Latest reviews from Vancouver
| 70 /100 Viti Wine and Lager (Beer Store) 900 SEYMOUR ST “Eclectic little store with a few hidden gems though tending towards 4 and six packs for local beers. Worth a stop if in the area.“ |
| 58 /100 1111 MAINLAND ST “OK pub in a great restaurant district. Unfortunately beers have never really improved even though the place has been here forever.“ |
| 64 /100 562 BEATTY ST “A nice bar/restaurant with mostly local taps. Nothing really special beer wise but right next to Chambar if one wanted to sample some local beers after Belgians.“ |
| 56 /100 Steamworks Liquor Store (Beer Store) 375 WATER STREET “It's attached to Steamworks, but it's essentially just a little, regular liquor store, convenient for tourists. Beer selection is OK and accessible but not outstanding.“ |
| 88 /100 375 WATER STREET “Massive and beautiful space alongside the big Vancouver port.
Historic building evidently, multileveled with nice outdoor patio overlooking the water. Busy as hell at happy hour. Didn't eat but food looked good. Beers were downright excellent, with a long, varied list of offerings. Definitely a must stop in town. Brewery #995.“ |
| 62 /100 1111 MAINLAND ST “First stop after a long cross-continent trip. Pretty much a cookie-cutter pub amidst a dense downtown environment. The staff was friendly enough. Nice space, big seating area, small bar, nice patio.
Beers were OK, if uninteresting. Food was super quick, borderline school cafeteria, but super cheap, too! Worth a pop-in. Brewery #994.“ |
| 58 /100 1111 MAINLAND ST “A large commercial bar and restaurant venue in a nice part of town. Bar has inside and oudoor patio setting; inside darkly lit, better on patio for ambience. Self-seating and no table service in the bar/patio area and getting attention at the bar can be slow as staff are somewhat inattentive. On the day of visit there were eight(8) taps of their own brews - four core and four special. Flights available at reasonable price.“ |
| 66 /100 Tap & Barrel - Olympic Village (Restaurant) 1 ATHLETES WAY “A large pub-style venue with a long bar and TV screens with sport. Didn't waith to get an inside seat and there was enought roominsie and on the patio at the time of our afternoon visit. Long row of taps (about 20) pouring Vancouver and/or BC beers. Service was good and friendly but don't expect much product knowledge. Set flights (no choice) of four beers and one cider were competitively priced. Non-beer and food also available.“ |
| 82 /100 CRAFT Beer Market - Vancouver Olympic Village (Restaurant) 85 WEST 1ST AVE. “Worth the ferry ride across False Creek just to check out the awsome interior (an intertwining array of beams and pipes), be amazed by the extensive beer list (lots of local Vancouver and BC beers) and the range of foods (snacks to mains), plus look with envy at the basement keg-room with room for 300 kegs. Rotating beer list on wall had 16 local BC/Vancouver brews. Only 400ml glass size (around $8); prices reasonable for the venue. Restaurant with beer, non-beer, food and pretty good attentive table service.“ |
| 78 /100 15 W 8TH AVE “"Beer Coffee Eats". Walked from Ferry port not an effort. Venue based in suburban Mt Pleasant in a shop-front style building. Seating capacity of 60 - indoor at seated tables, outdoor temporary (for summer) picnic-table style on street side. Taps total 13 = 9 core and 4 experimental. Glass sizes availble =16oz [around $8.50], 20oz [around $11] plus flights $16 (expensive compared to other local venues). Flights self-choice of four. Not a busy time when visited and staff service helpful and adequate.Beers decent flavours. Nice feel away from the tourist orientated venues in town.“ |
| 68 /100 Steamworks Liquor Store (Beer Store) 375 WATER STREET “Adjacent to the main brewpub. Small and compact with a decent range of Steamworks beers plus non-beer and merchandise. Staff helpful.“ |
| 78 /100 375 WATER STREET “In a nice loction with views over the water to the mountins. A big commerical operation with a small bar area and larger seated restaurant areas on two levels. Own beers (16 on day of visit) on tap. Very touristy and busy at peak times, didn't have to wait long for seat on patio, service was good, friendly and wait staff had adequte product knowledge. Prices were competitive with glass sizes on offer of 350ml (Chalice) and 450ml (Sleeve). Self-choice flights of four available and well priced. All beers quite good. Worth a visit for the beers with a view.“ |
