Paris’ first and only restaurant catering to naked dining will draw its curtains for the last time on February 16, a mere 15 months after opening, due to one simple reason, not enough bums to warm their seats.
“Thank you for participating in this adventure by coming to dinner at O’naturel,” announced the owners, 42-year-old twins Michael and Stephanie Saada.“We will only hold good times, meetings with beautiful people and customers delighted to share exceptional moments.”Former insurance salesmen, the twins first opened the restaurant in November 2017, spotting a potential opportunity in the rising tide of nudism spreading through the fashionista capital. According to the Local, the restaurant boasted a minimal decor and an upmarket French bistro cuisine foie gras, lobster and snails with parsley cream sauce priced at 49 euros ($74.53) for a three-course dinner. Customers could only dine by reservation and were asked to leave their clothes, phones and cameras in the restaurant’s cloakroom. Men were given slippers to wear while women could opt to wear their own heels. Black seat covers adorned the chairs and was changed between sittings. A large white curtain hung over the windows blocked any street views into the restaurant. Despite the country’s reputation as the naturalist capital of the world, the Local reported that post-opening, some neighbours raised their eyebrows at the concept, noting its location next to a nursery.“I’ve got nothing against nudism on the beach,” said Donatella Charter, a 42-year-old interpreter. “But eating in the buff with other people, I don’t get it.”The restaurant may be the French capital’s first foray into eating in the buff but certainly not the first in the world. London opened its first pop-up nudist restaurant, Bunyadi, in 2016 but according to The Guardian, had to fundraise in 2017 to stay open. Innato, a cozy candlelight rendezvous in Tenerife, Spain, serves up aphrodisiac items on their waiters’ bodies. Although the gastrointestinal homage to French nudism was not successful (yet), the country’s government has made some strides in supporting the public desire to bare. Apart from the many nude beaches and resorts found along the coastline, the capital has also included clothing-optional hours at a public pool and, as of August 2017, a nudist zone in the city’s largest public park.
