Opaque - dining in the dark

06/14/09

great experience, bad food.

by mollypsca at Citysearch

I read the reviews here and made the drive to Santa Monica to try the unique experience with my Wife. Our server and guide through the dark was super nice, but she was smacking gum for the first 5 minutes of our interactions. It is true that other senses come out in the dark and listening to someone smacking on gum is not a great appealing.

In addition, the food was awful. In fact, I did not even eat my salad. It was like they took a bag of unwashed bitter mix and threw it on the plate with some sesame dressing. It was awful. Main's were okay. In truth it was like wedding food at 50.00 a plate.

Further, the tables and chairs were a very low quality, again like cheap banquet tables and chairs.

Yep, I learned a lesson - you can see quality in the dark.

With all of that said, it was a cool experience and something to talk about with friends, although very expensive!

• Pros: something to talk about
• Cons: food

01/07/09

had I only an infrared eye between the other 2

by joshuatree12 at Citysearch

Nothing, plain nothing, is what you get. In terms of what you see. But they offer you the world of senses on a silver tray it is up to you to choose whether you want to take it and where you want to take it. Do you want to listen, smell, touch, or taste, or all at once. It was a concert of senses conducted by our lovely waiter Michael. Do yourself a favor and request him.

01/07/09

This Friday is the day of night

by testa123 at Citysearch

I have been getting ready for this day a long time. I am putting my best gear on... gonna look real pretty, as there real beauty is proven when no one sees. This is so exiting and I will follow up when its on my 'seen' that done that list.

11/17/08

Awful...

by roavee99 at Citysearch

don't waste your money. its awful. everything tasted like it came out of a can. they take advantage of the fact you can't see what you are eating.

don't do it.

• Pros: the concept is cool
• Cons: food is AWFUL

09/08/08

Incredible food, great servce, Got to meet the chef!

by PStrauss at Citysearch

What an amazing experience! To have your site taken away and rely on your other senses and trust everything will be OK. The food was incredible. 1. It started out with a prosciutto wrapped fig with a caponata relish. TANTALIZING! 2. then we got fresh bread and butter. 3. The salad was just popping in our mouth, so much going on, arugula, sweet tomatoes, amazing wine dressing, truffle cheese and topped with a bruchetta and toast, I must say the best I have ever had in the light or in the dark. 4. I had the Salmon and my partner had the Filet Mignon, OK, the Salmon was the most delightful i have ever consumed, not dry and it just melted in your mouth. It was made with a Caribbean spice topped with a sweet chili. Amazing! My partner had the Filet Mignon with goat cheese sun dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers with a sweet wine sauce that made me have an orgazm, I swear i did! 5. we both love Tiramisu and we are very critical when we have it. THE BEST IN LOS ANGELES! We got to meet the Chef for the evening, Chef Michael Parise, not sure if he is always on board, he said he would be there temporarily but he gave us his card, he owns Cannoli Kings Catering. Dining in the dark was a great experience and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who would like increase the other senses in their body. The service was wonderful and overall first class. I hope it stays that way!

• Pros: The food!
• Cons: none

Experience a world of sensitivity in a pitch-black dining room, guided by blind servers, at Santa Monica's V Lounge.

by Martha Burr at Citysearch

In Short
Following a cultish dining trend in Europe and a celebrated stint on the Sunset Strip, this unorthodox experience of eating in absolute darkness remains unlike any other in Los Angeles. Arrive at its new location at V Lounge, order from a three-course prix fixe New American menu (it's $99 with choice of chicken, fish, steak or vegetarian) and then proceed to be guided by blind servers into a completely dark room to spend the next two hours hearing, feeling and tasting in an extraordinarily heightened way. Abandoning vision renews appreciation for sight, while simultaneously enhancing other senses. People talk louder in the dark, so be careful what you say. It's an inspired place for a first date or illicit assignation plus nobody--and we mean nobody--will see you playing footsies.

08/02/08

Good place to go that is dark

by mghild at Citysearch

Pros: Good place to go on the third date.

Cons: It's the opitome of LA Phoney. I gave it three stars because it is good for the third date.

• Pros: You cant see your date
• Cons: You cant see your date

06/17/08

Exhilarating experience

by kimichow at Citysearch

I just went last Friday and it was such an amazing experience. It was a bit scary at first being in pitch darkness, but you hear voices around you so you know you're not alone and you really learn to use your sense of touch. I was holding hands with my date most of the night. The food was pretty decent and the portions were big, I couldn't even finish all of it. I loved the game of guessing different objects in a bag just by feeling the objects. And our waiter Michael was wonderful, he even serenaded us at the end of the meal.

02/17/08

Great Concept - Not so great food

by ttpham41 at Citysearch

Concept was great but it was definitely not worth the money! I've had much better tasting food and more filling at Lawry's or Morton's. The portions at Opaque were small and the taste was horrible.

• Pros: Great Concept
• Cons: Bad food, ridiculous pricing

02/04/08

Experience Beyond the Norm

by CaptainDandy at Citysearch

Our dark dining experience was truly exhilirating. We took my brother and his wife for their anniversary. I've been in a lot of places and done a lot of things, but this is truly an eye opener, if you will. It allows a sighted person to experience for a time, what the blind experience daily. Since my wife is blind, it was real insight for me. I gained a world of respect for the wait staff and for blind people in general. While they may be challenged navigating our sighted world, I'm sure that given the accellerated senses of taste and hearing and smell and touch and the amazing memory jog, it's a pretty good swap.I can't wait for this to come to the Scottsdale area.