World City Guide

Nightlife

Vancouver offers nightlife to suit all tastes, including nightclubs, pubs, lounges and karaoke bars. Popular areas for going out include Gastown, Yaletown and around Granville Street, which has become increasingly popular of late. The largest cluster of Vancouver’s gay establishments can be found in the Davie Village, on Davie Street west of Granville Street.

In Vancouver, there are also a fair number of members-only clubs catering to all sorts of crowds (many of these have fairly lax membership policies but it is best to check ahead) and restaurants often double up as bars. Any of these may offer live music on some nights. The scene is evolving since licensing laws changed a couple of years ago, with bars and clubs now allowed to serve alcohol until 0400, subject to local approval – individual venues may close earlier. The minimum drinking age is 19 years and the price of an average drink will set you back around C$5.

Entertainment listings can be found in the free weekly alternative paper, The Georgia Straight (website: www.straight.com), as well as in the Thursday edition of the daily Vancouver Sun (website: www.vancouversun.com). Information on the city’s gay and lesbian scene is available in the free weekly Xtra West. A number of local websites (www.clubvibes.com, www.vancouverplus.ca and www.livemusicvancouver.com) also have detailed venue and event listings.

Bars: In Gastown, the Picadilly Pub (‘the Pic’ to the locals), 620 West Pender Street, is a popular spot and sometimes features live bands. Granville Street and surrounds is becoming more and more of a nighttime destination: try Ginger Sixty Two, a hip lounge at number 1219, or Caprice Lounge and Grill, a chilled bar with upstairs nightclub at number 967. For something rather more casual, the Loose Moose, around the corner at 724 Nelson Street, is a decent spot for cheap food and beer. A couple of great spots to down a martini are Zin, 1277 Robson Street, and the classic Delilah’s, 1789 Comox Street, in the West End. Subeez, 891 Homer Street, draws a similar crowd for drinks and dinner in its funky, warehouse-like space on the edge of Yaletown.

The city also has a couple of good brewpubs – Steamworks Brewing Company, 375 Water Street, in Gastown, and the Yaletown Brewing Company, 1111 Mainland Street. Facing each other across False Creek are The Riley Waterfront Café, 1661 Granville Street (below the bridge, access from Beach Avenue), and Bridges, on Granville Island – both fun spots in the summer. Also on Granville Island, the post-theatre crowd congregates at the Backstage Lounge, beside the Arts Club Theatre.

East Vancouver has more of an alternative edge. Waazubee, 1622 Commercial Drive, is a favourite watering hole among the locals and it also serves reasonable meals. Bukowski’s Bar and Bistro, 1447 Commercial Drive, is a popular spot for beat poetry and also has occasional live bands. Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, offers some folk and rock in the evenings.

The pub-bar at the Dufferin Hotel, 900 Seymour Street, offers a kitsch mix of cabaret-style entertainment to a mostly gay crowd, while The Fountainhead Pub, 1025 Davie Street, is a more laid-back spot with street-side tables that attracts gays and lesbians.

Casinos: The Great Canadian Casino offers slot machines, card games and roulette at a number of locations, including one in the Holiday Inn, 709 West Broadway (website: www.gcgaming.com), which is open 1000-0600. The Royal City Star Riverboat Casino, based at New Westminster Quay, on the Fraser River, near the New Westminster SkyTrain Station (website: www.royalcitystar.bc.ca), is a replica paddlewheeler with gaming tables and slots and is open 1000-0400. Admission is to those aged 19 years or older – passports are not required, although younger patrons may need ID to prove their age. Neither of the above casinos charges an admission fee or has a specific dress code.

Clubs: For nights of house, hip-hop and the like, two of the hottest spots are both on Water Street in Gastown. Shine, at number 364, and Sonar, at number 66. Granville Street, though, is evolving into the city’s club district: The Roxy, at number 932, draws weekend clubbers for chart dance hits, while Caprice Nightclub, at number 965, has everything from techno to retro on two levels in a former cinema. In the surrounding area, both Voda, 783 Homer Street, and Skybar, 670 Smithe Street, draw a chic crowd – the latter’s rooftop patio is a bonus. DV8 Lounge, 515 Davie Street, has a more alternative edge, with random art showings and eclectic musical offerings, plus food. For gay visitors, The Odyssey, 1251 Howe Street, offers club hits and theme nights to a mostly male, younger crowd.

Live Music: The renovated Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville Street, is a great place to catch established acts and well-known artists, who also play at the Queen Elizabeth, 649 Cambie Street, Orpheum, 601 Smithe Street, and Vogue, 918 Granville Street, theatres. The really big acts take over General Motors Place or even BC Place Stadium. For up-and-coming rock bands, The Brickyard (punk and alternative), 315 Carral Street, and the Railway Club (more mainstream), 579 Dunsmuir Street, are good bets. The Yale, 1300 Granville Street, is considered the place for blues in Vancouver. The top spot for jazz in the city is The Cellar, 3611 West Broadway (at Dunbar Street; website: www.cellarjazz.com). Live jazz is also played nightly at O’Douls, in the Listel Vancouver, 1300 Robson Street. The Vancouver Jazz Society website (www.vancouverjazz.com) has loads of info on the local scene.