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.
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.
Je recommande vraiment cette expérience unique!! Nous avons eu la chance d'être servie par Sammy, il était tout simplement incroyable! Il prenait le temps de s'assurer que tout se passait à notre goût & nous guidait à travers chaque nouvelle étape! L'expérience est vraiment adapter pour tout le monde avec les différents choix de menu surprise, je suis très satisfaite de mon expérience, merci encore :)
Jul 23, 2024
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
this is such a unique experience, everyone should do it at least once in their lives! The meal heightens your other senses & encourages you to communicate with your dining partner & the staff. I highly recommend asking for surprises for food & beverages, within your dietary restrictions!
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.
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
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
such a weird but amazing experience. everyone should go at least once in their life. Tasty, yummy food & staff super sweet & well trained. Unique & exceptional.
Truly pitch black, such a unique experience! We ordered all surprises & when I didn't like my entree they even willingly swapped it for a new one which was unexpected & lovely. Excellent service!
Une expérience unique à Montréal. La noirceur totale & l'absence de musique favorise la conversation. Notre serveur Sammy était extraordinaire; un service irréprochable. Les plats offerts sont variés & délicieux. Je recommande fortement.
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!
Jan 15, 2024
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Experience incroyable, absolument unique! C'est pas juste la nourriture qui est delicieux, c'est l'experience d'etre privée de vision pendant plus d'une heure qui est époustouflante! Service rapide & assidu, employé coopératif & aimable. Je recommande cette expérience à tout le monde!
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.
This has been the most unique & tasteful culinary experience I've been to! A restaurant like no other & they do everything with perfection. We were so impressed with the service, the food & the whole atmosphere. An amazing experience well worth supporting. Thank you so much to our servers Sammi & Mezan.
Wow! What a completely unique & amazing experience! Definitely one to try in the Montreal area!! Staff were lovely & we ate some of the best appetizers & desserts with our meal!
