/ 26 April 2004

Shut up and eat

Israel’s first sadomasochist restaurant is set to open this week, claiming, however, that only the surroundings, not the food will be a painful experience, the Israeli Yediot Ahronot daily reported on Monday.

The restaurant, appropriately named the Dungeon, is to open its doors next Tuesday in the old southern Tel Aviv suburb of Yaffo, with a hostess dressed in a black vinyl outfit welcoming guests by flashing her whip.

Waiters and waitresses in similar outfits serve the diners, who must be 18 years or older, from a French bistro menu. The diners can tie themselves to the restaurant’s metal tables if they like, using the shackles provided.

If they dare to complain about the food or the waiting, however, they risk being whipped or hung in an iron cage from the ceiling.

”If somebody complains about his steak for example, he will be put in a cage or he must go down on his knees,” said owner Amos Levy, who nevertheless says the idea of the restaurant is to ”serve high-quality food, but in the framework of an alternative experience”. – Sapa-DPA