[Review] Into the Dark: A Deep Dive Into Hidden Table by Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore’s Newest Dine-in-the-Dark Experience

I was not sure what to expect. Standing outside Palm Café on the fifth floor of Royal Plaza on Scotts, waiting to be led into complete darkness, the feeling was familiar, but I waas hoping to experience something different.

Hidden Table markets itself as an experience rather than just as a meal. It is Singapore’s first Halal-certified dine-in-the-dark experience, launched in April 2025 by the Carousel team at Royal Plaza on Scotts, combining culinary craft with sensory theatre.

As someone who had previously dined at NOX – Dine in the Dark on Club Street, I was curious as to whether Hidden Table would be able to bring something new to the table, or was it just a Halal rehash of an already-established concept. It would be disappointing if it was the latter.

The evening begins at a poolside waiting area at Palm Café. A hostess welcomes us with a drink called the Elixir of the Forgotten Dusk, a honey-ginger mocktail and some gourmet popcorns as snacks:

The rules are then explained. There would be no phones, no smartwatches or any other light-emitting devices to remove all potential distractions from the dining experience. Everything will be stored away in secure lockers before you step into darkness.

It is at this moment the experience shifts.

The wait staff, equipped with night vision goggles, guide us in single file into pitch blackness. There is no adjustment period, no gradual dimming. You are plunged into complete sensory deprivation as you get seated at your allocated table.

Aside from the novelty of serving food in the dark, Hiddle Table builds a story around the experience. Unlike NOX, which emphasises the personal stories of its visually impaired staff, Hidden Table leans into the narrative structure of a sensory journey. The narrative is divided into four chapters, each representing a course, a moment in a larger arc: The New World, The Forest Awakening, The Enchanted Woodland, and The Undergrowth.

Each course arrives accompanied by a curated soundscape such as rainfall, rustling leaves, distant birdsong and a short poetic narration. Think of it as dining in a narrated forest fairytale, where you are both guest and character.

The food, though shrouded in darkness, does not shy away from boldness. Dishes are served whole, not pre-cut or neatly portioned like at NOX to make them easier to eat in the dark. This decision, while making the meal slightly more challenging to navigate, also forces you to truly engage. You need to feel your plate, to consider texture before taste, to guess ingredients based on aroma alone.

We are not going to giveaway too much details about the four courses we savoured as it would remove the element of surprise for diners. To put it simply, the meal started with an appertiser featuring a seafood item, followed by two mains, served with two different proteins, ending with a dessert.

As each course arrives, you will be enthralled by a poetic narration and accompanying natural sounds and music to provide a truly immersive sensory experience, sans sight.

When the meal ends, the light is gradually turned on to unveil the table setting which we had just dined at. It was interesting to see the mess we left around our table as it appeared tidier than I anticipated it to be. I guess I am a neater eater than I give myself credit for.

We were then ushered back to the café, whereby the chef came to us table by table to reveal the full menu, course by course, while inviting us to guess the main ingredient in the first three dishes. I got one out of three right, with the other two answers pretty close.

Overall, it would be unfair to compare Hidden Table and NOX directly as though they are competing versions of the same thing. They serve different purposes.

NOX is intimate, stripped-down, and deeply human. The highlight is often the conversation with your visually impaired guide, who shares a life you might never otherwise glimpse. It’s emotional, humbling, and rooted in social impact. Food is good too, but it is secondary to the experience.

Hidden Table, by contrast, is polished and immersive, like a theatrical production staged entirely in your mind. Where NOX tells real-world stories, Hidden Table invites you into a narrative built around imagination. Its Halal certification also fills an important gap, welcoming a wider demographic into an experience they may have previously felt excluded from. Again, food is good here as well, but also secondary to the experience.

One key distinction is the service style. At NOX, service is entirely blind-led, and part of the power lies in relinquishing control to someone who navigates darkness every day. Hidden Table opts for staff using night vision goggles. It’s smoother and more seamless, but also less raw. Whether this is a plus or minus depends on what you are looking for.

Overall, we appreciate that Hidden Table is not just “NOX with a Halal twist.” It’s its own experience, presented artfully and in a refined manner. It takes the core idea of sensory dining and layers it with storytelling, creating something that feels more like performance art than dinner.

You walk in expecting a meal. You leave with memories.

If you have never dined in the dark before, Hidden Table is an excellent first foray, especially for families, couples, or groups of friends who want to bond over shared bewilderment and laughter.

And if, like me, you have been to NOX before, Hidden Table offers a different kind of experience.

Hidden Table by Carousel

Address:
Hidden Table, Royal Plaza on Scotts (Palm Café, Level 5)
25 Scotts Road, Singapore 228220

Price:
$98++ per person for a four-course meal and welcome drink

Availability:
Wednesdays to Sundays only, from 6:30PM (advance reservations required)