Restaurant Porn is a regular column of daydreams presented as a means to introduce Vancouver diners and designers to concepts, looks, and fully-formed ideas that they might draw an inkling of inspiration from. We do our best to pair the foreign rooms with local addresses so as to let everyone in on the daydream.
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(via) Sergei Kuzarski’s Pink Room in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev might strike a chord with Vancouverites for a few reasons. Let’s start with the obvious: it’s pink. I’m not saying that we’re predisposed to the colour, but it’s uncommon enough in hospitality to be considered original, which is never a bad thing in this business (so long as it’s backed up by concept, ability, service, et cetera). Second, the smoke-mirrored ceilings are straight up awesome. These are rarely seen in local establishments. The only ones that come immediately to mind are those at Dinesty on Robson St. and the original Boneta location in Gastown (now Bauhaus). In any event, mirrored ceilings often turn whatever rooms they cap into magical spaces. Third, that row of plush pink, fixed-but-folding movie theatre seats! They’re so low to the floor and cozy-looking that I just want to sink deep into one, basically stretching out on the ground in a bar. Seasoned drinkers might also testify to that as a unique perspective (when the room isn’t spinning) and I won’t argue the point. But since The Pink Room is located under the stairs of an old movie theatre, the cool seats first and foremost make a bit of harkening design sense. I don’t especially like that you need a special code from Sergei to gain access (let me guess…is it “Douche”?), but life is inherently unfair and I’ll allow the cultural quirkiness without further comment except to say I’d like to see something similar (minus the code) off the lobby of an old theatre in Vancouver, preferably one that has yet to be torn down to make way for condos.