The Blind Cafe

I always wanted to try this after first hearing about it, but the reviews here really discouraged me. It is a bit pricey so I was cautious about spending money on something that might suck. I took care to email in advance to find out if I could eat the food, and was amazed to find that everything was vegan friendly. I was finally able to convince my boyfriend to take me and we had one of our best date nights ever.
The experience is really unique, its so rare in life that we are in the pitch black and get to experience an increase in our other senses. I loved not being able to see the food on my plate and having to determine with solely my taste buds if it was something I was willing to eat. I found the food to be pretty delicious. I also discovered that in the dark I can not tell the difference between red and white wine at all. Having to pour a bottle of wine without being able to see the glass is an adventure in itself. It also gives you the opportunity to converse with your neighbors but not making any judgments based on appearances.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is curious about it and really have a hard time figuring out the cause of the horrible reviews. True there was a lot of music played and the organizer may have done a song or two too many. I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with blind people and the Q&A part. I really feel like it was a beneficial experience.
My only complaints are about the way people are seated, once you arrive you wait forever in a very small crowded area and enjoy your free drink. Its very hot up there and this really bothered my boyfriend. You also have the opportunity to purchase wine for downstairs by the bottle, but this is the only opportunity so if you later change your mind you are out of luck. Thankfully there were some extra bottles distributed with dinner. Rather than having everyone crowd into this room it might be a better idea to give people staggered arrival times. Groups were seated about 20 at a time and somehow I ended up going near last even though I was one of the first to arrive.

Even though there may be ways to improve the experience, I am giving this DIAMOND in the rough 4 stars. NOT TO BE MISSED. I heard about blind cafes over a decade ago in Europe and always wanted to experience it both because many of my japanese-​acupuncture teachers are blind [Japan has a 400+ year tradition of blind acupuncture], and because I am a long time meditator and have always wanted to do a «dark retreat». Plus I am always exhorting my students to open all their senses and not rely on vision alone.
Rosh and his team have a huge heart and a great vision and I loved the experience.
Yes, the food was finished rather quickly [I liked the food! especially the arugula/​mint/​/​watermelon salad and the «fire and ice» desert of spicy chocolate cookie with passion fruit (?) iced desert] and I would have loved even more social interaction, and yes there are still some aspects that can be improved in terms of planning, etc, but the experience was still rich and profound.
Thanks to all for bringing the Blind Café to Seattle. May it continue and thrive!

First of all, I am giving this experience one star not because you shouldn’t go – you definitely should – but because this could be done so much better than it was.
After loitering around outside with healthy pours of wine (thank goodness!) we were called to line up and enter the completely dark room. Seriously, you cannot see your hand inches from your face!
We sat down and began exploring the food that was set out for us. It was already cold, which was fine for the salad, but the tamale and cauliflower tacos seemed like they should have been served hot. Maybe next time the chef should only serve items meant to be served cold.
Also, I was still hungry!!! I kept longing for a snack. More food please!
The best part was meeting the table mates across from us. Getting to know someone without ever seeing their face was an extraordinary experience. I even attempted to put lip gloss on the guy across from me! (Long story)
I’m sure Rosh is a really nice person, but he shouldn’t be in charge of the music at the end. Two songs should have been performed, tops, maybe with an emphasis on hearing a unique style of music. Instead it went on and on, which left me to slump dejectedly in my chair, longing for a wine refill and more food.
Again, it was an amazing experience, but it’s a diamond in the rough (very rough). I’m interested to see how this event grows and polishes within the next few years.

