Category

Pub/Bar

Category

Ventura Room is located across from Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Downtown Vancouver and opened in October of 2019. They were best known for the live music, dancing, and cocktails.

Since the pandemic, they have closed but recently re-opened with safety measures in mind. The tables are spaced apart in respect to social distancing. There is patio space with tables and picnic tables. Also, all staff were wearing masks.

We were invited for food and drinks and to check out the space.

Happy Hour

They have happy hour from 3-6pm and 10pm – close daily. It’s all day happy hour on Sunday, which is a great deal.

Interior

They have a laidback Californian lounge and its usually open late with live music. With the pandemic, they’re trying to find their way to being that but with safety in mind.

Menu

Strawberry Basal Spritz

It has strawberry infused aperol, campari, basil, prosecco, and orange bitters. It was very easy to drink and refreshing.

The Daquirita

It has havana 7, altos plata, yuzu, and seared pineapple. It’s a strong drink that is citrus forward and clean.

California Love

They do have alcoholic-free beverages as well. This has fresh grapefruit juice, lavender, lemon, and soda. You get the floral notes from the lavender and the sour notes from the citrus fruits.

Crispy Cauliflower

The crispy cauliflower has charred jalapeño ranch, parmesan, and chili. This was one of our favourite dishes as it was well fried and seasoned. Plus, the dip complimented well.

Ahi Tuna Taco

These tacos have ginger chili tuna, yuzu aioli, avocado, and a cilantro slaw. It comes with 4 mini tacos per order. Looks great but the taste was lacking. It really needed more tuna and sauces.

Crispy Coconut Shrimp Roll

This has panko shrimp, avocado, green onion, Thai peanut sauce, and sesame. This was our server’s favourite item on the menu. It’s a very fusion items on the menu. The Thai peanut sauce and the green onion combination was nice. The peanut sauce is chunky and sweet, which is different. Not necessarily a bad thing.

West Coast Aburi Roll

This roll is their Ventura roll with torch seared chili ginger salmon & jalapeño. It was a decent roll but it definitely needed more flavour for one of their signature rolls.

Torch Nigiri

The different nigiri have a soy saké glaze on top. You have an option of salmon or tuna. The glaze give it a good amount of sweetness and the torched sauce caramelizes nicely. Not your typical Japanese flavourings but we liked it.

Hollywood Burger

The burger is topped with cheddar, iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickle, and special sauce between the toasted buns. It was a decent burger but nothing too special. For your side, yam fries are a great choice.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the location is great if you’re in the Queen Elizabeth theatre area before or after a show. The food was ok, but sometimes people just want to socialize with friends and not go anywhere too far.

Going on Sunday for all day happy hour is a great deal. We recommend the crispy cauliflower and the torched nigiri.

Address:
695 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC 

Website:
https://www.venturaroom.com/

Falconetti’s on Commercial Drive is back! Last year, they closed their doors for renovations and their customers feared they closed for good. Renovations took a bit longer than anticipated, but their doors are now open.

There is a lot of confusing information online if they are open or not. They are definitely open despite their drowsy social media presence and non-functioning website.

Interior

There are two levels to Falconetti’s – downstairs and upstairs. The downstairs is very dark and pub-like while the upstairs is more open and bright. Even the music is different.

Menu

In addition to their regular menu, they have happy hour 4-6pm daily and all day Tuesdays. Plus, a pasta menu that they are currently promoting.

Strawberry Fields Forever

This cocktail has Beefeater Gin, Prosecco, lemon juice, berry kombucha, simple syrup and strawberry. It is an easy drink, sweet, and fruity with the tartness of lemon.

Rum & Roll

This has Bacardi Rum, Malibu, lemon juice, pineapple juice, simple syrup, and egg whites. Another easy cocktail to drink as the juices balance out the rum and Malibu.

Amoxicillin

This has Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky, Teachers Peated malt, lemon juice, and ginger honey syrup. This is a stronger drink compared to the other two. Even the bartender says its good for colds.

Dora Gone Wild

Cazadores Reposado, Chamboro, Triple Sec, and lime juice. This is on the stronger side as well. The drink gets its pink hue from the Chamboro, which is a raspberry liqueur.

Veggie Deluxe

This has roasted red peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms and garlic prepared in red wine. We got this with rotini pasta as well as added meatballs to the dish. The pasta was decent and the meatballs have a bit of heat to them, which balances out the dish.

Add $4 for meatballs.

Spicy Chicken Curry

This has sauteed onions, roasted red chilli pepper with their housemade chicken curry sauce. We got this with penne. The dish was decent and the sauce had a kick of spice from the curry. Definitely not too spicy at all despite the name.

Kale Caesar Salad

The salad has baby kale, bread crumbs, parmesan, and creamy caesar dressing. It was a good salad and the portion was large. The dressing was a bit on the heavy side, but you can always ask for it on the side.

Sausage platter

Falconetti’s is known for their sausages. Remember when there was a deli next door? They specialized in all things meat. They have 3 flavours – sweet italian, hot, & basil parmesan.

Portobello Mushroom Burger

This has a big oven roasted portobello mushroom, goat cheese, arugula salad, and pesto aioli in a sesame bun. Surprisingly, the portobello and arugula combination did work. The goat cheese was a nice subtle touch too. We did find that there was too much bun in comparison to the items inside the burger.

