Secret Restaurant: a strange, sci-fi dining experience (complete with androids)

Date
11 June 2012

It was never going to be easy to explain what exactly happened at the current Secret Cinema – purely because we’re not allowed to disclose anything. But after confirming what exactly we can tell you, I’ll do my best to describe the immersive and exciting science-experiment of a dinner that we were invited to, courtesy of Secret Cinema, and in the venue itself.

Clad in boiler suits, with patches that we were instructed to stitch on by hand (anyone not complying with these rules would be dismissed from the operation), we made our way in to the Secret Cinema location, an enormous warehouse, via a decontamination chamber where we were sprayed down accordingly. Once inside the derelict building, we were guided past countless dark rooms – some as large as sports halls, some as small as cupboards – inside each of which, something secret and terrifying was happening.

In contrast to the dark theme of the rest of the space, we found the secret restaurant to be airy and white – almost sterile in fact. Waiting on the tables were four or five android-like women in crisp, white suits and red lipstick, their demeanour completely in character and in-fitting with the theme. Proving that Secret Restaurant really is one of the most immersive and captivating dining experiences going, through a window across the room, other people exploring the warehouse peered in at the guests eating at the restaurant as if we were test-animals in a tank. It later turned out that the room they were peering from was a laboratory, where people were getting ‘tested’ on regularly throughout the event. As we were served some wine by the androids, an impeccably dressed waiter – also all in white – came over with what looked like a teat-pipette full of blood, only to deposit three drops of said liquid into our glasses. Later on, these same waiting staff performed a kind of drill routine to the guests at the restaurant where they seemed to run out of batteries, be recharged, and continue serving.

The rest of the experience? you’ll have to find out yourself. Tickets for Secret Cinema and the Secret Restaurant are still available, just go to their website for details. Trust us, it’s worth it…

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Secret Restaurant: George Torode

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Secret Restaurant: George Torode

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Secret Restaurant: George Torode

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Secret Restaurant: George Torode

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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