Prophecy, a high end cocktail bar, just opened on May 22 in the basement of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. You enter Prophecy via side door off West Georgia Street and descend down a glittering, mirrored staircase into the dark depths. If you’re entering on a summer afternoon, it may take a second for your eyes to adjust to the sultry dim lighting.
The Allure of the Past Meets the Promise of Tomorrow
Although brand new with bespoke bar and furnishings, there is still a sense of history at Prophecy. There’s an almost haunting presence of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s past. The hotel first opened in 1927 and has hosted some of the world’s most illustrious guests like Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper. It just underwent a five month renovation updating and refreshing the rooms and lobby. The original art deco theme has been maintained throughout, and Prophecy is now one of six on-site dining establishments.
The interior design of Prophecy was done by one of Vancouver’s most renowned restaurant design firms: Ste. Marie Studio (Pepino’s, Bao Bei, Como Taperia, etc.). There is a lush tactile quality to the velvet pillows and chairs at Prophecy. The elegant use of light and mirrors creates privacy and a sense of romantic intrigue.
Further adding to the mood is an innovative and engaging design element contributed by Apollo, an art technology company that has developed an archive of digital art. Prophecy is the first space in Canada to utilize this technology. Indeed one of its great attractions is that the pieces displayed can change; the potential is endless. Also, the nature of digital art allows for images to be still or animated which, depending on how many cocktails you’ve had, can be alluring or disturbing.
Prophecy’s Cocktail Program
Prophecy’s Beverage Director is Jeff Savage. Savage was previously at Botanist where he was awarded the Exceptional Bartending Award by the Michelin Guide. His cocktail program at Botanist was justifiably famous. At Prophecy, Savage is working with Bar Manager, Nicole Cote. An acclaimed bartender in her own right, Cote previously tended bar at AnnaLena and Published on Main.
It’s easy to get Savage talking about the science of cocktail-making. There is a certain joyful look that comes into his eyes when he talks about his rotavap. The rotary evaporator is currently housed at the Basement at the Hotel Belmont, where Savage developed the drink menu as the Prophecy space was finished. Prophecy is owned and operated by At Home Hospitality, the team behind Banter Room, The Living Room, and The Basement, led by Justin Mensah-Coker, Teddy Wilkie, and Mike Rose. The rotavap will soon be relocated on-site. It is a vacuum distiller that allows the team to add or remove flavours as desired.
The team have sourced unique (and exceptional) glassware for each of the two dozen cocktails on the menu. For example, the Kelpie is served in a glass balancing on a piece of driftwood. The ice for the drinks is likewise custom and branded with the Prophecy logo.
Poetry and Lore
The cocktail menu is a novel. This is appropriate because the theme is story-telling with inspiration coming from novels, myths, travels, and tales. It includes the usual list of ingredients but also descriptions, sometimes poetic, sometimes abstract. For example, the milk-clarified Kitsune cocktail contains Belvedere Organic Vodka, raspberry, white chocolate, ginger, lemon, and sparkling wine, and is described thusly in the menu: “Seductive, romantic at heart, yet still wild and uncontained. A balance between benevolence and mischievousness, but always grounded and self-assured, much like the cunning fox spirit of Japanese lore.” The menu is also colour coded, separated by style of cocktail, and includes a helpful index in the back as well as a cocktail colour wheel.
Indulgently Delicious, Decidedly Decadent
The food offerings at Prophecy feature shareable snacks and bigger bites. The sumptuousness of the beverage program is extended to the food menu with the inclusion of fresh oysters, salmon aburi, caviar service, and even a $100 A5 Wagyu Katsu Sando. The Sando is intentionally luxurious and extravagant, as is the $55 Washoku cocktail, which is made with A5 Waygu fat washed Hibiki Harmony Japanese Whisky, Lagavulin 8 Scotch, Maillard reaction distillate, kohuko black sugar, aromatic bitters, and comes with A5 Waygu skewers.
As much as the food menu is designed to be impressively sumptuous, Prophecy’s Happy Hour menu offers affordable options. A Prophecy Pilsner is $6 and Martinis are $12, as well as two discounted cocktails and wines. It seems needless to say, but the bar team at Prophecy can make an impeccable martini.
Prophecy at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia opens daily at 4 pm.
