Surrounded by water and mountains, Vancouver is the shining big city of western Canada. This picturesque city shares some of the rich produce and mild climate (for Canada) with the U.S. West Coast below it, with Seattle being a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive away. It is the most populous city in the province of British Columbia. About 660,000 people live in Vancouver, and over 2.6 million live in the greater Vancouver area. From nearby Whistler to the Okanagan Valley to the east, Vancouver has access to mountains, ocean, vineyards, and farmland, much like California’s major cities.
Vancouver’s craft distilling scene developed many years behind the United States. In 2010, four small-batch distilleries had opened in British Columbia. In 2013, Long Table Distillery opened in Vancouver’s False Creek neighborhood. Today, over a dozen craft distilleries are active in the greater Vancouver metro area, and the province of B.C. is home to over 70.
Vancouver’s cocktail scene has been flourishing for longer, with bar pioneers like Jay Jones laying the groundwork for Canada’s cocktail bar renaissance for over 20 years. Whether grand dames like Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in the Sutton Place Hotel, with its extensive spirits selection and cocktails with seafood, or nationally celebrated restaurants like St. Lawrence doing right by Cognac and absinthe, quality cocktails can be found across the city. The scene has only grown over the years I’ve been writing about Vancouver’s bars and restaurants.
The Keefer Bar, for instance, is one of the most fun and beloved, reviving Chinatown since opening in 2010. Just this year, Keefer was named the number two bar in Canada’s 100 Best, and it is #25 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
But there is a whole new crop of bars worth visiting in Vancouver — and a few that have been around awhile. I recently returned and caught up with these 10 on the ground:
—Bar Susu —
Just opening March 2022 from the award-winning team of Published on Main, this is already one of my top bars in the city. Bar Susu is housed in an over-100-year-old building, exuding European-bistro vibes in its casual, lofty space. Chefs Ashley Kurtz and Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson (of Published) craft a menu of drink-friendly bites like charred eggplant onion dip or addictive BBQ-spiced house chicharrones, alongside a few lively dishes like smoked steelhead trout in wasabi ice cream and dill pickle consommé. Gracious Brittany Hoorne oversees Susu’s natural-leaning wine program but also has a passion for sake, evident in her ever-growing selection. Wines on the daily-changing board come in small pours, ideal for tasting, in addition to full glasses. But this isn’t “just” a wine bar and restaurant. Bar manager Joe Casson makes uber-thoughtful, interesting cocktails unlike anywhere else in town.
Drink This: The cocktail menu is short but memorable. Casson plays with in-house fermentations like mango and sea buckthorn co-fermented as a wine, trying different fermented fruit wines in orange, rosé, white, and red styles. Hive & Soul is his mix of vodka and aquavit with Gran Bassano Bianco vermouth, sarsaparilla, Peychaud’s bitters, and manzanilla sherry, dotted with an herb oil of dill, parsley, and chive. It’s savory and well-rounded. A tart, juicy Mandarin Gimlet gains texture and acidic backbone from malic acid, with gin, mandarin juice, charcoaled mandarin peel, and brown rice vinegar. Even the 2 Tiki, 2 Bar cocktail is an unexpected delight with rum, Amaro della Sacra, Blu Guava Malt, pistachio, and brown butter, hand-blended and dusted with coconut sugar. thisisbarsusu.com
— Bar Chickadee —
Opening June 2020 in the height of the pandemic from the team behind Juke Fried Chicken and Beetbox, Bar Chickadee wins not just for its beachy palm tree, 1980s Miami vibes in neon pink, or even for its fried chicken (including a standout gluten-free rice, corn, tapioca, and potato flour-fried chicken with killer sauces like black pepper ranch), but especially for its drinks. The bar is helmed by Vancouver cocktail vet Sabrine Dhaliwal, making cocktails a draw on their own. During the shutdowns, Bar Chickadee was the first to do bottled drinks, which were non-alcoholic initially until local laws changed. Thankfully, this made sales jump up immediately and got them through the worst of the pandemic. The intimate, fun space is an easy place to linger with cheery 1980s–1990s pop tunes from Wilson Phillips or Lionel Richie. Dhaliwal’s three monthly brand-sponsored cocktails raise money for worthy organizations like the Urban Native Youth Association.
Drink This: Check out the three rotating “dailies,” selected from an extensive database of house drinks. Greyscale is a silky combo of Bombay Sapphire gin, black lime, black sesame, lime, and egg white in a frothy pleaser that hits blessedly strong on the black sesame front. Let’s All Go To The Lobby features Dhaliwal’s irresistible salted butter popcorn syrup with bourbon, creme de cacao, orange, and lemon juice. thechickadeeroom.com
— Published on Main —
Published on Main famously won the first spot in all of Canada in 2022 on Canada’s 100 Best restaurant rankings thanks to chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson’s bold food. His training includes a stint at Noma, with a focus on fermentation and local foraging. I first visited Published as it opened in February 2020, returning again summer 2022 to find the food had grown even more exciting since. Whether feasting on side-stripe prawns cooked and chilled with cucumber, apple, and horseradish, or popular aebleskiver (savory Danish donuts) stuffed with stewed herbs, food here is memorable.
