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<p>QUITO, Ecuador &#8212; On the outskirts of Ecuador&#8217;s capital, young couples and families venture into a pitch-black cave in search of an unlikely experience: a meal in the dark.</p><p>Blind waiters guide guests to their tables and deliver tangy fruit juices and appetizing dishes like caramelized vegetables and sweet fried bananas &#8212; foods the owner believes can taste even more delightful when diners can&#8217;t see what they are eating.</p><p>La Cueva de Rafa, or Rafa&#8217;s Cave, is the brainchild of Rafael Wild, an Ecuadorean who spent years managing an Italian restaurant in Switzerland. After returning to Quito, he began building a cave as a pastime and later decided to open a restaurant inside, run by the blind and serving meals in absolute darkness.</p><p>It&#8217;s a concept that has already surfaced in European cities including Paris and Barcelona and in the United States. The Quito restaurant is the only dining-in-the-dark establishment in Latin America, aside from occasional pop-up events.</p><p>Wild said he was inspired by his own childhood in Ecuador, much of which he spent traversing the great outdoors, including nearby caves.</p><p>&#8220;I liked exploring in the darkness,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The restaurant aims to provide jobs for the blind, increase awareness of their daily struggles, and deliver a unique culinary experience. According to the World Health Organization, there are 40 million to 45 million blind people in the world, including about 5 million in Latin America.</p><p>Diners visiting La Cueva de Rafa first walk through a narrow, dimly lighted tunnel. Once inside, servers ask guests to place a hand on their shoulder in order to guide them through the murky cave toward their tables. Guests move awkwardly through the dark while the waiters &#8212; most of whom have been blind since childhood &#8212; step firmly ahead.</p><p>Gabriel Bolanos, a blind analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Commerce who tends tables at La Cueva de Rafa on weekends, presented diners with two options: an a la carte menu featuring items like vegetable lasagna and steak, or a surprise dish. The surprise dish included a sweet, slightly acidic juice and tortillas made with quinoa and mashed potatoes.</p><p>At tables, some diners laughed with friends as they wrestled with the unexpected challenge of putting food on a fork they could not see.</p><p>For others, the darkness proved unbearable.</p><p>Fernando Bucheli, an architect, left after five minutes, too nervous to stay any longer in a dining room where cellphones and light-emitting watches are prohibited.</p><p>&#8220;I felt claustrophobic, disoriented,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The anguish kept getting worse.&#8221;</p><p>But Wild, who has long felt a personal connection to the blind, hopes the restaurant will show what life is like for those who cannot see.</p><p>&#8220;Since I already had the cave I decided to use it in a way to help society develop empathy for the blind,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Javier Madera and Gabriela Monroy said that after overcoming their initial anxiety they had a memorable meal, and not just because of the food. In the dark, Madera revealed his feelings for Monroy, telling her for the first time that he loves her.</p><p>&#8220;It was an unforgettable experience,&#8221; Monroy said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Meals sit on square and circular plates at La Cueva de Rafa, or Rafa&#8217;s Cave restaurant, in Quito, Ecuador. The different shapes help the restaurant&#8217;s blind waiters differentiate the types of food they are serving. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_AP17310676482482.jpg</photo0><caption0>Meals sit on square and circular plates at La Cueva de Rafa, or Rafa&#8217;s Cave restaurant, in Quito, Ecuador. The different shapes help the restaurant&#8217;s blind waiters differentiate the types of food they are serving. </caption0><photoCredit0>Dolores Ochoa | AP Photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_DarkDining.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Blind waiter Oscar Pitiur walks in La Cueva de Rafa, or Rafa&#8217;s Cave restaurant, located 12 meters underground in Quito, Ecuador. On the outskirts of Ecuador&#8217;s capital, young couples and families venture into a pitch-black cave in search of an unlikely experience: a meal in the dark.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_DarkDining.jpg</photo1><caption1>Blind waiter Oscar Pitiur walks in La Cueva de Rafa, or Rafa&#8217;s Cave restaurant, located 12 meters underground in Quito, Ecuador. On the outskirts of Ecuador&#8217;s capital, young couples and families venture into a pitch-black cave in search of an unlikely experience: a meal in the dark.  </caption1><photoCredit1>Dolores Ochoa | AP Photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gonzalo Solano</p><p>The Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

In Ecuadorean cave, meals offered in darkness by the blind