Nightlife in Vancouver

12 clubs, live music venues and late-night spots in Vancouver.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

DrinkKitsilano-Granville Island
Backstage Lounge
Drinks and pub eats with live music most nights. Has a good selection of domestic and imported beers on tap, with nightly drink specials.
$8-16
EatYaletown-False Creek
Blue Water Cafe
Arguably Vancouver's premier upscale destination for seafood, Blue Water offers fine dining, drinking, and a raw bar. The seafood preparations are direct, emphasizing fresh, flavorful ingredients over showy virtuoso techniques, and many are Japanese-influenced. The wine and cocktail lists are also exceptional. A few non-seafood items (including a couple of vegetarian friendly options) make it possible to bring a group that includes some who may not love what the ocean has to offer.
5PM-11PM (dinner); 4:30PM-1AM (bar)
DrinkWest End
Celebrities Nightclub
One of Vancouver's largest clubs with varied music (DJs, house, 80s) depending on the night. Stereotype Fridays are very popular and sometimes feature international DJs. Generally a gay bar, but the crowd tends to be more mixed on Tu and F Sa.
Tue-Sat 9PM-3AM, Sun 9PM-midnightCover - up to $20 (F). Drink prices vary considerably (cheaper on Tuesdays, most expensive on weekends)
EatCity Centre
Hy's Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar
The most amazing service in Vancouver. Classy steakhouse that has been serving Vancouver for some fifty years. Charcoal steaks are the house specialty, but the menu also includes local cuisine like Pacific Salmon and Ahi Tuna. The servers do an incredible job and the food is excellent.
dinner daily, lunch Mon-FriStarters $6-16, mains $28-52
DrinkGastown-Chinatown
Lamplighter
One part sports bar and one part club gives this bar a dual personality which works for some and not for others. The crowd is a more mixed and mellow than Shine or Fabric.
$10 cover after 10PM
DrinkGastown-Chinatown
MIA Nightclub
Smallish dance club with a variety of music, depending on the night.
DrinkGastown-Chinatown
The Blarney Stone
Bit of an Irish bar, bit of a dance club. Attracts a 20-something crowd most nights. Irish showband Killarney are a regular feature.
Sun-Thu 11AM-2AM, Fri Sat 11AM-3AMCover is $8-10
DrinkCity Centre
The Railway Stage & Beer Cafe
Popular bar that frequently features live music. The crowd is a mix of ages, although probably more over 30. It's not a big place, so it gets packed easily. There are more tables at the other end of the long bar if you want to sit down and talk.
Sun-Thu 4PM-2AM, Fri Sat 11AM-3AMDrinks $6-12, food $7-12
DrinkCity Centre
The Roxy
Long-time Vancouver club which features top 40 rock. The house band, Loaded/Fully Loaded, covers some of the best of the recent pop and rock M-Sa, with country music on Sunday.
Mon-Thu 9PM-3AM, Fri-Sun 8PM-3AM
DrinkKitsilano-Granville Island
The Wolf and Hound
Irish-themed pub with a good selection of draft beers and live music.
Mon-Thu 3-10PM, Fri 11AM-10PM, Sat 9AM-10PM, Sun 11AM-10PM
DoKitsilano-Granville Island
Vancouver Arts Club Theatre
The Granville Island stage for the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre Company.
EatGastown-Chinatown
Wildebeest
A restaurant with some unique menu items that draw rave reviews from many but claims of being overhyped from others. The menu is meat-centric with dishes from varying parts of the animal — think pork jowls with oats, bone marrow, beef cheeks, as well as more traditional cuts like rib eye and roast chicken breasts. The restaurant makes good use of its Gastown location with brick walls and wooden tables and follows current trends with a long table so you can get to know your fellow diners. Plates are meant to be shared and some reviewers feel they are small, particularly for the price. There is a wine bar downstairs and the cocktail menu has some creative and tasty mixes.
Tue-Sun 5PM-midnightPlates range from $3-42, with most between $10-20

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Vancouver (CC BY-SA 4.0).