Already the rage in Europe, Australia, L.A. and New York, O.NOIR is Canada’s first-ever restaurant that invites you to experience food, drink and conversation like never before IN THE DARK! It’s a sensual dining experience like no other. When you eat without your sight, your remaining senses are heightened to savour the smell and taste of food. O.NOIR does more than just fire the imagination and stimulate the senses. After a few hours in complete darkness (that’s right, no flashlights, matches, cell phones, cigarette lighters or luminous watches), customers gain a better understanding of what it’s like to be blind just like the restaurants’ entire wait staff. O.NOIR – IT’S BETTER IN THE DARK.
O.Noir delivers a one of a kind dining adventure that heightens the senses with complete darkness, allowing flavors, textures, and aromas to take center stage. The experience is consistently described as immersive, thoughtful, and humbling, with attentive service from a team of staff who guide guests through the concept and explain the courses clearly. The menu options, especially the surprise courses, are frequently highlighted for their creativity and depth, and portions are described as satisfying with a mix of impressive appetizers, main courses, and desserts. Several reviews praise the friendly, professional servers who make guests feel at ease and excited to discover what is on the plate without seeing it. The atmosphere is often noted for its quiet focus and sensory engagement, though some nights are louder due to groups, which can detract from the immersion and occasionally lead to longer dining times. Overall, O.Noir is recognized as a memorable, must-try experience that blends education with gastronomy and gracious hospitality.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The service is excellent, & the staff ensure that everything is clearly explained throughout the evening. The experience is immersive & truly unique. The food was good, though relatively simple depending on the dishes selected or served. If you are looking for a place to have an in-depth conversation, this may not be the right setting, as the environment is designed to fully engage your senses.
We had an amazing time at O'Noir. The experience was very unique & humbling. Our food was excellent & our waiter (Mazen) was really spectacular. Two people in our party of 5 ordered'surprise' meals & were very happy with the dishes. At first, it is a little jarring but we enjoyed the opportunity to experience something new & different. An added bonus of not being able to see anything allowed us all to focus on conversation, good company, & food. It was the highlight of our Montreal trip.
Jan 2, 2026
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An absolutely incredible experience! Dining in complete darkness was something unforgettable. The food was delicious, & I loved that there were the dishes a surprise ( & not listed on the menu) which made it even more exciting & mysterious. You're not only eating in the dark, but you also don't know what's on your plate! Really fun! I highly recommend choosing the surprise menu. Everyone should try a restaurant like this at least once in their life.
Absolutely wild. What an experience. I read a review further down about how someone got sensory overload & hated being touched.
Sorry - but do your research before you go. What an incredible experience & Dominic was fantastic. I've never felt so humbled while eating dinner & the real USP of this place is that it's a great equalizer between people. Me & the Mrs managed to stab, prod, dance & joke our way through dinner but what a delightly meal & cocktails too.
Yes me did the surprise dishes too, & trying to guess the dish was part of the fun.
Great food & incredible experience! The staff was amazing. My favorites of the dishes we had were the scallops & chocolate lava cake. Would definitely go back!
The food is surprisingly tasty. We ordered 4-course meal with hot & cold starters, a main & a dessert. Every dish is unique. The dishes are very sizeable. So by the time the main dish was served, although it was good indeed, I was so full that I could no longer enjoy it like I did with the starters. So if you are not really gourmand, I don't recommend a 4-course.
Our waiter Fay was friendly & professional. Everything was served perfectly & precisely.
The three stars for atmosphere was because a table of guests were making donkey sounds (literally) & laughing very loud throughout their dining time. I have no idea from where they got the hint of entering a zoo instead of a restaurant & started behaving like animals.
The expérience is really différent, we came in a group, so everybody take hands & went to our places where u cant see nothing. But passing thw time u start to realize & enjoy the flavour & addapt to the place. The staff ask about every one & make special dishes for each one. Amazing
Jan 14, 2025
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Great experience dining in total darkness. The food is generous in portion & quite good. The servers are amazing. The dining room does get a bit loud if its crowded. Getting the surprise dishes is great fun!
