Tourists Less Ordinary: The Pale Blue Door

Last Saturday was our 1 year anniversary. By pure coincidence and lots of luck, we were going to be in London on that day. I made Shane in charge of planning something "memorable". When he told me he had made reservations, I responded with "I hope it's not JUST dinner". Unfortunately for Shane, he had just made dinner reservations at a nice restaurant. So, he went back to the drawing board with a challenge. He was determined to find not just a restaurant, but an experience. After much research he came across the Pale Blue Door, which, lucky for us, would be in town through that Sunday. The Pale Blue Door is a new type of dining experience that's popping up all over the world. It's a "pop-up-diner". This particular place was designed by Tony Hornecker, a set designer who's worked on sets for the likes of Lady Gaga among others. He started this dining experience in his Shoreditch area flat as a way to pay the mortgage. Now, Tony has re-created this experience in different cities all over the world. I would post the address, but, Tony gets it to you only after making the initial deposit.

While the food was nothing to write home about, the entire experience was definitely memorable, and if in a city where the diner pops up (and you're open minded) then I highly recommend you make reservations.

Knocking on the Pale Blue Door

The place is called the Pale Blue Door because that is the only consistent item that travels with Tony to the different cities. The rest of the space is decorated by items found by Tony and team in the particular city where the restaurant experience is popping up, and remnants of Tony's sets.

When you arrive, you are greeted by the hostess and entertainment for the evening, Ms. A Man to Pet...

You are encouraged to walk around the place to check out all of the interesting nooks and crannies, and random items that make up the quirky decor. And let me tell you, they are certainly interesting. You can walk up and down staircases that wind around the space and have to actually crawl into several of the dining areas. Below is a picture of one of the dining spots. We had to go up winding stairs, crawl through a small tunnel and ultimately arrive here, where the utensils and plate set were set out on the bed.