This café in Vilnius has only one table, you will be served one dish, while one song continuously plays in the background. The surreal Black Lodge Cafe looks like a set of ‘Twin Peaks’ and is inspired by David Lynch's cult TV series.
The café, located in an unmarked basement in the Užupis area, is a replica of the ‘red room’ that the series' protagonist, FBI agent Dale Cooper, visited in a dream. There is one table with three chairs and the menu is, according to the owner Paulius Liubertas, as minimalist as one can imagine.
“When they come to the place [like the one] frequented by FBI agent Dale Cooper, visitors will be served one drink and one dessert that the series' character used to order, black coffee and cherry pie. We will not be offering anything else,” Liubertas tells LRT.lt.
Finding the establishment is part of the experience, too. Black Lodge Cafe is not marked by any sign, Liubertas says, and only after booking a table will clients receive a text with detailed instructions how to find it.
“Once they are here, they're given a key and descend into a basement to look for the entrance. If they find it, they can enter the café where they're completely alone,” Liubertas describes the procedure.
Sure, they will be served by a waiter who will bring black coffee and cherry pie. Even clients who are not fans of the 1990s series are impressed, Liubertas says.
Since announcing its opening, Black Lodge Cafe received 71 bookings over the first 24 hours and 226 within four days.
“We are fully booked for a week ahead, while evenings and weekends are booked for a month ahead,” the owner says.
Liubertas explains that he was also inspired by ‘speakeasies’, illicit alcohol-selling bars in the United States during the 1920s prohibition. Today, the concept refers to retro style or hidden bars popular in the US and Europe.