B&B Burger

There is 8oz beef patty stuffed with portobello mushroom, cured smoked bacon and topped with cheddar, caramelized onions, butter lettuce, tomato, and garlic aioli in a sesame bun.

You get the crunch of the lettuce in the burger and the salty patty. With all the sauces and bacon, it was more on the salty side.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

Who would have ever thought Jalapeño Poppers and grilled cheese would come together? The sandwich has cheddar, Swiss, cream cheese, and roasted japalapeños inside. A very unique concept.

Curly Fry Poutine

Curly fries with cheese curds and gravy. Hard to go wrong as curly fries are more fun.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a place to hang out for large groups for drinks and food with friends, Falconetti’s is it. The pastas are huge, so you definitely get bang for your buck.

It’s great that Falconetti’s is back on Commercial Drive, so if you were a fan before, you can now head back. They have a good balance of meat and non-meaty dishes which caters to different kinds of people.

Address:
1812 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC 

As Vancouverites, we dread the rain, but now with the good streak of hot weather, that good ol’ patio season has begun. Something about having the sun out gives us an extra bounce in our step and makes us more social and of course indulge a bit more.

We were invited out to the Personas Patio in Burnaby to check out the latest menu, enjoy some gigantic drinks, and soak in the sun with great company. I didn’t even realize they had a nice patio until now.

Patio

There is an outdoor bar in this space and a decent amount of seating for small to large groups.

There are umbrellas and some covering just in case the sun is a bit too strong during certain parts of the day.

Menu

Drinks

The drinks are massive and have a nice aesthetic to them. You won’t want to miss their Giant Bellini Bombs or Double Down Coronas Bulldogs served in these huge glasses. You’ll want to bring a friend or two to help you devour them. If you’re not up for a huge beverage, the cotton candy cosmo is very whimsical. There’s an array of drinks on their menu from more boozy drinks to more fruity cocktails.

Double Down Coronas Bulldogs

Giant Bellini Bombs

Cotton Candy Cosmo

Food

Of course food needs to go with drinks or else you’re gonna have a bad night. They have a large menu of shared appetizers, salads, bowls, sandwiches, and some entrees.

Flatbreads

They have a wide variety of flatbreads at Personas. Very easy to share. We tried the Tropic Thunder, Little Italy and the Cheese & Honey. They were all really cheesy and not that flat for flatbread. We noticed, there is a bit of inconsistency between our visits. Our favourite is still the Thai Shrimp.

Wings

There are 2 kinds of wings – classic crispy (dry) or gochujang chili sauce (wet). These were all a bit dry and lacked moisture maybe because it was over fried.

Ebi Prawns

These are tempura prawns paired with Japanese mayo, bonito flakes, and back sesame seeds. Very easy item to share among a group.

Wok This Way

This has lightly breaded and golden fried squid with garlic, sambal oelek and cilantro.

Sticky Ribs

These are slow booked, crispy fried button ribs tossed in a Korean Galbi BBQ Sauce and sesame seeds. These were ok, but similar to the chicken wings, they were a bit on the dry side.

South Beach Salad

This has mixed greens, grilled chicken, corn, black beans, dates, red onion, red pepper, avocado, feta, and a cilantro lime dressing. It was a decent salad if you’re looking for something more healthy on the menu.

Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

This has the crispy chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and maple bourbon aioli between 2 Belgian Waffles. If you want to indulge, this is it. The chicken was crispy and it always goes well with waffles.

Personas Burger

This has a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onion, and their secret sauce between brioche bun. You can add bacon, mushroom and cheddar onto it too. We had this burger last time and we liked it a lot better this time. It wasn’t too saucy and wet like last time.

Prawn Stuffed Sole

This has a red Thai curry sauce, bok choy, edamame, sundried tomatoes, and with brown and puffed wild rice. The sole was tender and good, but we felt like it was a small protein portion.

Seafood Linguini

This has shrimp, salmon, and bay scallops with a garlic Aurora sauce and grilled garlic crouton. Very saucy and there is a decent amount of seafood in this linguini.

Braised Short Rib

This galbi sauce, fingerling potatoes, sundried tomatoes, bok choy and edamame. This was a hit for some but we thought it was mediocre.

Final Thoughts

Personas Patio is a nice hidden spot in Burnaby that I don’t think most people realize is there. Great for the Summer to lounge around with friends. They do have a lots of great creative drinks on the menu, but the food is your standard pub fare. If you’re looking for something outstanding, Atlas Steak + Fish is a nicer option.

Address:
4331 Dominion St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://mypersonas.ca

Ampersand Bar & Bistro is the newest restaurant in Gastown taking over Mosquito dessert, which quietly closed their doors recently. They specialize in cocktails as well as designer dim sum. Clearly, they are going for more of a high end approach.

We were invited to try their drinks and designer dim sum, but with so many great dim sum restaurants in Metro Vancouver, it’s some tough competition. Given the area of Gastown, there aren’t any dim sum options around unless you head closer to Burrard where there is Kirin or Victoria Chinese Restaurant.

Interior

The interior of Ampersand has stayed unchanged. The space is still small and somewhat cramped due to the layout. It has a dark and intimate feel.