| 76 /100 1441 CARTWRIGHT ST. “First brewery visit on this trip to Canada and a place to visit when on Granville Island. Get in early as it's busy all day (locals and tourists, like me) and queues develop quickly. Inside and out seating - inside has trestle tables with clear perspex divider screens so limits group size; outdoors relaxing atmosphere at picnic-style tables under umbrellas (we shared with locals) on the street. Reasonable beer list covering most styles and has their core and 'Tap Room' series ranges. Common glass size is sleeve (450ml) with flights (self choice of four) available. Prices seem reasonable. Service is more restaurant (than brewpub) style and is basic and friendly.“ |
| 60 /100 Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar (Gastown) (Restaurant) 601 WEST CORDOVA ST. “Even when Rogue was at its peak, this wasn't the best one. Mostly I visited because of its location (inside Waterfront Station) is convenient for many things. Like a finisher after taking the Seabus from a North Van brewery crawl, that sort of thing. But mostly there's an okay list of okay beer, and very rarely something that really draws me in.“ |
| 70 /100 1614 W 3RD AVE “Small location in the light industrial area by Granville Island. That proximity to the island is what makes this a place to visit occasionally, especially with a nice walk on the seawall. The beers are solid, though don't rotate a lot. But I'm more likely to come here than GIB when I'm on Granville Island.“ |
| 66 /100 4497 DUNBAR ST “So this is a very similar experience to the Fraser St location. I'm not nuts about the food, and the beer is pricey, but they do have a good rotation to their taps, and there's always something on that's worth my time. There is very little for beer in this part of Vancouver so it's kind of a no-brainer if you're out this way.“ |
| 74 /100 Darby’s Public House (Bar) 2001 MACDONALD STREET “Best place on the west side, I'm pretty sure, and one of the better ones in the city. Not saying much, of course, but in general they have a lot of beers on tap, do some events like they had Peche Day a couple of times. Not worth trekking all the way to Kits for, but if you're already out this way then Darby's is the best option by far.“ |
| 74 /100 505 CLARKE DR “Typical brewery experience, but they do turn out quite a few beers. So lots to tick. One of the better stops in Yeast Van, so I do go here.“ |
| 38 /100 The Black Frog (Bar) 108 CAMBIE STREET “No clue why this is listed on Ratebeer. It's not a beer bar. It's not even close to being a beer bar. There are literally hundreds of places with better selections in the city. I mean, nothing wrong with it as a licensed establishment. Just as a place way up the list on Ratebeer, that makes no sense whatsoever.“ |
| 60 /100 76-1055 CANADA PLACE “Browsing the ratings for this place, the local Vancouver raters seem to have a much better view on this bar and out of town raters have overinflated the ratings for this place (probably because it's accessible and admittedly is decent if you're NOT going to leave downtown Vancouver). That said, I would recommend getting out of downtown Vancouver because this place is mediocre and overpriced.
For those visiting Vancouver...
Pros: they have a decent (but generally uninteresting) selection of ONLY British Columbia beers (that's their schtick). All of their locations have nice views.
Cons: you won't find any rare or interesting beers here (BC breweries don't give their one offs to Tap & Barrel)“ |
| 80 /100 Darby’s Public House (Bar) 2001 MACDONALD STREET “At present, I would consider this the second best bar in Vancouver (after Magnet). It has it's ups and downs with regards to what's on tap week by week, but they get some nice tap takeovers and do the odd event now and then. There are lots of taps so you're guaranteed to find some new ticks. Flights available and they are open to giving small tastes before committing if you want a dink pour. If you're visiting Vancouver, I would definitely recommend this place. It's definitely underrated due to older ratings before their selection improved.
It flies under the radar a bit because it has an unassuming neighbourhood bar feel and is a little bit out of the way. Food is average though, but there are some nice eats within a 10 minute walk of here. There's also a liquor store attached with a decent selection and you can walk over to Tatlow Park 3 blocks away if you want to crack open that can or bottle on a nice sunny day. Bartenders are generally quite friendly, but not great with knowledge, servers have high turnover so I would try to sit at the bar.
I would recommend going in the afternoon (or late night after 10/1030pm) if possible because, since it's a neighbourhood pub, evenings can get loud and busy with karaoke and trivia nights or sports games.“ |
| 60 /100 St. Augustine’s (Bar) 2360 COMMERCIAL DRIVE “A fall from grace. Used to be quite good. Now, it's just a bar primarily slinging beers from their parent company Parallel 49 with the odd other stuff. Food is average, but I suppose if it's on special that day, and you're hungry, it's okay.
