Look I — the room
Cornea, lens, retina: the room's architecture is an anatomy lesson in glass, wood and gold light.
54 Vo Van Tan · Xuan Hoa · District 3
OCULUS
A bar built as an eye — a curved-glass cornea, a circular lens of a counter, and forgotten classics looked at again.
The lens
Two looks through one eye
Oculus is designed as a complete eye: the curved-glass front is the cornea, the circular bar at the centre is the lens, the backlit shelves behind it the retina. And the drinks program is a look, too: 'Classics In Disguise' — forgotten classics, disguised and re-seen.
Look II — the classics
'Classics In Disguise' digs up forgotten recipes and gives them a new disguise — still the same classic, but you have to look twice to recognise it.
To open
Three frames to open: the program's drinks, and the pairings designed to sit beside them.
The program's drinks
Oculus' cocktails are built on forgotten classic recipes — every glass is a second look.
One in disguise
Strange to look at, familiar to drink: the house game is letting your palate recognise it before your eyes do.
The pairings
Anh Khoa (ex-Project Arrow) designs the food pairings for the drinks — the food is part of the program, not a side note.
The room
Small and exact: a single eye looking onto Vo Van Tan, and every seat facing the lens at its centre.
