Have you ever stripped across a total stranger while dining in a restaurant? Well, that's now a common practice as Bunyadi-also dubbed The Naked Resturant, opened in a peaceful corner of central London where customers are encouraged to dine naked and maximize the "natural" dining experience.
This restaurant has shocked the conservatives and was on numerous headlines for its admittedly courageous theme. As reported by CNN, Bunyadi's soft opening enticed 46,000 people signed up for a three-month pop-up run over the summer.
Evaluating the exterior, Bunyadi has not much to offer. But everything changes when you enter the restaurant where customers are greatly encouraged and eventually eat naked.
Discreetly located in a street-corner pub with tinted windows, Bunyadi is also few blocks away from The Shard-London's highest sky scraper.
Interestingly, the place is candlelit and even the waiters and waitresses are naked.
The front door leads to a small area where there's a changing room for bathrobes.
"I wanted to be around people who shared the same thoughts as me," explains Eloise Knight, a 20-year-old student who admitted she approached the restaurant hoping to find a job after seeing reports about Bunyadi.
Knight and other Bunyadi employees wear only skimpy briefs with a few strands of improvised vine leaves as they deliver food and drinks to different tables.
Meanwhile, to maintain privacy and secrecy of the customers, there is a strict "no camera policy" inside the restaurant.
However, Bunyadi's designer and manager, Ignacio Jimenez Blanco clarified that stripping or eating naked is optional. But he added, "About 80% of diners have gotten naked" during their dry runs.
Both customers and employees feel comfortable not only with each other but mostly of themselves, Blanco added.
"I think people want to free themselves," Blanco explained. Saying it is a form of therapy, he added that their restaurant helps people be comfortable with their bodies.
Aside from the interesting concept and location, Bunyadi also offers great food.