Beer tourist considering going?
Pros: It's very accessible from the skytrain, it does offer flights and lots of ticks (if you haven't tried many P49 beers), if you don't want to to travel to P49, you can just come here (but P49 is better).
Cons: staff are notorious for serving at least one incorrect beer if you're ordering a lot (so pay attention), pales in comparison to their selection pre-covid (but if you're travelling, would be a good place to check out)
I'm probably being harsh on it, but it's currently overrated due to its scores from the past.
Edit: went today and they refuse small tastes before choosing beers (lowering rating by another .1)“ |
| 80 /100 The Magnet (Bar) 309 W PENDER ST “At present, this is the reigning best Vancouver bar following the downfall of others bars like Alibi during covid. Visiting Vancouver for beer? Don't miss this one. Food is good too.
Note for beer tourists: this bar is owned by the same guy who owned Alibi Room (currently rated #1 on RB), but Alibi was sold to new owners and has fallen from grace. Go here instead.“ |
| 82 /100 The Magnet (Bar) 309 W PENDER ST “Never rated Magnet? That's odd. Been here a lot. Since the ownership change at Alibi, Magnet is probably the best spot for beer geeks, consistently having interesting brews. I like the atmosphere, and while I don't work in the area anymore I still think it's worth going downtown for.“ |
| 70 /100 2275 MAIN ST “Great spot, opened a few weeks ago right on Main St near E 7th. The interior is modern and clean, and there's an expansive outside patio that is dog-friendly. They have almost 30 taps, with flights of any 4 for $10 plus tax. The beer list is about 2/3 Steamworks and the rest guest taps. They don't aim for sexy beer style, so you're unlikely to find any super interesting beers here, but as a place to hang out, it's very comfortable. They also have a decent food menu, with tons of vegan options. Very good service. Not really a beer geek place, but plenty of taps and ticks, and a comfy spot.“ |
| 64 /100 1614 W 3RD AVE “Small spot sort of in Kitsilano near Granville Island. No flights, only half pours. Small space, no patio. Quality of beers quite good. Some guest taps, food from a local taco stand can be delivered. Pretty good stop and the first microbrewery in Vancouver this far west toward UBC.“ |
| 66 /100 1614 W 3RD AVE “Pretty much the only brewery on the west side (excluding downtown and Granville Island), this is an interesting spot near Granville Island. Small, bare bones tasting room, with a small taplist of 4 house beers and a couple guests. The menu is written in chalk on the wall for some reason. 12 oz and 6 oz pours for $7 and $4, but they’ll do flights (4 x 6 oz pours for $14 plus tax). Service was pretty lacklustre — not really paying attention to what I ordered. Beer is actually pretty solid — all hoppy stuff, nothing overly ambitious, but everything was dialled in well. Worth checking out.“ |
| 48 /100 Koerner’s Pub (Bar) 6371 CRESCENT RD “Bit of a hole in the wall university type pub, but has a nice treed summer patio. Some craft but not very bold. Other than Driftwood Fat Tug not much quality stuff.
Tasty tacos though…“ |
| 68 /100 Legacy Liquor Store (Beer Store) 1633 MANITOBA ST. “Descent selection of Canadian craft beer, pretty good selection of Belgian beer, and sparse selection of US beer. Descent selection of singles, but does not break up packs. Belgian selection is not quite as Brewery Creek Craft a mile a away. The online beer selection did not quite match the in store selection.“ |
| 72 /100 Brewery Creek Craft Beer & Wine Store (Beer Store) 3045 MAIN ST “Medium size selection. Good selection of Canadian craft beer, good selection of Belgian beer, and okay selection of US beers. Much of there selection is refrigerated. Pricing may be a little high. Descent selection of singles, but will not break up packs.“ |
| 68 /100 375 WATER STREET “In gas town it seems. Nice big location. Service is good. Selection is their own beers and there seemed to be 16 on tap. Near the cruise port. The pulled pork sandwich was quite good. Good luck finding the restrooms, hint they are downstairs.“ |
| 62 /100 3296 FRASER STREET “Finally dropped by here for the first time (I always skip this neighbourhood). They still have 19 taps (10 core taps; 9 rotating taps - I think… the beers on the wall board don’t match the QR code menu). On tap of the menu confusion, the QR menu has a bunch of basic spelling errors (“Bareraad” instead of “Dageraad”, “Uper Citra Bros” instead of “Super Citra Bros”) which seems “Uper” lazy on whoever is updating their menu…
They only offer one pour size so not ticker friendly. Even if there’s no flight option, at least have a small and large pour option…
Didn’t bother with the food as I was unimpressed when I tried the food at their Dunbar location a couple months ago (that said I won’t give a food rating since this chef could potentially be better).