Menu

Ampersand Gin & Tonic

The gorgeous drink is made with butterfly pea flower infused Cascade dry gin, and St Germain Premium Indian Tonic Water. When you pour the 2 liquids together, the colour transforms into a beautiful light purple colour. The taste is of a standard Gin & Tonic, but with a beautiful look.

Rosso Negroni

The Rosso Negroni has Cascade Dry Gin, Sweet Vermouth, Campari, and Cynar. Love how there is one giant ice cube in the drink to keep it cold as you sip away at this drink.

Designer Dim Sum

The designer dim sum is the star of their menu, but it was a total let down. They boast 11 different kind of dim sum items, but a lot of them fell flat in taste and texture. The presentation is beautiful but all of the items are forgettable. After a short while, the skin of the dumplings, no matter which kind got dry and chewy. The crafted sauces and garnishes are mostly for looks and don’t add too much to the flavours of the dumplings.

Coconut Buns

This comes 2 per order and it is topped with Ampersand dulche de leche coconut sauce and coconut almond sesame sprinkle. The dulche de leche sauce was addictive and it kept me wanting more. Unfortunately, the coconut buns were very thick and dense to get into the coconut filling.

Final Thoughts

The designer dim sum was a let down for me as I know there are some stellar dim sum options in Vancouver that just can’t compare. THey do have other menu items that might be better but we didn’t try those. If you’re looking for drinks in Gastown, the space is nice to catch up with friends.

Address:
32 Water St, Vancouver, BC 

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ampersandgastown

After a much needed refresh of the SFU Pub at the Maggie Benson Centre on the Burnaby Campus, Joseph Richard Group took over the space and give it new life as The Study Public House. Being an SFU Alumni, I haven’t been on campus since graduation, so it was good to make a visit to see what has changed.

The Study Public House has become a social hub where students and staff can relax and enjoy themselves over drinks, food and entertainment.

We were given a sneak peek of The Study Public House before doors open on April 1, 2019 and that’s no joke.

Interior

The large space can fit up to 300 guests at one time. There is also an outdoor patio that will be open with great views of the city.

There is booth and table seating upstairs and it’s great for small to large parties.

The lower floor is awesome and it has vintage pinball games, shuffleboard, pool and ping pong tables. Super cozy and relaxing.

I can definitely anticipate a lot of events happening here with lots of great memories being made.

Menu

Kronenbourg blanc

I love a good beer and Kronenbourg blanc is a fresh white fruity beer. It has aromas of floral, tropical fruit and honeysuckle. Very refreshing.

Watermelon Mojito

A refreshing Summer classic with raspberry vodka muddled with fresh watermelon, mint and simple syrup. Delicious, refreshing and not too strong.

Chicken Wings

There is a pound that comes in each order and you can choose them with Franks Red Hot Sauce, Teriyaki, honey garlic, BBQ, or salt and pepper.

We went with salt and pepper as it’s dry and not too dirty on the fingers. Pretty good wings.

Warm Cheddar and Jalapeno Dip

There is aged cheddar, mozzarella, pickled Japapenos, panko parmesan crumble, cream cheese, béchamel sauce, sweet chili sauce and served with tortilla chips. A good appetizers to share among the table. We were not a fan of the added sweet chili sauce and it made it not as enjoyable.

Fried Chicken and Waffles

There is a large waffle with butter, maple bacon glaze, seasoned chicken, and topped with scallions. The waffle tastes good but don’t wait too long to eat this or else the waffle goes a bit limp. The chicken is more like chicken bites that sits on top of the waffle.

English Style Fish and Chips

This is their version of a traditional English Style beer battered cod with coleslaw, tartar sauce, and fries. You can upgrade to truffle fries for an added cost. It was a large dish and definitely very filling. The cod was very soft on the inside.

Sack o Doughnuts

Carnival-style mini donuts tossed in cinnamon and sugar. It is served with a strawberry compote and chocolate sauce for dipping. This was pretty damn good and would order it again. A fun dessert and it was made just right. Reminded us of the PNE.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Stack

This is a dark brownie layered on a soft and rich peanut butter cookie, topped with a crispy milk chocolate and peanut butter ganache. It is served with whipped cream, crushed peanuts and drizzled with caramel sauce. I love peanut butter and chocolate, so this was music to my tastebuds.

Final Thoughts

The revamp of the SFU Pub is great and I think JRG transformed it into a proper pub that is going to draw the community of SFU to this space for food, drinks, and a fun time. The JRG’s team of Executive Chefs put together a menu that works for a pub and at a good price point too.

Address:
Maggie Benston Centre
8888 University Drive, Burnaby

Website:
https://www.jrghospitality.ca/establishment/the-study/

Showshaa is a Tap room which serves up modern Indian fusion cuisine. They are located in South Surrey, so it is quite a drive depending on where you live. My friend’s friend told us about this place and when I saw a picture I knew I had to go check it out for lunch. On the weekday, it was pretty quiet but on the weekends, I am sure it picks up during lunch as more people are off work.

Either way, we were excited to devour their modern Indian cuisine that is actually modern for once.

Interior

There are large windows surrounding the restaurant, but the focal point is really the bar and the TV screens. There are some high top seating, bar seating, booths, and standard seating.

If you have a big group especially in the evening, its best to make reservations.

Menu

Gol Gappa Shots

These come with 6 pieces per order on the cutest little cart. It’s a popular Indian street food with crispy shells stuffed with potato and other ingredients. It sits on top of a mixture of tamarind and mint water. You can pour the shot into the crispy shells or take it as a shot. Either way works.

