Could eliminating the sense you rely on most help you better understand the world? That is the question posed by Sombras, an innovative restaurant in Bogotá, Colombia, that belongs to the Seratta Group, a culinary and entertainment conglomerate. At Sombras, visitors experience a dinner in total darkness for about 90 minutes. Without the ability to see anything, diners stop depending on sight and have to learn to relay on their hearing, sense of touch, smell and taste.
Sombras’ visitors enjoy a secret menu, designed based on the concept of emotional umami: a connection between taste and positive responses of well-being, satisfaction, and pleasure in the brain. The goal is for diners to identify each plate with their four other senses.
However, darkness is not the protagonist. Sombra’s service is led by visually impaired collaborators, who guide visitors through their dinner, demonstrating that what many consider a limitation can become a strength.
Restaurants where diners eat in complete darkness have existed for several years in different parts of the world, but what sets Sombras apart is that it incorporates an additional approach by turning labor inclusion into a central component of its proposal. Beyond offering a sensory experience, the project seeks to generate employment opportunities for the visually impaired, promote empathy and make us question how we perceive the capabilities of others.
At a time when many gastronomic experiences seek to surprise consumers with technology or spectacle, Sombras demonstrates that innovation can also arise by changing perspective and putting inclusion at the center of an idea.
Would you dare to live a dinner completely in the dark and let yourself be guided by those who know that world better than anyone else?
Source: Grupo Seratta.