Blindekuh: A restaurant that specializes in candlelit dinners.. minus the candlelight

While many restaurants ban smoking and mobile phones, Blindekuh Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland may be the only one in the world where light is left at the door--literally. Flashlights and luminous watches are verboten; windows are blacked out; and all service, eating and drinking, take place in utter darkness.

Part attention-grabber, part disability rights' platform, the mission of Blindekuh (Swiss German for 'blind man's bluff' and English for 'blind cow') is to show people just how much they take for granted their sense of sight, and what it might be like to do without it.

Chef Haeni, who was partially sighted while at cooking school but has since lost most of his vision, has devised with the team, tricks and cues that help keep the place running smoothly. "We use plates of different shapes for meat, vegetables and fish," he said, "and scales for weighing drinks so they don't spill." Presentation is not an issue, but quality is. "If guests can't see what they eat," said Haeni, "then the taste and texture and the ingredients are very important. For example, we use a lot of fennel, basil, celeriac and coriander."