brandon, our server was awesome and super attentive. The food was delicious. I got the shrimp app, filet, and cheesecake. Everything was spot on, and I truly enjoyed it. Block out at least two hours for dinner. My only critique is that it was pricey. For just me, it was $ 130, including gratuity. For special occasions though, it’s a wonderful concept and was a very relaxing meal.

The experience was cool, i was extremely disappointed with the food though. Appetizer was some soup i didn’t really enjoy.
I got a pasta dish and my boyfriend got the mystery dish. The mystery dish was just a bunch of steamed vegetables. Like, really guys? You couldn’t do better than that? And I’m pretty sure they gave me some sort of meat and mashed potato dish, so i had to return that since they got my order wrong.
The pasta was just okay.
The desert was cake. That was good.
I know a lot of people don’t really like the fact that other people could hear your conversation, but i honestly thought that was kind of the fun part. Hearing other people have a good time and knowing they can hear you too. But maybe I’m just weird.
Super friendly server, i just wish they had better food. Definitely not coming back…

So what seemed to be a good idea turned out to be a great idea thanks to the indigo resturant. I came here to Opaque which was hard to find, maybe because they quit the buiness and it no longer exist. Dont bother calling either because youll reach a automated line. Dont bother making a reservation becuase they are no longer here and their website is still up. I ended up eating at Indigo which is the main resturant to this joke called Opaque. Opaque used the exact food from Indigo but just upsold it in hopes of eatting in the dark.lame. Good idea, too bad it couldnt work with a owner that has more integrity.

Very, very disappointed.
Had reservations on Saturday ³⁄₇ and noticed that there were two separate addresses ( Unilocal & Opentable). We went to the first place to find out that they had moved from this location to another spot. We were notified at the second location that Opaque never showed up to set up the venue and about 15 – 20 people (with earlier reservations) were sent back.
Horrible, horrible customer service…

We had reservations for 8 last night @9:30… Arrive at location 1500 Sutter per email confirmation (apparently they moved from previous location– booked through
), and the restaurant wasn’t there! Gone!!! Called the restaurant and nobody picks up the phone… Voice mail… Other guests are also arriving at 1500 Sutter for their reservation. TERRIBLE!!! how can you do that to people? I was reading some of the other reviews and there was one from just a few days ago, same thing!!!
VERY disappointing! Terrible business practice. We were so excited to try this restaurant. TERRIBLE!!! Not happy…

An amazing experience! The food is tastful and delicious and the expirrience allows you to detach from technology and focus on your other senses.
I had the steak with red wine sauce, taste was flavorful and the meat was tender with great texture.
The price of $ 100 is well worth it and the waiters are extreemly friendly and make you feel welcomed.
Go with your significant other or with a group of friends you won’t regret it.

What a cool, unique experience. I went in March 2012 (sorry for the late review!)
I personally don’t think I’d do it again, as it’s very expensive ($ 100/​person), and also, it may not be as fresh as my first visit. BUT, I thought it was incredibly cool. Here’s why:
–The wait staff are visually impaired (pardon me if this is wrong phrasing) — meaning, they have some kind of eye-​related problem. This is AWESOME. Made it so much more meaningful, at least to me.
–I liked that they didn’t put blindfolds on us– instead, the entire restaurant was dark. We went as a party of 8, and they lined us up with the person behind us grabbing on to our shoulders. The host then led us down an increasingly dark pathway, into the dining area, which you couldn’t even see. They sat us down, one by one, and assured we were all seated together.
–The waiter was INCREDIBLY amazing, kind, and friendly. He memorized each of our names and orders. Some of us were vegetarian, as this can be kinda scary… especially if we get the wrong plate. We’d never know. But he knew exactly where each of us was seated, our names, our orders, and what person got what. He’d stand at one end of the table, hand the first person a glass of wine, for example, and then say «this belongs to Sarah» and we’d pass it down.
–There is not a SINGLE ray of light in this room. NOTHING. This obviously means, no one is going to take out their phone. At times it was a little awkward, as someone is talking and you’re not entirely sure if you’re even looking in the right direction. But it kept the conversation going! Also in that much darkness you see these little sparks of light dance around the room, it was quite a conversation starter.
I’ll admit, a lot of times I just gave up and used my hands, especially for the salad. But overall, it was pretty neat. I’m not sure if I got the whole «cut out one sense will heighten the other» feeling, but maybe others do. Also, sometimes I do actually like to see what I’m eating. I’d recommend this place for sure. Was the food worth $ 100 (excluding tip)? Not really. I believe it’s also BYOB, but I’d double check.

I just realized I started this review more than a year ago and never finished/​posted it.
The experience was amazing. I went here over a year ago with my then boyfriend. I took him there for his birthday. It was pitch black and that made it an interesting experience – although in our experience, we both swore there was the tiniest crack of light seeping through to our left. The waiter insisted there was no door in that area, but two sets of eyes can’t be wrong.
You order food before you enter the dark dining room. The waiters are blind, thus walking around darkness was second nature to them. They guide you to your table where you slowly and carefully glide onto your seat. Food comes in from one end of the table and a member of your party must slide the plates to the others. This was exciting due to the possibility of your hand landing on your food!!! Drinks are passed on similarly. If you were to use the bathroom, you’d have to wait for a waiter to come by and guide you out.
Eating was a bit of a challenge when it came to lighter options such as salad. The waiters recommend feeding each other for an even more exciting challenge. Be warned: This can be messy. We figured finding the other persons mouth with our hands first and slowly sliding in the food with the fork/​spoon while our hand was still in place was the way to go.
The food was good although the price was pretty steep– I remember it being around $ 250/​person for a 3 course meal.
It probably is a once in a lifetime deal for most people as the cost is pretty steep but it is definitely a unique and interesting experience. Great for a romantic couple but would also be fun for a group of friends or family!
Oh! BTW! Claims that your senses are heightened when one is disabled wasn’t true for neither of us. Others may feel differently but that wasn’t the case for me. I would say that not seeing what the room looked like helped me to imagine it was pretty fancy looking when in reality it MAY have simply looked like McDonald’s with tablecloths in there and I would know.
Enjoy!

