Society Dining Lounge

Society Dining Lounge is where you can expect  the unexpected. This positively unpredictable  venue where guests can expect the unexpected,  opened in Vancouver’s Yaletown October 2009.

 Like Los Angeles’ sultry, electric dining lounges  that stirred its original inspiration, Society is a  place where opposites attract, creating all-new  pleasures.

Photo: Larry Goldstein

 “We’re all searching for new experiences,” says  proprietor Emad Yacoub. “The fresh, the bold, the  different. When opposites come together to create  unexpected new sensations, it excites us. That’s  what Society is all about.” Clues to this chemistry  are revealed in Society’s design created by  Vancouver’s BOX Interior Design.

Décor boldly contrasts glamour with comfort. Its 40-seat street-side patio with eggplant-hued leather banquettes and wicker chairs lend a feel of Sunset Strip to the loading-dock sidewalks of Hamilton Street. Inside is where Society comes together. Overhead, two oversized electric pink, handcrafted Mod-Murano chandeliers set the tone. Below, snug banquettes of deep purple and pearly leather, and tufted black-leather bar stools with striking gold legs set apart the more casual brasserie chairs. Upstairs in the lounge, up-lit bronze acrylic panels line the back wall and combine with an eclectic mix of lounge seating options. Bronze toned wooden screens of geometric interlocking circles surround the double height space, separating the lounge from the dining area below, creating allure and a sense of mystery.

Society’s cuisine embodies this union of opposites, where down-home meets completely new. Executive Chef Brandon Thordarson re-imagines familiar comfort food. From Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to Shake n’ Bake Chicken, childhood stand-bys are charged with refined, inventive ingredients.

“Society is all about mixing things up,” says Yacoub. “This is your play room. Don’t be shy. Bring your favourite people. Settle in for Kahlua milkshakes and scope out the scene. Anything can happen here. I know you’ll love it.”

THE TEAM
Dennis Pak, General Manager
Dennis is no stranger to the restaurant world. He is an alumnus of some of Vancouver’s finest rooms, including four restaurants within THE GLOWBAL COLLECTION: glowbal grill, Sanafir, Italian Kitchen and Trattoria Italian Kitchen. When it comes to customer relations, Dennis aims to extend the highest caliber of service to everyone that passes through Society’s doors. “I am inspired by going above and beyond,” he says, something every member of ‘Society’ can appreciate. 

Dominic Sylvain, Executive Chef
Dominic began his cooking career at the age of fourteen when he perfected the preparation of the quintessential comfort food – French fries. From the Plateau Mont-Royal area of Montreal, Quebec to restaurants in Paris, Banff, Whistler and Vancouver, Dominic is alumnus of the Institute de L’hotellerie du Quebec. 

Career highlights include opening Whistler’s esteemed Quattro Restaurant, where he worked as Sous Chef and Pastry Chef; Executive Chef at the Quebec Embassy in Paris; and Sous Chef at The GLOWBAL COLLECTION’s COAST Restaurant. Dominic embraces the spirit of the re-imagined comfort food featured on Society’s menu - the kind of cooking people will fondly recall their Mother or Grandmother serving up. “Have your cotton candy and eat it too,” says Dominic. “Society is all about the deliciously nostalgic pleasure found in foods we cherish from childhood, only we’ve kicked it up a notch and added our own twists. Guests will be pleasantly surprised.”

LOCATION
1257 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6K3
CONTACT
T: 604.629.8800 
F: 604.629.8802 
E: info@society-grg.ca 
W: www.society-grg.ca

HOURS
Monday to Friday: 11:30 am to midnight
Saturday and Sunday: 4:30 pm to midnight

PRICE RANGE
Lunch: $6 – $15
Dinner: $12 – $19

SPECIALITIES
Reinvented comfort food – Prime Rib Burger, Shake N Bake Chicken, Mac n’ Cheese.

DESIGNER
BOX Interior Design.