Stages of my experience: intrigued about the event, curious of what’s to come, excited to try something new, informed of some struggles of the blind, skeptical of the live performance, bored after one too many songs from the band… and anxious to leave.
After checking in outside, we were given one ticket each for a beverage. I was dissapointed to learn that they only offered red wine and apple cider. I took the cider because I don’t like wine. Each additional serving was $ 5.
We then gathered in the extremely tight lobby where Rosh (the ringleader of the event) gave a small speech about what was to come. Each group was then led to their assigned table by one of the two blind hosts for the event. This part was pretty fun because we had to link together and enter the pitch black room, thus eliminating being a social introvert.
****My favorite part****was communicating with my table-​mates in a way I’ve never experienced. Instead of looking someone in the eye, I was forced to fully listen. I found that I was listening more than talking, which can be unusual for me; but loved every minute of it. Also, it was fun to giggle and laugh while we were searching for our food and chatting about what we were eating.
****Food: mediocre. There was a watermelon/​mint/​arugula salad that I really loved (in my opinion, the best). On the plate was a cauliflower soft taco that was wayyyyy too salty and another Mexican inspired food that didn’t really blow my mind either. The cornbread flaked everywhere and lacked any kind of interesting flavor. It was all vegan, but I was still a little put off that the food was on the tables before we were even seated. I kept wondering just how long they had been sitting there.
Food was finished too quickly in my opinion. Instead of socializing, I would’ve preferred to discuss how our experience with eating was different without seeing.
Jim and Rick were the two blind hosts and it was refreshing to get to hear their stories and ask questions about their experiences. There should’ve been more time dedicated to bringing awareness and information about blindness instead of listening Rosh’s band.
As previously mentioned in other reviews, it seemed the emphasis fell upon Rosh’s performance at the end. Two songs would’ve been appropriate, but he kept on for too many to count. I won’t go into more detail, but it left me bored and anxious to leave.
***maybe instead of promoting his band, they could organize interactive exercises to engage the audience and their possible listening capabilities without sight***
Just when I thought the droning music was over, he started up into another song to end the night. After way too many repetitive counts of the room singing a verse, a candle was lit and the room was enveloped in a glow that I almost thought could never exist.
In conclusion: the experience left me with a better, slightly more educated sense of what it’s like to be blind and the many opportunities that are available for that population. The food was sup-​par and the music overpowered everything.
Not worth the price. Just donate the money to an affiliated organization if you feel inclined. I agree with another review: someone needs to take this idea and run with it in a different direction. One with more formality and centered around education… not the band.

What a fun idea, right?! That is what we thought too.
It was such a disappointment.
The food was lame and then we were forced to listen to an hour of bad music. What made it even more insulting was the music was from the organizer’s own band. His voice was good but lyric and song arrangements were simply amateur. At one point he was so high he just forgot the lyrics to his own song. Dude, lame! Not to mention I didn’t like being tricked into funding his band tour.
I hope someone takes his idea and does it right. Like with delicious food, good music (in the background) and more time to interact fellow guests and the with the blind folks helping.

This was a very interesting and unique experience. I can’t compare it to anything else I’ve done before.
On the plus side, I’ll say it really opened my eyes up to blindness. I never really thought about what it must be like to be blind. It was a fascinating experience learning how hard it must be to dip bread in olive oil or what happens when you drop something on the ground. I really enjoyed the Q&A.
On the downside, the food was not anything special at all. It was mostly food from the grocery store thrown together. Also, I agree with Rita that there was way too much emphasis on the music and Rosh. It did seem like a venue for his music. Dude even sold CDs outside! Also, Rosh is pretty inappropriate… especially for children.
This event is also expensive for the food. I think the best way to look at it is that its a donation for helping the blind, a completely worthy cause. Don’t think of it as a food event.

Disappointing.
The best part of the café was the Q&A with blind staff. But the conversation was cut short only for the audience to be held captive by Rosh for most of the night. We were forced to listen to his songs. The music was okay but the lyrics were bland and I did not appreciate Rosh’s commentary, especially stereotypes about my culture (No Russian’s are not all alcoholics) and his story about his fetish of a «little librarian girl». Yuk. Who is this guy?
As far as I could tell, Rosh and band were all sighted and it felt a bit dishonest the way that they used the idea of a Blind Café to trap people to listen and buy their music. They would have been better off just playing background music and letting us interact with others at our table and the blind staff. Or playing one or two songs and stopping.
The «dinner» made by a «chef» was really not a dinner, just an uninteresting salad with some Ritz crackers, cheap cheese, half a banana, a spring roll and random mix of a few grapes and olives on paper plates. At $ 65/​person tickets, I expected something a bit more interesting.
Props to the blind staff for their willingness to answer a lot of silly questions about being blind.