Amaranth Lounge is a word-of-mouth bar. But when my friend told me about this place on Namikibashi off Meiji-dori, not far from Shibuya, that looked like the lounge from the dream sequences in David Lynch's classic TV series "Twin Peaks," I think he got a bit of a shock at the speed with which I said, "Let's go." Once there I found that all Amaranth Lounge needed was a checkered floor and a dwarf waiter to make it complete. Otherwise, the scene is set.
The color scheme is appropriately black and red, and the room lit by chandeliers. A long stretch of black booth-like lounges leads to a couple of red high-backed arm chairs, which sit on either side of a surreal-looking fireplace -- complete with fake flickering flames. Above the mantle hangs an elaborate gilt-framed mirror -- complete with flying cherubs.
The effect is equal measures ritz and glitz. It is both comfortable yet crass; elegant yet tongue-in-cheek.