Out of sight: This is what it's like to dine out in complete darkness

KARACHI: I spent my Friday night having my dinner in pitch black darkness. Before you start empathizing and swearing at K-Electric under your breath, you should know it was a 100% by choice.

A clumsy eater in total brightness opting to eat with no light makes no sense, right? However, I couldn't resist experiencing the unique journey Pizza Hut has brought to town. A common tourist attraction in London, Toronto and Kuala Lampur, this dining in the dark venture is the first of its kind in Pakistan.

A theme you didn't see coming

Walking into Pizza Hut was like walking down memory lane; I hadn't been to one in around a decade so the concept has definitely worked as a marketing ploy. The glass outside the restaurant had also been blacked out to keep in line with the theme.

Rather than transforming the entire restaurant into a dark room, they've chosen to just allocate a separate portion to the theme, which sits behind a gray curtain.

Lockers have been placed outside for guests to deposit their belongings as no light emitting devices of any kind are allowed inside. Upon spotting those, I started to feel some anxiety due to my cellphone attachment issues.

We were told to pick one out of the four options provided before we entered our dining area: chicken, vegetarian, beef and for the more adventurous lot, the mysterious Chef Special, according to which they would serve you a three course meal.

I'm a picky eater as it is so I decided to be boring and stick to the tried and tested choice that is chicken. In retrospect, vegetarian would have been the smarter choice.

What you don't see is what you get

Before entering, we were introduced to the polite Mohsin, who waited on our table. He instructed that my friend place his hand on his right shoulder and I place mine on my friends' so that he may lead the way. Once inside, he told us to follow the sound of him snapping his fingers and led us to our seats by holding our hands.

Spoiler alert (regarding the menu)!

We were served a soup as an appetizer. I had anticipated it would be really hard to use cutlery or have soup when you can't even see the bowl. However, it was easier than I thought. I still don't know what soup we had -- I could just figure out it had potatoes, chicken and a lot of pepper. Not the best but then again Pizza Hut isn't really known for soup, is it?

We were then served our main course; my best guess was that it was pizza before even taking a bite and I was spot on. We weren't told exactly which pizza it was so while I had hoped we'd get Chicken Fajita, what we ended up with was most certainly not that.

I gave up on using a fork and a knife 30 seconds into trying, it was time to use our hands. We definitely had some difficulty breaking apart the slices; pieces of mystery meat landed in our laps, dropped a mushroom (or two) on presumably the floor, there were some empty bites but no mammoth mishaps.

Even so, I felt like a baby without a bib.

Last but not the least, we were given dessert, which was a decadent chocolate lava cake. Definitely my favourite part of the meal and the most challenging! Chocolate sauce can get stringy and drip and using a spoon was a lot harder than I had predicted! I was literally holding my hair back and hovering right over the plate in an effort to not drop any syrup on my jeans.

Even though the music was on, we could hear the other tables way too clearly. Maybe they were loud, maybe our other senses were heightened. I won't lie; by the time we were done with dessert, I was a little relieved. I felt slightly claustrophobic and my head hurt and so I called Mohsin for a quick shoulder-led exit. I came out of the room, disoriented and with greater compassion for people with disabilities.

Looking at the bigger picture

While it makes for a novelty weekend activity, dining in the dark is not just about that. It highlights disability in a way that catches up on you after. Customers get to step into the shoes of others and realize that what we found so disorienting is their everyday life.

Saba Hassan of MCR Pvt. Ltd, the group operating Pizza Hut in Pakistan shares: "The Dark Restaurant effectively makes its diners realize that disability is created only when an environment is disabling: a sighted person is unable to function fully in a dark space, and hence is temporarily disabled. And on the flip-side, if people with impairments are provided an enabling environment, then he/she will not be disabled."

The amazing thing about this initiative is the fact that they make their staff feel productive and proud, upholding their dignity; it's not a charity. The pop-up event has managed to raise awareness about impairment and Hassan adds that people have been very receptive so far.

"Guests have loved the experience and really connected with the idea behind the concept. Mothers have come in with their children to teach their kids about empathy and hoards of the youth seeking adventure have come to dine. During the day, we invite students from underprivileged schools to have a meal at a very subsidized price and at dinner the experience is enjoyed by the public with the aim that the next generation of Pakistanis is sympathetic to the cause."

She also reveals, "[The response] has been so overwhelming that we're considering taking the concept to Islamabad and Lahore in the coming months."

The Dark Restaurant has been extended due to popular demand till September 20. Go check it out for yourselves: Rs. 450-600 is a small price to pay for changing the way you see the world.