Ctaste

Yep, this picture is all I’ve got. Not your usual review coming up, clearly. But then, Ctaste is no ordinary place.

A month ago, I’ve celebrated my birthday with dear people around. Really wanted a little house party after the past year and a half. We’ve drank, we’ve danced, and I became one year wiser. My very sweet girlfriends got me a gift card to what they called a “culinary experience”…and that’s pretty much all I knew about Ctaste for a while.

I’ve asked them if I’ll need to take my clothes off? Eat sushi of eachother’s bodies? Blindfolded? What’s up? Well, guess I was fairly close with that last one.

At Ctaste, you dine in the dark. And when I say dark, I mean don’t expect to see anything at all – not the kind of darkness that’s in your bedroom at night time. The kind of darkness that makes you question if you’ve ever really been in a dark place before. As they say, when you’re missing one sense, the others become more powerful. You’ll need to rely on your smell, touch and taste throughout this whole experience.

Don’t worry, you’ll have some help, naturally. At Ctaste, the personnel is visually impaired. They will guide you to your table and even teach you how to sit down on your chair (you think you’ve got it? you don’t). They’ll bring you food, drinks, and teach you how to reach your glass: “just follow the plate…slowly”.

Here’s what they won’t do, though: pour water for you. I mean, maybe if you’re really insistent. But the idea is that you do this by yourself, in pitch black darkness. Tip: use your finger to figure out when the glass is almost full!

They’re a bunch of very cool people. They’re some of the nicest staff I’ve met in Amsterdam. They’ll chat you up (if you want), they’ll get to know you a bit – and the other way around -, and they’ll explain what’s happening at all times. Of course, they’re always there to help you get out of the room and “back to the light”, or to the bathroom. Don’t attempt to move around by yourself, you’ll probably fall straight on your face.

Now, THE FOOD. Well…I can’t tell you much about that. Naturally, part of the adventure is trying to figure out what you’re eating when you can’t see a thing, and the menus are fixed. But I’m telling you, it’s pretty fun. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time actively focusing on and talking about the food I’m having. Hayden and I had the Royal Dinner, meaning a 5 course dinner with 4 wine pairings. The food was tasty, better than average – don’t expect a suuuuper fine dining experience though.

When you get out, there’s a survey waiting for you. The moment of truth: do you have any clue what you just ate? Are your senses and your memory collaborating nicely? I’ve got about much 90% of it right, so I was pretty pleased with that.

The experience was truly one of a kind. We’ve spent about 3 hours in the dark, without ever glancing at our phones (of course), without being distracted by anything at all besides food, wine and eachother’s presence. We’ve put our fingers in our plates trying to figure out if we’ve finished the dish or not, we’ve had a 15 minutes conversation over “what fish is this?!”, and many laughs. It’s really refreshing, in a weird way. Definitely a meal that you won’t forget soon and that puts things into perspective. 

I’d definitely recommend Ctaste for anyone looking for something different on their next date night. Ctaste is the only restaurant of its kind in the Netherlands, making it even more special. Go with an open mind, leave with a smile on your face, and an appropriately-full belly. 

Value for money: 9

Food Quality: 8

Location: 8 (Amsteldijk 55)

Service: 10

Website: https://ctaste.com/