Vancouver at night is like being on another planet. The veins and sinews of the city are of another world and yet, somehow, extraordinarily familiar. Stepping outside, you can’t quite put your finger on precisely where you’re at by just taking a few glances for a famed landmark.
Vancouver is a city you have to absorb; it conforms to just what you need when you need it. There’s no better way to discover this than to experience the city’s incredible, brimming night life – as ebulliently glimmering as the city’s spaceship-like skyline. To fully experience this incredible vibe, we’re suggesting bars, restaurants and clubs, broken down by neighbourhood.
Yaletown
Vancouver’s chic and hip neighbourhood possessed of all things upscale and cold-as-the-moon cool.
OPUS Bar
Located in the world-renowned OPUS Hotel, the OPUS Bar’s innovative cocktails, glass-walled restrooms and a live video feed of the dance floor make this lounge as delightfully unusual as another solar system.
Subeez Café Restaurant and Bar
With an atmosphere that’s rather Castle Dracula, a bistro-inspired menu, and excellent wines and martinis, Subeez Café would be a top pick for a neighbourhood, go-to café.
Granville Street
Granville street is the university and younger crowd’s centre for fun and frolic in Vancouver, with bars, clubs and restaurants abounding.
Caprice Nightclub
Caprice features a variety of themed nights as well as an incredible, 10,000-square-foot space that includes an undisturbed mezzanine with its own bar for viewing the main dance floor below.
The Cellar
Evenings at The Cellar, an underground club that’s cozy and intimate, start out chill and get progressively thunderous as DJs lay down beats.
Gastown
With its cobblestone streets and Victorian buildings, Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood, having been established in 1867 — the year of Canada’s nationhood. This is the neighbourhood for the fun of swirling and tasting excellent wines and surprising your palate with new delights on your fork and knife.
Al Porto Ristorante
Specializing in traditional Italian food served in a rustic, Tuscan atmosphere, Al Porto’s also has an excellent wine list with an especially large, international selection by the bottle.
Kitsilano
Located on Vancouver’s west side and known colloquially as “Kits,” it is largely populated by young professionals, students and young families.
Mistral French Bistro
Mistral’s serves authentic, hearty, French bistro fare for lunch and dinner, accompanied by a superb wine list. Their current wine special is the 2010 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône, made from 100 per cent Syrah.
The Fringe Café
Open since the summer of 1990, this 48-seat café and pub has been a hang-out for artists, musicians, craftspeople and artisans from the start. In their own words, “Cafes are where culture takes shape and counter-culture germinates, there can be no pretext or expectation. At the Fringe café you can be yourself.” Unpretentious, live, loud and frequently full of out-of-control fun, the Fringe is a watering hole you won’t soon forget.
Davie Street
Named after former prime minister of British Columbia, Alexander Davie, Davie Street is the centre of GLBT and generally multi-cultural life in Vancouver.
Numbers Cabaret
Numbers is a vibrant gay club and cabaret, with a different event happening nearly every night of the week, from pool tournaments to karaoke to live cabaret shows.
Celebrities Night Club
Vancouver’s most popular gay club, Celebrities plays top 40s, house and techno. In addition to its devoted GLBT following, it has increasingly begun to attract a young heterosexual crowd as well, eager to share the huge dance space and fantastic music.
(Main image: Michael Whyte)
