Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Vancouver for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Vancouver for grown-ups.
The Keefer Bar on Keefer Street in Chinatown since 2009 is Vancouver's reference cocktail bar, an apothecary-style room, Canada's 50 Best Bars perennial.
Signature drink: Dragonfly cocktail with house ginger syrup
Food: Chinese-leaning small plates
Tip: Walk-in only Monday to Thursday; weekend bookings open at the door from 17:00.
Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim is the hotel's stand-alone cocktail room since 2017, World's 50 Best Bars top 30 and head bartender Jeff Savage.
Signature drink: Garden cocktail with house botanicals
Food: Botanist-kitchen snacks
Tip: Walk-ins from 16:00; the bar's tasting flight pairs four miniature cocktails for the cocktail-tour bookings.
Prohibition at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia is a speakeasy-style basement bar since 2012, classic cocktails and live jazz on Wednesday through Saturday.
Signature drink: Sazerac, classic build
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk in from the side entrance on Howe Street; tables turn at 21:00 for the second seating.
The Diamond on Powell in Gastown is an upstairs cocktail bar with Maple Leaf Square views since 2009, a Hong Kong-inflected small-plate menu and a classic.
Signature drink: Diamond Sour with house grenadine
Food: Hong Kong-leaning small plates
Tip: Walk-ins only; the upstairs bar window seats fill first. Tuesday evening is the calmer seat.
Pourhouse on Water Street in Gastown is a heritage-room cocktail bar since 2009 with a long wood counter, classic builds and a modern American kitchen.
Signature drink: Old fashioned, three styles
Food: Modern American small plates
Tip: Bar walks in; the dining room books on OpenTable for the late-evening service.
Juniper Kitchen & Bar on Keefer Place since 2017 is the city's reference gin and botanical-cocktail bar, plus a Pacific Northwest small-plates kitchen.
Signature drink: Botanical gin and tonic flight
Food: Pacific Northwest small plates
Tip: The gin flight pairs four house pours with tonics; the bar walks in earlier in the evening.
Gerard Lounge at the Sutton Place Hotel on Burrard since 1986 is Vancouver's longest-running hotel cocktail lounge, the Hollywood-North celebrity bar.
Signature drink: Classic Sutton martini
Food: Bar bites and afternoon tea
Tip: Live piano from Wednesday to Saturday after 18:30; the fireside seats are the calmer pour.
The Shameful Tiki Room on Main Street since 2012 is a windowless Polynesian-style tiki bar, the city's reference rum bar with no daylight inside.
Signature drink: Zombie
Food: Tiki snacks
Tip: Walk in early on weeknights; the Zombie cocktail is limited to two per person.
The Cascade Room on Main Street since 2008 is Mount Pleasant's reference late-night neighbourhood cocktail bar, the city's pioneer craft-cocktail dive room.
Signature drink: House old fashioned
Food: Pub bites, fish and chips
Tip: Walk-in only; weekends are full from 21:00. Pub kitchen runs until 23:30.
Key Party on Powell in Chinatown is a hidden basement cocktail bar since 2017, entered through a faux accountant's office, the city's reference speakeasy.
Signature drink: Dealers' choice
Food: Hong Kong cafe-style snacks
Tip: Reservations on the website; the door key code is texted the day of. Dealers' choice is the bar's standard.
Havana on Commercial Drive since 1996 is the city's reference Cuban-Caribbean cocktail bar, the patio strip's longest-running corner room with a back gallery.
Signature drink: Cuban mojito
Food: Cuban-Caribbean small plates
Tip: The patio takes walk-ins for the mojito and Cuban sandwich pairing; back gallery for late-night live music.
Cinema Public House on Granville Street is a heritage Capitol 6 cinema-turned-pub since 2017, the Entertainment District's reference late-night cocktail room.
Signature drink: Mason Jar Negroni
Food: Burgers and pub plates
Tip: Late-night kitchen closes 01:00 Friday and Saturday; reservations for the upstairs cinema seats book on OpenTable.