The tamarind and mint mixture has an interesting taste. You get the pungency of the spices but it isn’t hot spicy.

Alternatively, you can pay a bit more to spike your Gol Gappa with vodka.

Sesame Paneer Fingers

Another signature dish at Showshaa and it has marinated paneer coasted with sesame and then fried. It is served in a glass with a sweet chili sauce.

This dish has a hint of spice and it’s delicious. There are 6 pieces to an order.

Cocktail Samosas

Another appetizer that comes on a cute cart too. There are small cute bite-sized vegetarian samosas that are crispy and stuffed with assorted fillings. It is served with 2 different types of sauces.

Spiced Mumbai Shrimp 

Mumbai Spiced Prawns is marinated in kashmiri red chili powder, lemon juice, and roasted cumin. Then it is deep-fried to a crispy perfection. Another signature dish and it was really good too. A good hint of spices, crisp exterior and very plump prawns.

Tikka Salad

Since we had so many appetizers for lunch, we needed to balance out the meal with some vegetables, so we ordered the Tikka Salad.

You have your choice of chicken or paneer tikka. We went with chicken. It also comes with boiled egg, greens, walnuts, crasins, feta cheese, and a tangy mango dressing. A pretty solid salad if you’re looking for something a bit healthier on the menu. The chicken tikka was seasoned well, but was a tad on the dry side.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were really impressed by the items on their small bites menu. Very modern and innovative for a tap room serving up Indian fusion cuisine. The flavours were definitely there with a good amount of heat. None of the dishes disappointed and we’ll definitely be back in the future. Their lunch specials looked really good too like thier unlimited Royal Lunch Thali for $15.

Address:
3020 152 St #101, Surrey, BC

Website:
http://showshaa.ca

Oak & Thorne is one of Joseph Richard Group’s public houses. What was once farmland has become the bustling community of Walnut Grove. Opened in 2015, Oak & Thorne is an adult playground complete with arcade games.

You can watch the game here, grab a drink, and some bites. They have over 25 beers on tap and a growing list of craft beers. The food menu has classic pub offerings, prepared in-house from local, fresh, high quality ingredients.

Arcade Games

If you love arcade games, you can play a few games with friends over a drink. There’s a good amount of games downstairs and some other games on the main floor. Super fun to relive your childhood with these classic games.

Mac and Cheese Bites

This has aged cheddar and American cheese, macaroni, and panko crust with a San Marzano tomato sauce dip. This was delicious and a good item to share among the table. Can’t go wrong with cheese and tomato sauce.

Scotch Egg

This has sage pork sausage, ale infused soft boiled egg, panko breadcrumbs, sweet and a sour tomato relish. A meaty dish but the centre of the yolk is very soft, which is great.

Hand Pie Duo

There is a curry chicken hand pie, an IPA braised pork hand pie, Guinness mustard, sweet and sour tomato relish. Why have one when you get two handpies in this dish.

Cottage Pie

This cottage pie has Guinness braised pork and beef pie, seasonal vegetables, imperial cheese sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, dream rings, and a side of garlic toast. A hearty and salty dish for sure.

Peanut Butter Stack

This dessert has milk chocolate, peanut butter ganache, chewy brownie, toasted peanuts, whip cream, and caramel. If you have a sweet tooth, this dish is great to share.

Final Thoughts

Most people come here to watch the game, have a drink and some small bites. It’s a great addition to Langley with a good bar selection. It gets pretty busy on on Friday and Saturday evenings, so make sure to grab a reservation ahead of time.

Address:
20173 88 Ave, Langley Twp, BC

Website:
http://www.jrg.ca/establishment/oak-thorne/

Personas at the Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby showcases a variety of over the top drinks and bites for your group of friends. We were invited to check out a few items off their menu just to see what they offer their customers. Since I live in Burnaby, I’m always excited to check out what’s new in the neighbourhood.

Interior

The space here is nice and it can get pretty busy on the weekends with large parties. Best to make reservations if you have a group.

Weekly Specials

Mexican Bulldog Para Dos

This impressive drink has 2 Coronas, Sauza Gold Tequila and lime slush in a huge martini glass. It will cost you $19, but its a drink that is meant to be shared among friends. This drink is very extra but fun to take pictures of too.

Personas L.I.I.T.

This is part of their Iceberg drinks as it is made with rum, vodka, gin, tequila, Triple Sec, Coca-Cola, and lime slush.

Cotton Candy Cosmo

Another fun drink is their Cotton Candy Cosmo with Smirnoff Raspberry, Vodka, Contreau, Cranberry, lime and the fluffy cotton candy on top.

California Sushi Taco

There are 3 pieces per order with crab, avocado, nori, cucumber, togarashi mayo, wasabi, sushi rice, and served up in a gyoza taco shell. Good texture with the crunchy shell. Very tasty and one of our favourites.

Ebi Prawns

Another Asian inspired dish made of tempura prawns, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes, and black sesame seeds.

Sticky Ribs

What makes these ribs stick is the galbi sauce. It is then garnished with sesame seeds and shreds of green onions. Definitely inspired by Korean-cuisine with that tasty sauce.

