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| - The experience is the whole point of O.Noir, far more than the food (which is tasty and adequate, but not sublime). The darkness of the dining room is absolute, so there's no real point in panicking or straining to see; just relax, enjoy it, and realize that a) if anyone *could* see you, you'd probably look like a dope, and b) wow, what the busboys must endure when they flip the lights on at the end of the night.
Or at least that's what my companion and I were thinking, especially when I nudged a gob of butter off my bread plate unawares and then put my hand in it repeatedly for the rest of the night. All in good fun! While my friend proudly insisted he was using his utensils and best table manners, I confess to pushing things around with my fingers...who's gonna know? Then again, maybe he was lying!
We both ordered the three-course surprise meal, and in attempting to guess what we ate were 0-for-3; we could pick out individual ingredients, but got sidetracked by that same ability. If you *do* have any food allergies or other issues, you definitely should mention them up front: our appetizer turned out to be steak tartare, which I'm not likely to have ordered of my own accord--and it was delicious, in fact, but I had some stomach upset the next day, so buyer beware.
Our waiter was attentive, friendly, and clearly amused by our terrible guessing. And although other reviewers have mentioned loud, rowdy groups, our fellow patrons seemed committed to preserving the experience for everyone: when someone's phone inadvertently lit up a bit of the room for a split second, others booed and hissed goodnaturedly and the guilty party smothered the light immediately.
If you're up for a unique dinner out, go and immerse yourself at O.Noir, and bring your sense of adventure...but maybe not your favorite white shirt.
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