Must-see nightlife in Vancouver

  • BierCraft Tap & Tapas

    Vancouver

    Originally founded with a huge, hangover-triggering Belgian beer menu – it still has lots of rare international ales – BierCraft has since shifted its…

  • 49th Parallel Coffee

    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,…

  • Caffè Cittadella

    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…

  • Key Party

    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…

  • Prohibition

    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…

  • O5 Tea Rare Tea Bar

    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…

  • Cardero's Marine Pub

    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…

  • Galley Patio & Grill

    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…

  • Sing Sing Beer Bar

    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…

  • Gene Cafe

    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…

  • Bimini's Public House

    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…

  • Dockside Brewing Company

    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…

  • Keefer Bar

    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…

  • Wolf & Hound

    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…

  • Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar

    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…

  • Railway Stage & Beer Cafe

    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…

  • Bump n Grind

    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,…

  • 49th Parallel Coffee

    Vancouver

    Main's most popular coffeehouse, this large, brick-lined hangout is routinely crammed with locals, and its alfresco side-street patio is particularly…

  • Pub 340

    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…

  • Salt Tasting Room

    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…

  • The Marquis Grill

    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…

  • Matchstick

    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…

  • Cafe Calabria

    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…

  • Emerald

    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…

  • Corduroy

    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…

  • Vancouver Urban Winery

    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…

  • Small Victory

    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…

  • Parallel 49 Brewing Company

    Vancouver

    An extensive refurbishment has upgraded the area's busiest brewery tasting room, adding an extremely popular patio – arrive before the late-afternoon rush…

  • Johnnie Fox's Irish Snug

    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…

  • Revel Room

    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…

  • Fringe Cafe

    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…

  • East Van Roasters

    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…

  • Red Racer Taphouse

    Vancouver

    The tavern-like downtown satellite of celebrated BC brewery Central City combines a pub-grub menu with 40 taps of own-made beers as well as choice ales…

  • Delany's Coffee House

    Vancouver

    A laid-back, wood-and-art-lined neighborhood coffee bar that's the java-hugging heart of the West End's LGBTIQ+ community, Delany's is a good perch from…

  • Roxy

    Vancouver

    A raucous old-school nightclub that still has plenty of fans – including lots of partying youngsters who seem to be discovering it for the first time –…

  • Fountainhead Pub

    Vancouver

    The area's loudest and proudest gay neighborhood pub, this friendly joint is all about the patio, which spills onto Davie St like an overturned wine glass…

  • Buddha-Full

    North Shore

    North Van's favorite juice bar is a thirst-quenching pit stop that also serves a huge array of hearty vegan and vegetarian dishes, from pakoras to wraps…

  • Bump n Grind

    Fairview & South Granville

    The South Granville branch of this two-outlet local coffee chain has a great long table at the back where you can settle down with a java and peruse the…

  • Gull Bar & Kitchen

    North Shore

    A phoenix-like reinvention of the old Rusty Gull neighbourhood pub, the gray-painted clapboard facade hides a long drink-and-dine area now serving the…

More destinations you need to see