Chicken Wings

They have chicken wings on the menu they are first crispy and deep fried. You can choose it with Salt & Pepper, gochujang, chili sauce or galbi sauce. This particular one we had was gochujang sauce and it had a kick of spice to it.

General Hao’s Chicken

This cute dish is where sweet and spicy collide. There are bits of chicken lightly breaded and deep fried till a golden brown. Then it is tossed in the Generals secret lemon chili sauce. Their version of General Tso’s chicken.

Thai Shrimps Flatbread

The Thai Shrimps flatbread has onion, sweet pepper, lemongrass aioli, red Thai curry mozzarella, baby shrimps,, sweet basil and toasted coconut. It’ was very yummy and it was unique to taste the flavours of Thailand on flatbread.

Fig, Cheese and Honey Flatbread

There is caramelized onions, figs, mozzarella, parmesan, goat cheese and honey. Its’ cheesy and sweet at the same time.

Tropic Thunder Flatbread

This is one of the most popular menu items. It has grilled chicken, alfredo sauce, grilled pineapple salsa, bacon, cilantro, BBQ sauce drizzle and some chili threads.

Falafel Wedge Salad

For those who want something healthier, this dish has crispy garbanzo beans, sundried tomatoes, cucumber, pickled turnips, lemon-tahini dressing and sumac.

Poke Bowl

This isn’t your regular poke bowl. It has ahi tuna, cucumber, edamame, spicy mayo, gochujang chili dressing, kizami nori on regular rice. The ahi was well marinated and was super tasty. One of our favourites.

Persona’s Burger

This leans towards their pub fare and goes great with a pint of beer. This has 100% AAA ground beef chuck, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onion, garlic aioli on their brioche bun. You can do some add-ons to it if you want like bacon, mushroom and cheddar.

The curly fries were really good and the garlic aioli dip is best with them.

Bourbon St. Blackened Chicken

It has a bed of brown rice, seasonal vegetables, and the blackened double breast of chicken with the bourbon maple jus. This dish was ok as more of the seasoning on the chicken took over.

Short Rib Pappardelle

This has toasted pine nuts, wild mushroom ragout, goat cheese, extra virgin olive oil and a grilled garlic crouton. This dish was good but the goat cheese was a bit overpowering to let the short rib shine.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of different menu items from pub fare to Asian Fusion. It’s good that Personas is in Burnaby to give residents in the area and travellers more options in this area because there really aren’t that many. Our favourite items of the evening were the California Sushi Tacos, Thai Shrimp Flatbread, Poke Bowl and the Personas Burger.

 

Address:
4331 Dominion St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://mypersonas.ca/

Cathedral Social Hall in Saskatoon serves up elevated Saskatchewan Pub classics. There are 30 beers on tap with a variety of local beers, Canadian beers, and International beers. As its located right in the heart of Downtown Saskatoon, it’s close to all the popular spots along the river. I wanted to try out some Saskatchewan beers all in one spot, have a quick bite and watch the game.

Interior

The big feature inside is their bar with all the beers listen on the wall and all the taps. There are also lots of long tables and a patio to suit small to really large groups. It makes it a perfect venue for

Drinks Menu

Beer Flight

I got a flight with all Saskatchewan beers – Crossmount Apple Cider, Great Western Radler, Great Western Prairie White, and Rebellion Lentil Cream. I went with lighter beers and I am not as keen on hoppy beers.

Salt and Pepper Wings

To pair with beer, what better item to have than salt and pepper wings. It was beautifully fried with a crispy exterior and the right ration of salt and pepper so it isn’t too salty.

Social Salad

If you are looking for something a little more healthy, they have salad. This particular salad comes in 2 sizes and my friend went with the smaller option as we have been eating all day. It has greens, radishes, tomatoes, goat cheese, cucumber, Saskatoon berries, and a vinaigrette.

Dessert in a Jar

Now this is one massive dessert. It has chocolate stout cake, chocolate sauce, bananas, sponge toffee, ice cream, and berries. You’ll definitely want to share this big dessert.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good place for drinks and pub fare that showcases Saskatchewan produce where possible. It’s a good place to watch the game too.

Address:
608 Spadina Crescent E, Saskatoon, SK

Website:
http://www.cathedralsocialhall.com

This year’s Donnelly Group Dine Out Vancouver menus blend new food program highlights with a number of fresh dishes created by the culinary team. With hearty entrees, satisfying vegetarian options, and tempting desserts-all made-from-scratch-Donnelly Group is proud to offer delicious, value-packed $20 Dine Out menus. Donnelly Group’s culinary team Alvin Pillay, Sarah Stewart, and Chris Stewart have put their stamp on menus which are built around a core group of 14 dishes, mixed and matched to create unique offerings with multiple options at each location.

I went to dine at BlackBird Pub House near Burrard and Dunsmuir with my husband with the added wine pairings too.

This special menu goes on from January 19th till February 4th 2018.

Interior

The space is large and super packed during happy hour, but if you come after 6:30pm, it’s not as crazy.

Kale Caesar

The kale caesar has green apple, garlic croutons, and pumpkin seeds. A good portion for the first course and the dressing is light which I enjoyed a lot. It is paired with Summerhill ‘alive’ organic white from the Okanagan. It was delicious and I liked how the green apple played off notes from the wine.

The BC VQA wine suggestions are from Bar & Beverage Director Trevor Kallies, and this year, each selection is available singly and in different sized pours for sipping, sampling, and sharing.

