Founded by creative Muscovites Mikhail Rayvicher and Ilya Kusnirovich, the Esthetic Joys collective is a community of friends and professionals from various fields which engages in a variety of events and activities, and eventually, in 2023, a bar in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Aptly called Esthetic Joys Embassy, or simple EJE, it has become a hub for city’s creatives, and now, the concept has been launched in historic downtown of Belgrade. In the Serbian capital, the Esthetic Joys Embassy occupies a 250 sqm. (2,691 sq.ft.) unit on the premises of stately 1920s building by architect Branislav Kojić (1899-1987). The interior design, created by Supaform, an art and design studio based in Paris, takes ample cues from local culture, and more specifically, Yugoslav modernism of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In this period, during the reign of Tito, former Yugoslavia‘s cultural and economic confidence manifested in many forms, including architecture.

The key visual departure point of the interior design is the K67 kiosk, designed in 1966 by Yugoslav architect and designer Saša Mächtig. This design’s sensibility is reinterpreted through a post-modern lens, one where mid-century rigidity meets something more playful and cinematic. Esthetic Joys Embassy is first and foremost a place where to indulge and have fun, and consequently, music and a good sound system are essential. The venue is a listening bar, lounge and disco rolled into one, offering separate nooks for each, but all tied in by music provided by vintage JBL 4435 studio monitors and a solid vinyl record collection. Adding a strong visual dimension to the bar and lounge setting is a warm and playful yellow hue. Next to the bar, the DJ booth is entirely dipped in this colour. The ceiling’s grid of circular lights adds a space age touch to the setting, while left of the booth, a Dulton Double Face clock is hung.

The nearby sofa’s upholstery is the original moquette from the London Underground, sourced directly from the mill in London as the very last run of designer Misha Black‘s District Line pattern before it was discontinued. The new venue also comes with six Ichiran-style booths: individual bar-seats separated from one another, where you can place and collect your order, draw the vertical curtain closed, put on your headphones, and retreat to full privacy mode. Unsurprisingly, Esthetic Joys Embassy‘s cuisine is from the Land of the Rising Sun, supervised by Japanese chef Katsuhiko Kobayashi. The menu is firmly anchored by Yoshoku cuisine, but is further tweaked by Kobayashi, resulting in a surprisingly eclectic range of dishes, all paired with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.