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Dining with a difference
siddlobo
| 19 June, 2008 13:00
We’ve all had those dinners we’ll never forget. Maybe it was
the delicious food, the incomparable company, the superb service or the
stunning setting… either way it was a meal to remember. And here are five more unique
dining experiences from across Europe you’re not likely
to forget in the near future.
Dans le Noir, London
Imagine having your dinner and the lights go out. If you’re dining at Dans
le Noir, chances are that the lights will
stay out throughout your meal. Dans
le Noir is a ‘Dine in the Dark’ experience started
by the Paul Guinot
Foundation, an organization that supports
the blind in France.
The main aim of the restaurant is to promote awareness of what it is to be
blind. As a result, all waiters are visually impaired and in an ironical
fashion, they are the ones that guide the guests through the pitch black
restaurants. Diners are asked to leave all potentially light-emitting gadgets
outside the restaurant. The complete blackness of the setting tunes up your
sensory experience and the rest of the meal is a guessing game as you grope
around figuring out what you’re eating. The concept has become a hit and a
chain of Dans le Noir
restaurants have opened in France,
London and Moscow.
If you’re up for the experience, log onto http://www.danslenoir.com/london/
‘s Baggers, Nuremberg
Isn’t it really annoying when the waiter gets your order
wrong? Or seems to ignore you completely? If you're in ‘s Baggers, you won't have that problem. That’s because it doesn’t have any waiters. ‘s Baggers
is the first automated restaurant. Customers simply use touch screen TVs to
browse the menu and choose their meal. The order is sent real time to chefs
upstairs (still of the old-fashioned human kind) who prepare the fresh,
delicious meals. Once ready, the meal is put in a pot, given a sticker and a
colour to match the customer’s seat and then sent sliding down a
rollercoaster-like conveyor belt to reach the correct table.
To experience a prime example of German food and engineering, head to ‘s Baggers.
http://www.sbaggers.de/mainger/?sid=restaurant&lang=en
De Kartofelkeller, Berlin
Here’s one for all you potato lovers. This restaurant pays
homage to the humble spud. Potatoes have a starring role in all of the
Kartofelkeller’s dishes. And there are almost a 100 of them to choose from.
So if
you’re a potato fan, you’ll find nirvana at De Kartofelkeller,
Berlin. http://www.kartoffelkeller.com/
Absolute Ice Bar, Stockholm, London
The Absolut Ice Bar is quite a cool experience and I mean
that literally. Temperatures in the Ice Bar are well below zero. You’ll be given
a cape and a fur coat to stay alive for the forty minutes or so that you’ll be
in the ‘Below Zero’ zone. Drinks are served in fist-sized hollow ice cubes and
you can pick them up from the ice blocks that make up the bar. In fact, all
furniture is made of ice and once your forty minutes are up, you’ll be escorted
to the warmer zone. Ice bars are gaining popularity and have opened up in London
and Amsterdam too.
http://www.nordicseahotel.se/en/The-hotel/Food-and-drink/Absolut-Icebar-Stockholm/
Archipelago, London
Feeling a little adventurous? Then Archipelago is for you.
Featuring an exotic menu including gnu, crocodile, locusts and kangaroo- just
to name a few, this restaurant is definitely a walk on the wild side. For the
more faint hearted, chicken, lamb and an extensive vegetarian menu is also
available. Weird ingredients, crazy combinations and eclectic décor make this
dining experience one you’ll remember long after.
http://www.toptable.co.uk/venues/restaurants/?id=993
Sidd Lobo
Freelance writer based out of Munich
The spelling of the Berlin restaurant is Kartofelkeller (which literally means "Potato Cellar").
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