Cauliflower & Brie Soup

The soup had a hearty depth of flavour with a base of charred lemon yogurt. This was paired with the Gehringer Cabernet Merlot.

Brisket Cavatappi

There is tomato, oregano, olives and grana padano. It’s a pretty big portion with a big chunk of tender shredded brisket. Very comforting and not overly complicated. The only ingredient that threw me off a little bit were the olives.

This dish is paired with Tinhorn Creek Merlot which goes well with the sauce.

Spicy Lamb Shepherd’s Pie

On top is the sweet potato mash with bourbon bbq gravy and on the bottom is the spicy lamb. It was interesting to see it some in a pot since it’s not really a shepherd’s pie.

This was paired with Adega Malbec.

Chocolate Praline Bar

It has peanut butter in the centre and topped with sweet cream and bits of peanuts.

It is pair with the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, which pairs really well with the dessert. My husband loved it as it has a palate of citrus, baking spices and toffee framed by notes of vanilla and oak.

Coconut Panna Cotta

The coconut panna cotta is topped with peach compote and candied ginger. Along with 2 ginger cookies. This portion was larger than the chocolate praline bar and there’s quite a bit to it.

I had it with the Monkey Shoulder, a blend of three Speyside Single Malts aged in ex-bourbon casks which impart a smooth and mellow vanilla flavour into the whisky with hints of zesty orange, honey and spiced oak.

Final Thoughts

For a $20 3-course set meal, this was pretty good and affordable. If you get the pairings, it will definitely be a lot more than you imagined, but you don’t have to pair with every single dish. All the dishes were good except, the Spicy Lamb Shepherd’s Pie. The best dish of the night was the coconut panna cotta.

We rate BlackBird

Address:
905 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver

Website:
http://donnellygroup.ca/the-blackbird

Monarch Burger is a completely made from scratch burger restaurant. They are currently operating out of the American on Main St. close to Torafuku, Pizza Farina, and Campagnolo. I tagged along with a friend for their opening night to try these burgers. I am a huge fan of the Dirty Burger at Campagnolo Upstairs, which was originally create by Robert Belcham. When I heard Robert was starting up Monarch Burger, I had to see if the burgers held up to it’s name. They have a happy hour special where you can get a beer and burger for only $12 during 5 – 7pm.

Interior

The space is huge and there are 150 seats in The American. There’s a live DJ, pool tables, foosball, skeeball, and other arcade games. This is the ultimate place to hang out with your friends over some drinks…and now some burgers too.

The mid part of the restaurant has long tables to fit a lot of people. One one side of the restaurant, there is booth seating if you want to be in a more private seating area.

On the other side, there is a whole line up of pinball machines.

There are so many pinball games to play and they are $1 per play, which isn’t too bad, so make sure you bring some spare change.

Familar pinball games like Game of Thrones, Star Trek and Simpsons can be found.

Great for novices and experts. Lights. Lights. Lights.

We even saw a skeeball machine.

Monarch Burger

The menu is pretty simple. Choose your burger and put any add-ons and sides. This place has bar service, so you need to go to the bar to order your drinks and food.

Once you put in your order, they give you a number. Once it’s ready, they will bring out all the food.

Gotta add some drinks to the mix. We went with something lighter instead of cocktails, so we had beer and cider.

Cheeseburger

We got the cheeseburger and it comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles and their secret special sauce. Their beef is sourced from local farmers who pasture raise and tend their animals with care. They then age  the beef for 45 days, grind it fresh daily and hand form every burger. It came to the table very greasy and the cheese was just everywhere. This was definitely a messy burger to eat. The patty was more cooked compared to the Dirty Burger at Campagnolo Upstairs. It was a solid burger but it still doesn’t out do Campagnolo Upstairs.

Double Cheeseburger

Go big or go home. We got the double cheeseburger with an egg and bacon. The fried egg was cooked thoroughly, so there wasn’t as much drippage. Similar with the first burger we had, it was very greasy and you needed a handful of napkins to keep somewhat clean.

Poutine

The poutine was decent but it was a bit heavy handed on the salt.

Kale Caesar Salad

This was delicious. The croutons were airy and crisp. The kale was lightly dressed and topped with parm to give it more dimension. I really enjoyed this and it pairs with the burger nicely.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the burgers could have been less greasy and heavy. I appreciate the use of good fresh ingredients, but it didn’t hit the mark this time. I still prefer Campagnolo Upstairs for their Dirty Burger. The one thing that stood out to me was the Kale Caesar Salad. I still love The American for their awesome space with all the games around the venue.

We Rate Monarch Burger: 

Address:
928 Main St, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.monarchburger.com/


The American Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Eastwood is a new restaurant on Fraser Street. They serve brunch and lunch, but we decided to come for a visit for dinner. The place got busy later in the evening with people coming here to enjoy the game, have some bites and of course beer.

Interior

As the sun goes down, the TV screen light up the space. It is a bit dim, but a lot of people were enjoying the different games playing on the screens. There was cheering whenever a favoured team would score a point. For me, I was really here for the food.

Drinks

Beer is a must to go with the pub-style food here. I got the Kronenbourg Blanc and a radler. Fruity and refreshing.