This place was amazing. My girlfriend and I went here for her birthday and we were not disappointed. We heard about Opaque from a friend and wanted to experience the restaurant for ourselves. The location of the restaurant is kinda hidden. We past by it a couple of times before we found it. When we entered the restaurants we were greeted by a nice gentleman who told us to wait for the server to come get us. My girlfriend and I decided to share the meal because otherwise the price would have been much more.
Finally when the server came to us, we were told that she is completely blind! To enter the eating area she told us to hold each others hands and hers as well and she will direct us inside.
Right when we entered it was pitch black. I felt really weird as if I was dead. Eventually I adjusted. Then finally we were seated, we were given the option of getting the mystery drink (alcohol), this drink they were going to mix a drink and we have to taste the drink and guess what it is. We also had an option of getting the mystery dinner, but we opted out. In the restaurant you can hear other people talking. You eat the food very carefully and use your hands. After we were finished the server helped us out of the restaurant. The server was great, mystery drink was great, food was great, and it was an AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!! Highly recommend anyone to try this restaurant out.

I liked the fact that the restaurant hired legally blind waitstaff to serve you. Our waitress was great. She was very cheerful and engaging. The food could have been better. I was expecting my tastebuds to be wowed since my sense of sight was taken. Unfortunately it wasn’t. The food was mediocre.

The only thing I like about the restaurant was the dining in the dark experience and our server.
Food — AWFUL. For $ 99 per person this was one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. I had the «Mystery Menu» and had a salmon appetizer, gorgonzola salad, pork and mashed potatoes main dish, and an ice cream dessert. None of the meals were designed with «dining in the dark» in mind. I thought the meals would be bite size or easy to eat with your hands, but instead we were handed a knife and fork and probably ended up leaving ¾ of the food on the plate or on the table (not that it really mattered since the food wasn’t good to begin with). The salad had a a dollop of gorgonzola cheese which I ended up having in one bite and the rest of the salad was dry — as i said, no thought into how someone would eat this is in the dark.
Great to have a «different» dining experience but the whole time we were there I was waiting for the meal to be over. Won’t be going again.

The waitstaff is blind, so they continually listen for you calling their name. This means you have zero privacy. I was really embarrassed when someone at my table said the waitress’s name and she immediately responded, which made me realize she was listening to our entire conversation up until that point.
Also everyone in the restaurant can hear everyone else’s entire conversation, because the tables are so close together.
The food was okay, not great. Overall I think it was not worthwhile, though it was novel.

Everyone should do this in their life. Everyone. If you can’t afford it… Don’t eat for a week and go here once. It was an amazing experience.
1. I have never experienced pitch black. This room is pitch black. Your eyes never acclimate because there is no source of light to acclimate to. Pitch black the whole time.
2. How many blind people do you talk to? Well your waiter is and your life is in their hands for 2 hours. They are the smartest people in the world and you are in their element. (Remember to not say anything stupid like… how do you do anything in here, because that is there life out of there too)
3. Good opportunity to snuggle with your honey because it is really scary. At some point I thought that I felt a presence next to me, but no one was there. And if they were… I can’t see them. #scaryforme #luckyformydate
4. You can do ALOT of naughty things in here ;) It is so dark and gets loud enough where you can do whatever you want. Just don’t take that long, since you won’t know when your waiter will come. (they do not have infrared cameras… i asked :))
5. You will be the coolest person ever because everyone wants to go here. knows about it. but doesn’t go. You can be the center of attention for a good 5 minute conversation.
6. Hint for the ladies: DO NOT let your guy be the receiver of food to pass along to you. Especially if your waitress is a girl. I was the passer of food and whenever the waitress passed me the food to pass along, I would have to graze her arm and practically have hand sex with her. You do not want your guy doing this.

An unforgettable and unique dining experience! I’d suggest coming here for a romantic date or a quirky fun dinner with a friend. Definitely not recommended for groups.
I came here to celebrate my 2 year wedding anniversary with my husband on a Friday night.
Food:
+3 courses prix fixe menu– you can either choose the pre-​set menu or the mystery menu but the mystery menu is just one of the 2 options listed on the menu, so don’t get too excited!
+Unlimited bread and butter
+Bonus appertif– salmon in a cucumber– one bite yumminess or cheese if you’re veg
+Bonus soup– black bean soup
1) tuna tartare– i’ve never had tuna tartare but it was scrumptious! so flavorful with the mangos
2) salmon in green curry– holy heck! i love green curry and i love salmon so this was a great twist on the norms
3) lava cake a la mode with strawberries– i’ll admit i was eating with my hands at this point but i didn’t want to leave one bite on the plate!
Service:
Our server (the whole staff is blind) was very sweet, comforting and patient. Our experience would not have been as memorable without her.
Ambiance:
Come with a very open and adventurous mind. It is a challenge to eat in pitch darkness but if you let your other senses open up, listen to the carefully selected music or try to distinguish the different mystery tastes, it’s sure to be a good time.
–Hungry Hungry Pongy