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The Buddha Bar is an exclusive and highly-regarded bar and restaurant in Paris, France, and is a Buddha-themed venue serving Asian cuisine. The Buddha Bar was first started by Raymond Visan, and later co-owned by his current partner Gerard Guez. The two-storey dining area is dominated by a large statue of Buddha. The Buddha Bar originally became popular because of the DJs choice of eclectic, avant-garde music.
Buddha Bar has also opened venues in Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Beirut, Dubai, Amman, New York City, Las Vegas, Stockholm, and Lisbon. A brand-new venue, designed to emulate the Buddha Bar in Paris, will open at the Sofitel El Gezirah in Cairo on August 1, 2007. Buddha Bar is also the name of a popular and exclusive, yet unrelated bar in Barcelona.
Compilation CDs are released under the Buddha Bar brand name; some of them have been compiled by David Visan, son of Raymond Visan, who opened the Bar in 1996. These are generally of lounge or "chill-out" music, reflecting that which played in the restaurant itself. The series was started by Claude Challe who produced the 1st two albums and continues today with different producers. DVDs have been released along side the series.