Dirty Sanchez Burger

This burger has a 6oz beef patty, Monterey Jack, Guacamole, pickled onion, pickled jalapeno, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli and a pretzel bun. It comes with a salad or fries. Since we had ordered other fries, we went with a caesar salad.

The burger had a nice kick from the jalapeno, but I felt the ration between the bun and patty were a bit off.

Fraser Fries

This is their house fries with bacon, sundried tomatoes, herbs and garlic. The fries were nicely fried and was crisp on the exterior. You can get ketchup or other aioli dips to go with it. We got ours with a garlic aioli.

Mussels Vino Blanco

It has a full pound of mussels, white wine, butter, shallots, garlic, parsley and served with grilled bread and fries. The mussels are Ocean Wise certified mussels. The broth was delicious and enjoyable to dunk the bread of fries into.

Tuna Poke

The tuna poke is made of mango salsa, avocado, ahi tuna, sesame seeds, herb chili oil and green onion on top of the tortilla chips. The delicate flavours of the poke didn’t go too well with the tortilla chips.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to finally have a pub in the area to watch the game and enjoy some beer and bites. Some items on the menu is a hit and miss, but there is a good selection of pub favourites that will appeal to customers.

We Rate The Eastwood

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheEastwoodVan

Address:
4245 Fraser Street, Vancouver, BC

The Eastwood Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Dubh Linn Gate is an Old Irish pub in Vancouver close on Main and Terminal. This is their second location, as their original location is in Whistler. I’ve been here a few years ago and I remember they had good food for a pub. Recently, they launch a few new items on the menu and we were invited to give this new menu a try.

The interior is quite cozy. There are long tables, booths, a bar. Even with their high ceilings, they were able create a nice vibe here. They even added a 2nd floor of seating here so you can look down and spy on people.

Beer

They have a large amount of beer on the menu from local to Irish beer. It can’t be an Irish pub without Irish beer like Guinness.

I went with Innis & Gunn from Scotland, which is an Oak aged beer. One of my favourite beers.

Brunch

Traditional Fry Up is their weekend brunch item with two eggs, house made Peameal bacon, Two Rivers banger, Oyama black pudding, roasted tomato, spuds, poached pears, house baked beans and toasted sourdough. It’s a lot of food all on one plate.

Boxty Bennies has whiskey cured steelhead, poached eggs, tomato hollandaise on top of a toasted muffin. There is also salad, grilled tomatoes and breakfast potatoes. They also have another version with peameal bacon instead of the steelhead. The bennies are good, but the poached eggs was more medium than soft.

Appetizers and Sharing

Scotch Egg is made of Guinness sausage surrounding a beautiful soft boiled egg. It is served with an piccalilli sauce.

Brussel Sprouts is roasted with bacon and then broiled with dubliner cheese and a hint of lemon.

Black Pudding Toasties has Oyama sausage on grilled sourdough with caramelized onion jam, tobacco onions, and a side of grainy mustard. It’s not a dish for everyone. Since I’m Asian, I’m pretty use to it. It has an iron taste as it is blood sausage.

Salad

Maple Kale and Chicken Salad has baby kale and roast butternut squash tossed in a maple mustard vinaigrette with beer brined chicken, dried cherries, almonds and sweet potato chips. Surprisingly, it was a pretty good salad. I loved the texture of the chips.

Burgers

The Central Burger has a 6oz St. Helens beef burger topped with pulled pork, stout BBQ sauce, Dubliner cheese, pickles, chipotle mayo, tobacco onions and lettuce. It is served with fries but can be swapped with salad or soup for a little extra. This was a really delicious burger and the fries were nice and crisp.

Veggie Burger has a house made patty topped with amber ale cheese, spicy chipotle mayo, pickled red onion tomato, sprouts, and salsa verde. A good option for vegetarians.

Main Street Meatloaf

It has a pork and beef meatloaf slow cooked and served with tobacco onions, creamy mash, mushy peas and gravy.

Lamb Shank

Slow braised lamb shank sits on top of their pearl barley risotto. It is them topped with a lamb reduction sauce.

Steak and Guinness Pie

This beautiful pie has AAA Alberta beef cooked tender in a rich Guinness gravy with spuds and carrots baked in a cast iron pan topped with a flaky golden pastry.

Dessert

The Central Sundae is made of Guinness, Bailey’s, and caramel ice cream layered with chocolate and caramel sauce topped with an Irish lace cookie, whipping cream, candied walnuts, sprinkles and a cherry.

A fun dessert to share and t’s not too heavy.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good pub experience for drinks and food. The food is on point and the decor is very nice. The prices are higher than other pubs, but look out for their daily features and they also have happy hour if you want a deal.

We Rate Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub

Address:
1601 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://vancouver.dubhlinngate.com/

Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

ajuker-inner

Ajuker Fried Chicken has been a hidden gem in Coquitlam for quite some time now. Its pretty hidden and only those who dare to walk in.

They stay open till 2am on most nights and is very popular among students in the area. I came here a lot when I was in University and I still come here once in a while for some beer and chicken.

Drinks

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The drink of choice here is beer. We usually get whatever is on special.

Complimentary Items

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When you order beer, peanuts and a spicy tofu broth arrives at the table. Usually when dining in Korean restaurants or bars, they give you a few complimentary items as “service”.

