The Portland Blind Cafe

I read about The Blind Café and was interested in going after seeing it was coming to my area. The concept is simple: you will enjoy a night of dinner and music-​completely in the dark.
When I arrived, I was assigned a table number. I was given an information sheet to read through to prepare myself for the experience. Then the table number was called. You hold on to the persons shoulder in front of you and go through a curtain into the darkness. You are guided to your table and shown your chair (through feeling it) and then you’re left to your own devices.
After fumbling around for a bit, I found my bottle of water, fork, napkin, salad plate and dinner plate. There were introductions with the others at the table and we all started to attempt to eat.
After a bit, there was a Q&A section where people asked questions about what it is like to live sight impaired. The most interesting thing was, just like anyone, their experiences were varied. Having a disability hadn’t stopped any of the people from living their lives. In fact, I was pretty envious of one guy in particular who had practically travelled the world. What an inspiration!
Then the music started. This was something I wasn’t prepared for at all. The talent of the musicians was amazing. At certain points it was so beautiful I almost cried. And then we were slowly brought back into the light.
I am grateful to have had this experience and I look forward to going again the next time they are in town.

Based on the previous review, it’s seems the event has gotten worse over the years. My experience was nothing like that of below review, and more similar to other people’s more recent experience’s in seattle (
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«The event doesn’t just excite senses, but aims to educate visitors about life as a blind person. «This mission statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Rosh & The Blind Café Orchestra does nothing except exploit the handicapped for his own agenda. I went to this event at @albertabbey in Portland and was very disappointed. Rather than celebrate those who are visually impaired, the host treated the event like a freak show for the attendees to gawk and ask inappropriate questions. Entertainment was supposed to by the guests of honor (the blind). However it was completed hijacked by Rosh and his acoustic guitar. The food was supposed to be created a local chef; who remained unnamed through the entire event. My inquiries as to who the chef was that night went completely ignored. It’s Portland; we care a lot about food! We were never told what we were eating during the entire night. Overall, the event felt like an afterthought and disingenuous. Rosh seemed to be using the «blind charity» as a lure to get you to pay a hefty price tag for his guitar show. If you want to support the blind community go make a donation to a real charity. It will be money better spent. Please do your research and read these Unilocal reviews before buying tickets for this event.

When I saw a pair of tickets up for grabs for this event on Unilocal Talk, I immediately put my name in the hat. My wife previously heard about The Portand Blind Café and we already had some discussions about what it would be like to dine in complete darkness with a large group of people. We were both quite excited when I won the tickets. (Thanks, Don B.) I truly didn’t know what to expect. I am quite an experienced late night raider of the fridge, practiced and adept at eating in the dark – or so I thought – but what I imagined wasn’t even close to what I experienced.
The event took place at Saint David of Wales Episcopal Church. (Oddly, there was an AA meeting going on in the main church building. Not quite so «anonymous» with a 100 plus Blind Café diners wandering by, I thought.) The event organizers were quite mysterious about exactly where they had everything set up. I assumed it was in some kind of auditorium or hall – most churches have one. Each table group was led inside via conga line by a blind server. After navigating through several black-​out curtains, we were in total darkness. TOTAL PITCH DARKNESS. So dark, you don’t even know if your eyes are open or closed. So dark, your world immediately shrinks to arm’s length.
We found our chairs and discovered plates filled with food directly in front of us. I have to admit that I didn’t like it one little bit. I was so uncomfortable and claustrophobic that I considered leaving. After a short mental battle with myself, I was able to calm down and accept the experience. I tried to envision the size of the room and my location by the sounds of the voices around me. One interesting thing that I immediately discovered is just how significant my hearing loss has become and how much I make up for it with sight. Hearing aids are not long off for this old man. I never do well with noisy crowds. The background noise makes it difficult for me to hear any close-​up conversation, so I was essentially deprived of two senses.
I fumbled around for the food on my plate. I found an olive. I found some nuts. There was some kind of cake thing topped with something. There was a salad. KALE! I recognized the taste of kale. Otherwise, I could have been eating anything. Great. I discovered that my sense of taste is also sub par. I was really glad my wife was with me. She has an amazing palette, let me tell you. She identified everything we were served, right down to the spices used. The chef came out and told us what we were eating AFTER the meal, and my lady was right on with every tidbit. And they truly were tidbits. Very small – although quite tasty – portions were served and I heard some folks complaining that they were still hungry when we were leaving. The meal was vegetarian and I liked it. Frankly, there was so much going on, the food was the last thing on my mind.
At one point, the servers introduced themselves and took questions from the crowd. This was the best part of the evening for me. I’m not even going to go into detail. Anything I write about it would be insufficient and not even come close to adequately describing the moment. Suffice it to say that sometimes every one of us can use a reminder that life is a struggle and we all have our problems, but our difficulties don’t have to define us – unless that’s what we want.
There was a concert provided by a group of musicians from Colorado. Interestingly, with the crowd quiet and the music coming from one area, I was able to actually get some spatial bearings. I started to feel comfortable and finally relaxed. The music was toe-​tapping fun but by the time they finished the last tune, I was ready to go. My wife had a great time. She is highly adaptable and can make friends anywhere – even in the dark.
We were told that they will be having another event in June. I highly recommend. I found out a few things about myself. You probably will, too.