Drink This: As with their food, Published on Main gets creative with cocktails, although sometimes an exciting-sounding combination comes out muted and subtle. Drinks like the Pressed & Polished veer funky-fresh with shochu, baijiu, melon, rice, egg white, and baijiu compressed melon balls, while the Pina Colada is a clarified and clear tall soda drink. 9am in Oslo is a fruity, herbaceous joy of ship-aged aquavit, Strega, balsamic-peach jam, lemon, and sumac honey. I appreciate savory combos like Dog Day Afternoon, which features hay-infused bourbon, BBQ-infused Martini & Rossi Ambrato Vermouth, charred corn syrup, and smoke and oak bitters garnished with a skewered fire-roasted sausage. publishedonmain.com
— Laowai —
Laowai opened in summer 2021, a gorgeous 1930s Shanghai-inspired space hidden inside Blnd Tger dumpling shop in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. Designed by London-based Bergman Interiors, the seductive, long space is intimate and dark, with shimmering chandeliers, dark green booths and wallpaper, green-gold peacock lamps, and a flock of 50 bird lights glowing magically from the front room ceiling. The code words/order number needed in the dumpling shop and all the hidden “speakeasy” rigmarole can start to feel tired to those of us following this trend for more than 20 years. Thankfully, pretension was lacking in the gracious staff and the buzz inside is energetic but still upscale. Laowai was recently named #4 Best on Canada’s 100 Best.
Drink This: Laowai’s beautiful cocktail menu book is graced with original illustrations and a Chinese baijiu section from a staff passionate about educating people about the biggest-selling spirit in the world. Managing partner/bar manager Alex Black oversees a thoughtful cocktail menu that features ingredients like house avocado pit orgeat or clarified tomato consommé. Tasting over six drinks, two standouts were the tropical, savory I’m A Bad Girl (Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, fermented five spice banana wine, acidified Jongleur Witbier) and the dry, aromatic Don’t Let Them See You Bleed (Dragon Well Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, toasted rice, Yang He Blue Baijiu, Shao Xing rice wine, citrus oil). Dumplings — like Two Rivers ground bison turmeric momos in peppercorn soy — are a playful pairing with the drinks. laowai.ca
— Botanist at Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver —
Opening upstairs in 2017 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim — one of Vancouver’s best hotels — Botanist historically offered elegant seasonal cocktails served in custom bird-shaped glasses or terrarium-style lanterns. Grant Sceney continues to oversee all cocktail programs in the hotel (including the Lobby Lounge, also on this list) since day one. But under current head bartender Jeff Savage, Botanist has continued to evolve to a still elevated but more casual bar presentation, paired with globally-influenced food from talented chef Hector Laguna.
Drink This: The Botanist Martini is a beauty of a blend of St. George Terroir Gin for herbaceous and piney notes, local Long Table Gin for floral tones, and No. 3 Gin for juniper backbone with a house seaborn tincture (wild spruce tips, lemon verbena, elderflower, salt) and house sherry-based vermouth. Council of Trees cocktail goes decidedly spirituous with Johnnie Walker Black Scotch, fino sherry, cherrywood-smoked tea, and infusions of cedar, oak moss, birch sap, and alder for a woody, layered sipper. botanistrestaurant.com
— Grapes & Soda —
As the sister bar to neighboring Farmer’s Apprentice restaurant, tiny Grapes & Soda is magical, thanks to gracious owner and bar manager Satoshi Yonemori (our bartender interview this issue). His extensive and curated agave selection includes mezcals as well as sotol, bacanora, and raicilla, alongside charcuterie boards and small plates like hazelnut gomae noodles with seasonal vegetables or crispy duck and lemongrass salad. Satoshi’s delightful cocktails and warm welcome make this intimate gem one of Vancouver’s best.
