Vancouver
Graduating from the food truck menagerie that began hitting the streets of Vancouver a few years back, this welcoming storefront incarnation is a magnet…
Must-see nightlife in British Columbia & The Canadian Rockies
Gastown & Chinatown
Head upstairs via the unassuming entrance to discover one of Vancouver's warmest little brick-lined cocktail bars. A glowing, wood-floored heritage room…
Vancouver
UBC's best pub welcomes with its communal tables, foliage-fringed patio and clientele of nerdy professors and hipster regulars. There's an excellent booze…
Devil's Elbow Ale & Smoke House
Vancouver
A cavelike brick-and-art-lined pub that feels like a local secret, this is the place to combine comfort grub of the deep-fried pickles and Texas beef…
Vancouver
It resembles a regular, sometimes overly loud, neighborhood sports bar from the outside, but step inside St Aug's and you'll find around 60 on-tap…
Vancouver
Originally founded with a huge, hangover-triggering Belgian beer menu – it still has lots of rare international ales – BierCraft has since shifted its…
Vancouver
Kitsilano's favorite coffeeshop hangout. Sit with the locals in the glass-enclosed conservatory-like area (handy in deluge-prone Raincouver) while sipping…
Granville Island Brewing Taproom
Vancouver
You can sample the company's main beers in this often busy pub-style room, although most are now made in a far larger out-of-town facility. Of these,…
Fairview & South Granville
Don't tell anyone you found this place, since the regulars will be very upset. This cute two-floored cafe incongruously tucked into a restored clapboard…
Vancouver
Walk through the doorway of a fake storefront that looks like an accountancy office and you'll find yourself in a candlelit, boudoir-red speakeasy…
Vancouver
A sleek subterranean bar with a chic 1920s look and a serious commitment to great cocktails; push through the speakeasy-feel dungeon doors on the Howe St…
Vancouver
A pilgrimage destination for fans of that other caffeine beverage, this tea-lover's haven is the place to slow down and explore the rich wonders of the…
Vancouver
Nestled between Coal Harbour's bobbing boats, the restaurant here is fine but the little pub on the side is better. With cozy leather sofas, a wood…
Vancouver
At sunset, plop down on one of the plastic patio chairs then eyeball the sailboats steering toward shore as the pyrotechnic sky unfolds. There are usually…
Vancouver
Colonizing a flatiron wedge of bare concrete floors and oversized windows, locals treat Gene as their living-room hangout, especially if they manage to…
Vancouver
This bright, white-walled, plant-accented bar would look at home on a Singapore side street. Snag a communal table and dive into the 20 or so BC craft…
Victoria
Retro-fitted with Victorian cut-glass lamps, open fireplaces and a long granite bar topped with brass beer taps, this former bank building reopened as a…
Vancouver
Packed on weekends, this is a good bar to visit on weekdays for happy hour (3pm to 6pm) and some ales and fries in a darkened corner (of which there are…
Vancouver
Often overshadowed by the other brewers in town (being stuck on the quiet end of Granville Island doesn't help), Dockside's beers are made on-site and…
Gastown & Chinatown
This dark, narrow and atmospheric Chinatown bar has been claimed by local cocktail-loving coolsters since day one. Drop in for a full evening of liquid…
Vancouver
At UBC's nearest good pub and one of Vancouver's best Irish watering holes, you'll find plenty of students avoiding their assignments. They come to down…
Vancouver
This sexy nook fuses a heritage mosaic floor with a dash of mod class. Despite the cool appearances, there's a snob-free approach that encourages taste…
Vancouver
The near-legendary former Railway Club has been recreated as a scrubbed-up version of its belovedly grungy original incarnation. There are still regular…
Vancouver
Showing that Drive locals can never get enough good java, this hipster-cool addition to Commercial's coffee-house culture has a loyal following,…
Vancouver
Main's most popular coffeehouse, this large, brick-lined hangout is routinely crammed with locals, and its alfresco side-street patio is particularly…
Gastown & Chinatown
A grungy old bar with plenty of life in it, you'll find cheep beer, a sometimes rowdy crowd and – the highlight – a separate front room lined with pinball…
Gastown & Chinatown
Tucked along a cobbled back alley reputedly named after the area's former butchers, this atmospheric little brick-lined wine bar offers dozens of…
Fairview & South Granville
Don't blink or you'll miss the entrance to this cave-like, speakeasy-sized nook that's popular with locals launching their evenings out or dropping by for…
Vancouver
Tucked into the bottom of a shimmering glass condo building, this cool coffee-shop oasis combines a communal table and wood-block perches with houseplant…
Vancouver
When Vancouverites say the Drive is the city's best coffee street, this is one of the places they're thinking of: the frothy top on a brimming mugful of…
Vancouver
Near the first bus stop after the Burrard Bridge (coming from downtown), this intimate, cave-like hangout is arguably Kitsilano's best late-night haunt…
Gastown & Chinatown
Look for the curlicued neon 'E' outside, then push through the unassuming green double doors to discover an evocative hidden-bar complex upstairs. You'll…
Gastown & Chinatown
Vancouver's only winery is a cavernous, barrel-lined warehouse serving tipples from BC and beyond. It has a public tasting bar (on-tap wine flights…
Vancouver
The kind of austere, granite-countered coffee shop you might not feel cool enough to enter (or maybe that's just us), Small Victory is a favorite daytime…
Vancouver
An extensive refurbishment has upgraded the area's busiest brewery tasting room, adding an extremely popular patio – arrive before the late-afternoon rush…
Vancouver
The glass front means you can peer through the windows before committing to this small Granville St Irish pub. You'll find a gaggle of beer-swilling…
Gastown & Chinatown
Tucked along a Gastown side street, the red-painted facade fronts one of the city's most intimate live music resto-bars, a brick-lined cave of small…
Vancouver
A tiny reminder of Kitsilano's counterculture heritage, there's a comfy dive-bar ambience at this memorabilia-lined locals' hangout. The cheapest drafts…
Gastown & Chinatown
Blink and you'll miss the entrance to this small but perfectly formed mosaic-floored cafe, which includes a busy coffee-roasting operation. It's worth…
Whistler
Arguably the best pub at the bottom of the Whistler Village gondola (after all, it's Irish), this dark-wood-lined joint would feel just like an authentic…