Modern local neighbourhood sports bar ambiance. Nothing that would bring me back. If I lived nearby, I would come here, but definitely wouldn’t bother going out of my way.“ |
| 66 /100 4497 DUNBAR ST “Stopped by en route to check it out. Heard they hosted Zwanse once, but that was actually the Fraser location. This bar is located in a quiet residential area (the only competition is the Cheshire Cheese Inn). Not somewhere I would travel too, but if you happen to be nearby (perhaps Airbnb'ing for a UBC conference), it's a good option (you could do way worse).
Beer: 9 beer taps, 1 cider tap, and some wine taps; Beer is all local, nothing all that interesting, but all craft and some stuff you wouldn't normally find (eg: Another Beer Tactical Turtleneck) so decent (especially for the area). Unfortunately, no flights and they only have Pint pours so if you go here to try different beers, you'll be drunk with a big bill...
Food: was recommended the Crispy Chicken sandwich which was decent; soup was pretty bland.
Service: attentive, friendly, beer knowledge seemed a bit lacking, but were willing to look up what the specific rotators were (not just a "stout" from "x" brewery) which is better than a lot of bars in Vancouver...“ |
| 72 /100 Everything Wine (Beer Store) 8570 RIVER DISTRICT CROSSING “For an Everything Wine it’s good a pretty large craft beer selection, (not just local), with generally some hidden gems. 5% discount on 12 or more purchase. Worth checking if in the area“ |
| 76 /100 The Red Accordion (Bar) 1616 ALBERNI ST. “Nice little spot in the West End with a growing craft selection including a very small cellar. (Hopefully expanding.). Eclectic decor based on used/antique furniture with paintings on wall for sale. Good food. Knowledgeable owners. Worth a visit if in the area“ |
| 78 /100 Darby’s Public House (Bar) 2001 MACDONALD STREET “Cool spot to tick beers, 41 on tap. I was on a 2.5 hour international layover and I needed the most practickal way to maximize ticking, so I headed over to Kcit-silano (see what I did there, tick backwards, eh?) to get a few in. Chill spot, good service. They don’t judge when you crush ticks at a crazy rate. Gave respect game. Only gripe is YOU NEED SMALL POURS! I need ticks dammit and I only got 4 pints when I could’ve done like 20 3-ouncers.“ |
| 84 /100 Brewery Creek Craft Beer & Wine Store (Beer Store) 3045 MAIN ST “Wonderful beer store with a well stocked fridge with lots of singles, both from BC, the U.S. and lots of international rarities hanging around too. Prices aren't too bad either. The service here is friendly and well-informed. The lady when I was in talked about some local brewery I should try, and another they had that they rarely get (Mayne Island). All around probably one of the best, if not the best, beer store in Vancouver. Reminds me of Cask and Barrel Liquor Store in West Kelowna, but probably has more selection.“ |
| 48 /100 1357 POWELL STREET “Small place with zero frills. Went in here at the end of a brewery pub crawl in the area about half an hour before close and they weren't precisely happy to see us. They said no flights at that hour, but sold us each two pints. Beer was mostly average, though I've had some of their beers elsewhere and I remember them being a little better. They didn't have a huge selection.“ |
| 72 /100 1507 POWELL ST “Andean themed place in one of the brewery areas of Vancouver. Beer was mostly average. Available in flights. Food was kind of mediocre -- the empanadas were nothing like the better quality ones on the north end of the Andes (Venezuela) or the south (Argentina). I was hoping for a lot more on that front. Service was good.“ |
| 82 /100 1216 FRANKLIN ST “Probably my favourite place of the pub crawl I did around this area, hitting six or so places in the immediate area. Friendly service and good beer. Available in flights but only if you sit inside -- for some strange reason they feel guests are capable of carrying flights outside to the beer garden area. Beer is pretty competently brewed, and they do a variety of styles. There was a food truck outside with a great parm chicken sandwich when I was in.“ |