Loved our experience, I had heard from other people in the past that the food wasn't good, but to be honest, it was genuinely delicious! The portions were big, we were stuffed by the end! & everything was amazing, the flavours & dishes were so good! The best part is picking everything as a surprise, that way you really get to enjoy the experience. I think the price was reasonable for the experience & the quality of the food. Definitely try the cocktails! Make sure you go with someone who you like talking to because it can get awkward in the dark for sure 😂
To start with, the service & the unique experience in itself are very enjoyable. I really like the concept of eating in the complete dark & the waiters were super nice. That being said, I would never go back for 2 main reasons. The first being that the tables are extremely close to one an other which makes the experience really less fun, I could strech my arm & touch the table right next to me, which means you have to hear their whole conversation throughout the night, as if they were sitting at your table. The second reason is the quality of the food for the price. 54$ for 2 service, I would expect a minimum of quality for my plates, which was far from the case. I ordered the surprice sea for appetizer & all I could taste was salad, croûton & sour cream. To this day, I think I might have had one tiny piece of the salmon they said it has, but definitely not worth anything. The worst was the main dish. I had the confit lamb shank. The gratin was the only good thing in that plate. The sauce tasted like premade or from a jar & extremely like water. I couldn't eat it & had to return the plate to change it for the ravioli which were better. I never had to return a plate in a restaurant in my whole life. My friend had the sirloin steak. She ordered medium rare & she had medium well close to well-done. The quality of the steak was again very poor & had a lot of fat on it, that left us with little to no meat. There's no depth in the dishes. Really lack of flavor & quality. I had been wanting to go for so long but ended up being extremely disappointed.
Incredible experience & delicious food. My husband & I both chose the three course meal & the surprise dishes - he chose sea & I chose complete surprise. The food was delicious, the distraction free setting & mysteriousness of eating in complete darkness was amazing. Our server was wonderful & we had fun guessing what our dishes were with him after the meal was finished.
Sep 7, 2024
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I had the surprise sea starter, surprise land main, same surprise dessert. 3 friends had some same or opposite orders, food was delicious & it was fun guessing what we were eating, some people with the same surprise theme still got different dishes. I would go again! next time I'd pick my own dessert though 😜
O'Noir has been on my wishlist for so long when I lived in Toronto. Yet yesterday was underwhelming. The positive side is the unique experience. It made you feel grateful & gratitude to the servers working in a stressful environment. They do take care of the clients well. Check-in for food allergies, telling you where the dishes are positioned, etc. The food was a huge let down. Warm ciabatta & served with butter in the single serving. For starters, I asked for scallops that supposed to come with sprouts & croutons. There's only 3 oily rubbery scallops in the dish along with the sauce on the side. (Their IG shows at least 5 scallops in the reel) I did not taste any Pinot noir from the sauce. The sauce tasted like premade. I made the note to the waiter, but they didn't do anything. I mentioned it again before I leave. They even question me if I really didn't have the sprouts salad with my scallops. My sauce was on the side. The whole dish just 3 scallops & nothing else. My friend & I both ordered the sirloin steak & I asked to switch my mash potatoes to salad. I ordered medium rare & she had medium. The meat portion was huge but overcooked. Mine tasted like medium well & hers was well-done. She said her mash potatoes was really sweet & heavy. The side salad for me was just two bites of greens. The foie gras sauce again tasted like from a jar with no foie gras flavor. Food was definitely on the heavily oily side, but there's no depth in the dishes. Really lack of flavor & layers. The service was slow but I understand they are a bit crowded & understaffed. It actually made me more appreciate with my life. Another note was the tableware & furniture in the dinning room felt very cheap. It gets crowded & squishy in the dinning room. Everyone is sitting very close to each other. When you are already in a heightened awareness mode with your surroundings, those tiny details really just grinds the gear & made the whole experience unsatisfactory. I think one experience is enough for me. I'd like to look on the bright side & be more appreciative in my life.
We were received by enthusiastic & polite staff, with a touch of great humor. Our server, Sammy, was extremely professional. He checked in on us frequently with an air of calm so we felt supported while also being fully comfortable to take our time chatting & fully enjoying the food. The food was absolutely wonderful; some of the better dishes we've had in our dining experiences so far; enhanced by the atmosphere of focusing on one less sense than usual. A beautiful experience all around.
This was an amazing experience. The service was some of the best I've ever had. The food was fine, nothing special. I thought the dishes were unique but execution was not quite there. For example my gnocchi was quite overcooked.
Feb 11, 2024
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It was my Aunt & I's first time experiencing O. Noir, & did certainly not disappoint! It was a great way to celebrate our birthdays that weekend! It was a very fun & unique, giving us a new perspective. The food was absolutely delicious, I bet the dishes were beautifully plated, we definitely made a mess of them though! Our server Matthieu was wonderful, patient & really enhanced the experience. I cannot wait to return!
This really is a unique experience. Taking the term "blind tasting" to a whole new level. We were very impressed by everything, start to finish. We did not decide to go with surprise meals. Everything we ordered was delicious. We were both excited for our desserts, but when they arrived, it was the "surprise" option & not the dishes we had selected. We didn't mention it because we felt it would be rude. I highly recommend this restaurant.
We had a great experience thank you to everyone at ONoir. We had the surprise dishes & the food was great! Thank you to our waiter Mathieu who was very kind & helpful.
The experience was excellent. The waiter, Sammy, was wonderful. I did everything as a surprise & enjoyed trying to figure out the tastes of the excellent dishes that had been prepared. I have been twice now & recommend it not just for the experience but for the quality of food & service.
