I'll be travelling to Vancouver in a couple of weeks with another friend of mine on Tribe and wanted to get some recommendations for good bars / saloons / taverns to visit.
I was in Vancouver last year for several days and enjoyed the bars I visited, but none really stood out in my mind.
What do I consider a good bar? A combination of the following:
* Good beer selection, preferably microbrews. A recent trip to Belgium / Netherlands has made me a bit of a beer snob. :) Hard alcohol is a plus too.
* Having a fun theme w/ appropriate decor can sometimes help.
* great jukebox (subjective, I know)
* large outdoorsey places where one can smoke openly
I was in Vancouver last year for several days and enjoyed the bars I visited, but none really stood out in my mind.
What do I consider a good bar? A combination of the following:
* Good beer selection, preferably microbrews. A recent trip to Belgium / Netherlands has made me a bit of a beer snob. :) Hard alcohol is a plus too.
* Having a fun theme w/ appropriate decor can sometimes help.
* great jukebox (subjective, I know)
* large outdoorsey places where one can smoke openly
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 2:00 PMIt's not really a bar but a pub, the speakeasy, it is on granville and Nelson, very cozy place with a patio. Doolins is a good irish pub (also on Granville) or the irish Heather (in the westside), those two are for the beer snob in you !! Otherwise it would just depend on the scene you are after ... Dancing, top 40, gay/lesbian, pub, s&m ect... we definately cater to a wide variety of scenes and if you just like a good ol' dive bar go to the Dive bar tribe and see under vancouver dive bars :o) -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 2:23 PMYep, I can second the Speakeasy (and Roxy Burger across the street) but it is just a little bit more expensive on Granvile.
If I had to choose any pub I would go with.... wow..... umm... Blarney Stone in Gastown has good character but the 'hood is shaddy but if your all "Don't Mess with me" or "Feelin' lucky punk?" then your good. It's the "I carry my poodle in a handbag..hehe" that have to watch out. Um.... shit... I wish you asked about sushi! That'd be so much easier.
Just stay away from the Lennox on the corner of Robson and Granville. Sure it looks nice, good location, attractive bar staff but you pay for it. More then you should and the payin' gets easier as you down pints and before you know it your wondering "How did I get robbed? Was there a gun?" Be easier to just open the front door and toss your money inside! -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 3:36 PMWell said, I have had a hate-on for lennox ever since it opened :o) oooh, I just thought of another good place, the urban well in kits has a comedy night that is awesome.... There is the obvious drinking holes like the Cambie and the burbon street but it didn't really sound like those where the kind of places that you would be after :o) -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 4:00 PMyeah. Though the Cambie is cheap I think you mentioned "good beer". Not so much at the Cambie. But if your looking for a toothless drinking partner and off sales so you can finish off in the alley....
If you get out of the 'core there are a few good places. The Met at Columbia Skytrain Station in New Westminster is good. The Urban Well like the sista mentioned has plenty of veriety.
Also remember that this is Vancouver and there are literally dozens of Micro-breweries you can go to and drink at. Granville Island pops to mind right away. -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 4:48 PMooh ya, I didn't even think about the micro-brews, another one is storm brewery just off commercial drive !! Geez together we could write a vancouver bar how to guide :o) -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 4:52 PMYou know, I just took a look at your profile to see what you are into, seems you would probably enjoy picking up a greasy punk rock show at the cobalt (no good beer, but good music !!) there use to be a a few others but it is a dying bread out here unfortunately, not many good punk rock pubs left but consider the crowd, they get trashed pretty freakin fast !! -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 9:07 PMAh, thanks! That's good of you to check out what I might be interested in.
But my research tells me the Cobalt closed back in Sep 2004. Now apparently there's a replacement called the Asbalt on E. Hastings. I definitely wanna see some punk rock there! But I'm not that confident it'll be a great watering hole.
