The Blind Butcher takes dining to a new level at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
To enter the new culinary experience at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana guests will embark on a journey that starts in a fridge…
From the outside the newly opened The Blind Butcher is made to look like a typical unassuming butcher shop but upon passing through the secret fridge entrance, clients will be transported into a jungle-like setting complete with a giant giraffe, monkeys hanging from lights and a live acrobat dangling from the ceiling.
“We wanted to create something different — not only having a restaurant. It’s disruptive. The food items are really, really high quality but we didn’t want it to be a fine-dining experience,” said Pedro Tomas, GM of Hyatt Zilara & Ziva Cap Cana. “It’s disruptive, fun, a lot of vibe, it’s sexy. That’s the whole idea of why you are in a butcher place and then you open a fridge and all of a sudden you have a giraffe in your face when you get in. You don’t expect when you open the fridge that you are going to find what you find. When you get in it’s a little bit Amazon like, it’s like a jungle, it’s fun.”
Next-level dining
Inspired by the concept of blending entertainment and food & beverage but to the next level, Tomas was part of a group of staff members who travelled around the world to places like Vegas, Barcelona and New York City for research for the restaurant.
“In all of those restaurants, the common denominator was that the ambiance was amazing but the food wasn’t very good. We didn’t want that to happen here,” he said. “In some places the entertainment was so constant that you don’t get a break to talk. Here, the entertainment is every 10-15 minutes so you’re eating, you have some nice things happening around you, then the lights turn on again and you can chat.”
Unique cocktails
And while the menu and entertainment may initially overshadow the mixology offerings, he said the cocktails are served in unique glassware with visually interesting elements like bubbles and smoke that are also worthy of the spotlight.
“We wanted to provide a journey through South America,” he said. “You are going to eat even better food than you will eat at a fine-dining restaurant but it’s going to be served with music, with a show that’s happening one metre away from you. The food is superior.”
Taking its name from a legendary chef who connected with nature and the fruits of the earth in South America after an accident left him blind, The Blind Butcher is the first culinary offering at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana that requires a surcharge for guests. The experience — complete with elevated cocktails and offerings like lobster and steak — is US$149 p.p.
