Asian Mediterranean bar restaurant Electric Pawn Shop opens in The H Dubai Hotel

 Asian Mediterranean bar restaurant Electric Pawn Shop opens in The H Dubai Hotel

 

 

Electric Pawn Shop, a hedonist, exotic, dystopian counter culture Asian Mediterranean bar restaurant inspired by the 70s Chinatown of New York is now open at The H Dubai Hotel this May. The concept is the brainchild of two like-minded friends and entrepreneurs, lifestyle creator and bar mastermind Lynn Lin and cultural innovator and music professional, Lobito Brigante - both globally acclaimed and respected in their arenas.  

 

Electric Pawn Shop is the successor to Electric Bing Sutt, created by Lin in Lebanon which won Best Bar in Africa and the Middle East 2019 in The World's 50 Best Bars. The bar saw an abrupt demise as the Beirut explosion in 2020 devastated the venue in its entirety. Using their combined creativity, expertise in music and entrepreneurship, Lobito and Lin team up to rise from the ashes of the fate of Electric Bing Sutt, and converge counter culture, underground music, contemporary design, innovative drinking and dining experiences into Electric Pawn Shop. Inspired by one of the oldest Far Eastern businesses brought into New York, Electric Pawn Shop is the certified broker of counter culture in Dubai, bringing a multilayered authentic experience and defying generic standard nightlife expectations. 

 

Drink aficionados may indulge in inventive cocktails like 'Shanghai Superfly' and 'Straight Outta Malacca' as well as new wave natural vino by Foradori and Orin Swift. Meanwhile, signature dishes such as the 'Pattaya Disco Prawn,' 'Sizzling Muay Thai Ducking Noodle,' and 'Lucky 777 Beef Volcano’ are sure to entice even the most discerning foodies. 

 

“I want to innovate and create the next generation of bars and restaurants that would showcase contemporary Asian counter culture, food, drink, design and lifestyle. I believe that other cultural cuisines have seen modern interpretations, and it is clear there is a huge scope in the Asian category to transcend. We’re challenging the status quo of bar lifestyles one shop at a time, starting with Electric Pawn Shop.” states Lynn Lin, Co-Founder of Electric Pawn Shop. 

 

Eclectic underground music surrounds the venue, delivering funk-laced beats from different genres played through a top-of-the-line custom built sound system. Curated by Lobito Brigante, Electric Pawn Shop has established a music program that will showcase both emerging and world-renowned artists, producers and musicians to give the venue a fresh take for guests to enjoy every flavour of food, drink and taste in tunes. 

 

 

“Since I started creating concepts in the UAE, my goal has always been to bring an innovative, authentic and culturally disruptive experience to Dubai. The majority of places just offer more of the same generic formulas and for me personally this is a huge step to create a counter culture venue and, through our neon haze, match world class music selection and skills to a global standard of bar culture,” says Lobito Brigante, Co-Founder of Electric Pawn Shop. 

 

Embodying its eccentric nature in its decor, the Electric Pawn Shop space features fragmented concrete island bars, a neon-lit stainless steel Asian pavilion hanging by a giant indoor construction crane, a massive collection of curated rare original vinyl records, a glass brick centre stage DJ booth, neon-lit water tank art piece, intimate red velvet couple seats, an indoor amphitheatre, sci-fi style cocktail laboratory and street photography showcasing iconic New York Chinatown scenes.  

 

Keeping the spirit of a tight-knit community close to the heart, Electric Pawn Shop offers its vibrant space as a platform to serve unique and culturally-fuelled nightlife offerings in an atmosphere that highlights the attractive Asian mystique with New York's effortless coolness. In the long run, Electric Pawn Shop aims to establish the most creative Asian themed hospitality brand growing from the Middle East to the rest of the world that advocates a daring attitude, an independent style and a distinguished originality, beginning the movement by displaying the bar’s immersive counter culture and savvy drinking and dining experiences, one revolutionary pawn shop at a time.  

Tony Farah

Author