I thought Vancouver had a mighty punk scene. Maybe it's just the punk bars on the decline, not the punks themselves. -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 12:35 PMoh shit, you are right !! I almost forgot about the last cobalt trashing gig !! Vancouver use to have a strong punk scene, you could go to almost 6 different bars and see a really good gig. I don't know, maybe I am just getting to old :o) I am not a big fan of the new punk pop crap that has been bursting out of vancouver .. more an old school girl ! There is punk rock Karaoke at richards on Richards !! could be fun, I haven't checked it out... to see a good show got www.georgiastraight.com or see if you can find the discorder on line (Univ. paper), they always ahve tons of listing on what's going on .... you are right, it is the bars on decline, and the punks are just getting old, but fuck it, we are still here :o)
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 9:04 PMYes, I was at the Cambie on my last visit. Fun, but not much for beer selection!
Granville Island is the only microbrewery I know of in Vancouver. Are there others downtown or close to?
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Thu, April 14, 2005 - 9:12 PMThanks for the recommendations! I'll definitely check them out. Is the Speakeasy a place where you could smoke 420 on the patio? Or is that just not tolerated in most businesses, due to legality issues? -
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Unsu...
Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 12:27 AMAm I right or wrong that smoking of any kind is banned in all restaurants and bars in Vancouver? -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 9:28 AMYour right. Most places have heated patios now or "smoking rooms".
Cobalt.... wow... I haven't had that name tossed at me since I was underage! Does it still have duct tape holding together the bar stools? -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 12:38 PMIt sure did !! You must remember the glorious old A and the clumbia back in the day as well !! -
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 1:26 PMDon't remember the "old A".
The Columbia I knew wasn't in the core but out near... oh I guess it would be.. Burnaby-ish? Near the Archanum bookstore that I think is gone now too.
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 12:38 PMYou are right, it is banned inside all restaurants and bars, yuo can smoke on the patio though or in designated smoking rooms :o)
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Fri, April 15, 2005 - 12:37 PMYou can probably get away with it. It's not legal or anything but people usually leave you alone and the cops won't waste thier time. the Amsterdam cafe on Hastings however allows you to and there is another on granville called smoke signals but I haven't checked it out yet ....
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Sat, April 16, 2005 - 12:47 PMMicrobreweries:
Yaletown Brewing Company (in Yaletown), part of the Mark James Group (look them up, they have several restos where they brew on-site). It's full of non-punk rock people, but the beer is good if not cheap and there's a patio you can smoke on.
Bars/Pubs:
Irish Heather (in Gastown, not the west side?!) on Carrall Street I think. Google em, they have a website. They have Guinness, Harp, et al. on tap.
Doolin's I find gets really really crowded on weekends...if that's your thing, then way you go.
Kingston on Richards, 700 block, is a bit more yuppy than it used to be back in the day (used to be the Rose and Thorn), but the food is OK and there's a good list of beer and cocktails.
Chambar is a hip/trendy Belgian resto with some Belgian beer on tap. They have a website too, so maybe you can check the pricing out...I haven't been so I can't say. Their moules et frites are supposed to be the bomb.
I think you'll find that most pubs have some good microbrew (Granville Island) or at least smaller-brew on tap, like Sleeman's or similar.
The Morissey on Granville...1300 block? something like that, has great atmosphere and good beer, and they tend to play 80s music (haven't been in a while, so it could have changed).
The Lennox, yeah, a friend and I went for a Liffe and two pints came to $15, which seems a bit much.
If you don't mind gay-friendly, The Fountainhead, on Davie near Burrard, has pretty cheap beer and drinks, and they don't seem to mind if you stay a while.
Have fun!
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Tue, January 30, 2007 - 8:46 PMlooking to trade papers. I am Canadian where we have whistler snowboarding, film, and free healthcare.
This is non sexual, platonic, and no money exchanged.
Must be living in LA or Canada.
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Re: Vancouver Bars
Sun, January 6, 2008 - 7:03 PMstay out of bars you probably ge t shot or stabbed
dont wink at anyone