| 68 /100 505 CLARKE DR “Cool place that makes the most of a small patio and indoor seating in an industrial setting. Beers are available in 7 oz pours (if I remember correctly). These guys are aiming high at that ultra trendy niche. They had like 7 hazy IPAs when I visited and one sour IPA. Kind of reminds me of Other Half in terms of their style diversity. At least they pull off the hazies fairly competently for the most part, with a couple of standouts, though as always with this style, volatility and consistency is an issue. Friendly service.“ |
| 72 /100 895 E. HASTINGS ST “Friendly open place on East Hastings, just a few blocks east of the ultra sketchy area. Service is good and beers are decent. Available in flights. Fiberglass windows separate the tables these days. Sits kind of at the edge of the brewery pub crawl in the area.“ |
| 60 /100 1795 BEACH AVE “Same as any other CRAFT beer market except the view here is amazing - sits right over English Bay with a great patio. Service friendly enough but they repeat the same company line verbatim as all the other ones when it comes to flights "Well we have so many it would just be chaos." Then they do these set flights... So again, as always, 100 pointless taps of beer. Good job boys. Like the others, these taps are only interesting if you have never been to BC. Most are pretty generic, and even for me who visits B.C. every two or three years, I've had 80% of them. Prices on the high side.“ |
| 74 /100 8901 STANLEY PARK DRIVE “Beautiful place in a beautiful area of Vancouver. The whole decor inside is very nice. Great in the summer as all the big windows are open, so you feel like you're outside even at the bar. They had nearly 16 beers on tap when I was in, nearly all mediocre. It's a pity that the places that invest the most in decor and locale seem to put zero effort into beer. Service was friendly though. Flights available.“ |
| 58 /100 1111 MAINLAND ST “Fancy kind of place in a fancy section of town. Decor and such inside is good, and a big patio outside. Service OK. Beers suck, and available in flights. Prices on the higher side.“ |
| 76 /100 Denman - Beer Wine Spirits (Beer Store) 1060 DENMAN STREET “One of the best bottle shops in Greater Vancouver, in my opinion, alongside the Bottle Jockey in Burnaby, the High Point and Viti in East Vancouver.
Yes, it’s getting pricey out there at the private stores, but hey, take it or leave it, eh? I’ve seen $40+ specialty beer products, even at the government stores, though rarely, I admit.
I’ve no idea who Denman’s beer consultant is these days, but imo they lost a good one when Ferris, aka: Farees, left.“ |
| 70 /100 The Red Accordion (Bar) 1616 ALBERNI ST. “Easily the best place for craft in the West End. It's a real cool place, basically a converted two-story house with two floors of seating, including limited bar seating and an outdoor patio. They have 17 taps, all local, and not too adventurous (at least when I visited), but I found some new stuff for me. Only 12 and 16 oz pours, though they used to do flights, and I convinced the bartender (an Aussie named Greg) to do a flight for me -- served in nice mini snifters -- awesome. Top-notch service, though not particularly knowledgeable about beer; but I'm told the owner knows a lot and is in charge of the beer selection. The beer list is updated online so you can check what's on before you come.
They also have a food menu (brunch, lunch, dinner), but didn't look like many or any vegan options, and the food was very pricy (over $20 for most mains).
All in all, if you're in the West End, this is about as good as you can do for craft, other than the Stanley Park brewpub. Recommended.“ |
| 58 /100 1357 POWELL STREET “Not sure how I hadn't rated this place before. Anywho, this brewery is not very relevant nowadays. They have a small tasting room a block from Callister, and closer to Andina and Container. In non-Covid times, they did single 4 oz pours of anything for a very reasonable price. Covid times saw them move to an outside beer garden with only full pours in shitty plastic cups. They also seem to have stopped trying to brew really good quality beers like so many breweries and now are churning out pedestrian, hipster beers to please the craft masses. Not a go-to place, at least at the moment.“ |
| 70 /100 1507 POWELL ST “A cool little place with an Andean/Colombian vibe going on, with arepas, ceviche, some Mexican, all looking deli! Beers where all 2$ for tasters, and were decent, veering on tropical sours. Friendly service.“ |
| 76 /100 54 EAST 4TH AVENUE “Second visit in 10 years. Cool place, solid beers, great pizza. Flights are 8$ each. Plenty of space inside and good patio.“ |
