Sensual, nostalgic and a little disorienting – that’s precisely what stepping into Ama, a newly opened cocktail lounge and raw bar in Vancouver, feels like. Nestled within a two-storey 1970s walk-up, the 52-seat eatery by partners and brothers Yianni and Petro Kerasiotis and Takuya Motohash remains concealed from the street until its sign illuminates. Guests are then ushered through a discreet coral-red cage door and a large staircase which ascends into the main space, distinctively suffused with a retro-futuristic orange glow akin to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049.
Darcy Hanna and Emma Sims, co-founders of studio &Daughters, had a clear vision from the start as Ama’s design team: they sought to design a space where ‘guests could have a transformative experience’, which, therefore, guided all creative decisions. The Canadian duo began by sealing off two windows to eliminate natural light and draw all focus to a substantial U-shaped bar at the room’s centre, where the chef now prepares sushi and is visible to and from the guests. ‘This interplay of observing and being observed is accentuated by semi-translucent mirrors lining the exterior walls, creating a great sense of intimacy,’ recount Hanna and Sims.