Drink This: Drinks rotate but the likes of Alchemista show off Grapes & Soda’s mezcal soul. In this cocktail, mezcal mingles with Becherovka, fernet, honey, lemon, mint, egg white, and a sandalwood infusion for aromatics. Whipped up in an immersion blender to order, Cosmic Cycler is a light and frothy yet hot eggnog-esque cocktail of rum, walnuts, fig, rhubarb, sake kasu (sake lees, for texture), lemon, cream, egg yolk, and cinnamon. On the board, find an ever-changing soda cocktail list, like a recent visit’s joyful discovery of rye whiskey, Calpico, Aperol, amaretto, pineapple tepache, pale ale, and blueberry soda. grapesandsoda.ca
— L’Abattoir —
L’Abattoir means “slaughterhouse,” a tribute to the neighborhood’s history as “Blood Alley” slaughterhouses. Housed in a 19th-century Gastown building that was the site of Vancouver’s first jail, L’Abattoir’s striking brick building is home to an intimate bar and upstairs dining room, a Vancouver staple since 2010. Chef Lee Cooper’s creative dishes showcase local ingredients, like beetroot carpaccio laced with blackberry, radicchio, and pecorino cheese, or char-grilled quail with barbecued foie gras, toasted farro, and stone fruit.
Drink This: The cocktails have long been a draw in their own right, with a series of pioneering Vancouver bartenders running the bar here over the last decade plus. Drinks include delights like a tart Kumquat Collins featuring a blend of Suntory Toki Whisky with two rums, local Sheringham gin, champagne vinegar, kumquats, and 33 Acres rosehip soda. Or, on the savory side, the low-proof Adonis Nouveau blends local Marrow Dry Vermouth, Regal Rouge Lively White Australian Vermouth, salted bay leaf tincture, and Tio Pepe fino en rama sherry.
labattoir.ca
— ¿Cómo? Taperia —
Casual and small, ¿Cómo? feels like an escape to Spain since opening in 2018. In May 2020, it shifted to ¿Cómo? Chico, a temporary tapas, drink, and shop pop-up. Prepared tapas, conservas, wine, and cocktails accompanied Spanish groceries, while a paella patio “party” series pushed them through the worst of the pandemic. In fall 2021, it slowly shifted back to restaurant and bar mode, keeping the mercado/market and patio. Standing room-only space at the bar with bites feels like a “real deal” Spanish pinxtos bar, complete with a selection of sherries and Spanish vermuts (vermouths).
Drink This: Sip sherry on draft, gin and tonics in proper Spanish fashion (like Tanqueray Malacca, pink peppercorn, grapefruit, dry tonic), martinis like the ¿Como? (Gin Mare, Lustau Vermut Blanco, olive oil, and a gilda garnish) or cocktails like the Caribbean Club: Plantation Pineapple Rum, lime, cream sherry, and a whisper of mezcal. comotaperia.com
— Lobby Lounge RawBar at Fairmont Pacific Rim —
The luxe Fairmont Pacific Rim is one of Vancouver’s best hotels with its sweeping views of mountains and water and its notable restaurants, namely Botanist (also listed here). Downstairs in the bustling hotspot lobby is its popular Westernized sushi bar, Lobby Lounge RawBar, also a longtime cocktail destination in Vancouver. Frequent collaborations include a recent menu of cocktails by Fairmont’s own Grant Sceney alongside cocktails by New York’s famed Masahiro Urushido of Katana Kitten (like his Fancy Ramune: Superflux IPA with lemon daiginjo, Ford’s Officers Reserve Gin, lemon, and a sake shot).
Drink This: Cocktails are more straightforward here than the more elegant Botanist upstairs, but still thoughtful. Case in point: The crushable Captain Kidd is a simple agave spirit and lager drink with salt, lemon, and a blend of tequila and mezcal that gains herbaceous nuance from a touch of gin. Sceney’s recent dual menu with the aforementioned Masa Urushido included Sun Also Rises, a crowd-pleasing cocktail of tequila, 23-year Ron Zacapa rum, tamarind, grapefruit, and lime with a tajin rim. lobbyloungerawbar.com
— Acquafarina —
Opening early 2021, Acquafarina can be a polarizing restaurant. Its posh, dramatic, lofty space includes enforced dress codes and a no cell phones or cameras policy, which were lax on my recent lunch visit. Sicilian owner Fabrizio Foz (who also owns Per Se Social Corner and Ciclo Espresso) wanted a more elegant, refined experience, one where people could be in the moment. My lunch visit was a casual affair on a sunny patio, while evenings call for the more seductive green-and-gold-inflected dining room with its gorgeous bar. The menu features a $150 tasting prix fixe option, or pricey à la carte dishes like ahi tuna crudo in caviar dressing, cured onions, and lime. Foz has pizzaiolo certifications from Italy and California, and pizza is one focus at lunch, with a solid version of Italy’s popular mortadella, Sicilian pistachio, and fior di latte pizza (more ambitious pasta dishes didn’t quite work as well).
Drink This: Bartender David Wolowidnyk crafts breezy, light drinks like Bird of Paradise, a play on a Pisco Sour with El Gobernador pisco, a house blend of white vermouth, kiwi, lime, simple syrup, and egg white; or the Momo: gin, sake, Giffard peach liqueur, lemon, a whisper of sesame (wished for more), and genmaicha tea. acquafarina.com
