CLAP Dubai is adding a late-night venue to its DIFC address. SORA Dubai is set to open this November, with an open-air terrace looking out over the Downtown skyline and a nightclub tucked away indoors.
SORA written as 空 in kanji, means ‘sky’ in Japanese – a name perfectly suiting the view from the restaurant
Sunset on the terrace
The terrace is finished in warm, natural tones, and the city does most of the talking as the sun goes down. Doors open at 7pm, so the idea is to come for sunset drinks and small plates, then stay as the music picks up and the mood turns livelier.
After dark in the nightclub
From 10pm on selected nights, the celebration moves indoors. The nightclub is a smaller, intimate space with colourful reflective interiors, and music is very much the focus.
“The duality and contrast between the open-air terrace and the nightclub is central to the concept, allowing guests to move between two very different atmospheres as the evening unfolds,” says Tony Habre, founder and CEO of AlphaMind.
Japanese influence
The design is inspired from Japanese culture and rituals and reworked them for a modern, international crowd. It’s a natural fit for a venue sitting inside CLAP, which first opened in Beirut in 2018 and has since grown to Dubai, London and Ibiza.
Habre sees SORA as an opportunity to do something different from the restaurant.
“With SORA, we wanted to build on the success of CLAP Dubai while creating a destination with a completely different personality and sense of occasion,” he says.
“Dubai has an incredibly sophisticated and internationally minded audience, and we see an opportunity to introduce a more intimate, design-led approach to nightlife.”
“From the architecture and interiors to the music, cocktails and service, every element has been considered to create a distinctive experience that we believe will bring something exciting to Dubai’s nightlife scene.”
For fans of CLAP and its wider family, which includes KIRA, LITT, Bar du Port and Son of a Fish, SORA Dubai offers another reason to head to DIFC after dark. An exact opening date is yet to be announced.