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Chicken

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Fried Chicken has the bone in and covered in their secret batter and its fried till its super crispy. It’s so good and flavourful! I consider it better than Church’s Chicken.

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Fried Chicken with Sweet Soy Sauce is the crispy pieces of fried chicken covered in a sweet soy-based sauce. If you thought the original was good, this is even better.

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Fried Chicken in sweet and spicy sauce was the original chicken tossed in their house-made sauce. This was good too but I usually don’t like chicken drenched in sauce.

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Grilled boneless chicken with cheese comes sizzling hot when it arrives at the table. It was ok, but not as good as the deep fried chicken.

Other dishes

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Buttered corn and cheese is pretty awesome as an additional item. You can’t go wrong with this dish.

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Seafood pancake is pretty meh here. I wouldn’t get it again.

Overall, the chicken is awesome here and the prices are very good. I would highly recommend this place.

We Rate Ajuker Fried Chicken35rating

Address:
101-508 Clarke Road, Coquitlam

Ajuker Fried Chicken Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

portside-1

What is there to do on a Wednesday night in the Gastown area? The Portside has a Rock, Paper , Scissors tournament every Wednesday. There is a $5 entry fee to participate but if you want to just sit in your seats and laugh your ass off, you can do that too. They also have $4 Jameson shots on special too.

I was invited and brought a few friends with me to check it out.  I’ve been here a while ago for happy hour and the atmosphere is definitely better later in the evening.

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Once we went inside, there was a seat yourself sign before you enter the pub.

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The pub looks pretty awesome with its mostly wooden look with a few taps.

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It’s like a secret underground area with food and booze.

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They serve up pub food inspired by the East Coast of Canada.

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Flight of Beer comes with a shot of Jameson on a paddle board. I didn’t know what to choose, so we asked them for 4 of their lightest beers.

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They chose for me:

  • Portside Pilsner
  • Postmark Blonde
  • Steamworks Kolsh
  • White Bark Wheat Ale

All were really good, but my favourite of the bunch was the Portside Pilsner.

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The Jameson shot at the very end is deadly. It’s an Irish Whiskey.

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Blue Buck Pale Ale by Phillips Brewing Co. was ordered by my friend. Another lighter beer.

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Alexander Keith’s Indian Pale Ale in a bottle was ordered by Little A.

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4 women cheers with all our light beers. hahaha. It was a good start to the night before the food and Rock Paper Scissors tournament began.

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Of the 4 of us, 3 of up participated. It’s $5 to enter the competition, but its pretty fun. The winner get $50 in cash, 2nd place is $10 and 3rd place is $5.

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You just fill out the sheets with your bio and they read it out loud to everyone. Everything you write on it, they will read. It was pretty hilarious hearing what people wrote. A few tame ones and a few hilariously funny ones.

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Monster Nachos ($16 +$20) has corn tortilla chips, layered with roasted jalapeno, mixed olives, local tomatoes, and green onions served with sour cream, chipotle sour cream and fresh in-house tequila salsa. It also has Chilli lime chicken, Chris Bros Pepperoni, smoked bacon, chilli and Nova Scotia Lobster.

We went all out and had all the meat on top. It also comes with a shot of Jameson.

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What we found with these nachos is that the topping to chip ratio is very good We actually wished we had more chips. The pepperoni did over power the rest of the meat since its more spicy and flavourful. The lobster was drowned out.

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Mac and Cheese was ordered. It has house made farm-house cheese and ricotta cream sauce, served with garlic bread.

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You can add things like Porter Cheddar, Smoked Bacon, or Nova Scotia Lobster.

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Mini Perogies has tiny cheddar stuffed perogies, Chris Bros. Pepperoni, sautéed onions, topped with chipotle sour cream and served with a micro salad. Tasted ok, but nothing spectacular.

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Beef Pot-Roast Sandwich has rosemary and garlic seasoned chuck Pot-roast with red wine dijonaise, tomatoes, mixed greens and Porter Cheddar, served with chips & salsa and a micro salad. The sandwich was filling, but the taste was average. Nothing very special from what I could tell.

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At 8pm, the competition began and our amazing host made the entire evening very memorable. SO funny!

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It was tournament style and best out of 5. I failed miserably and lost of my first round.

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Even if you’re not participating or lost early in the tournament, you will be thoroughly entertained for the rest of the game.

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It got busier as the night went on and I was really surprised. No one was rushing home to get to work the next day.

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Overall, I had a great time with my friends here on a Wednesday evening. If you’re looking for something to do, grab a few drinks, share a plate of nacho, and enter the rock, paper, scissors tournament. The rest of the food is pretty average, but most people come here for the drinks.

We Rate The Portside3rated

Address:
7 Alexander Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://theportsidepub.com/

The Portside Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

dubh-linn-gate-outer

Dubh Linn Gate is an Irish pub that recently opened in Vancouver close on Main and Terminal. They also have their original location in Whistler.

I was pretty excited when it opened because it’s only a few minutes from my office. This area around False Creek is definitely growing with new restaurants and breweries popping up.

dubh-linn-gate-inner2

The interior is quite cozy. There are long tables, booths, a bar. Even with their high ceilings, they were able create a nice vibe here.

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dubh-linn-gate-inner

The decor is nice and there so many little trinkets that will make you bring you back to Ireland.

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The menu is the same for lunch and dinner.

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Beermosa is on special between 3pm – 6pm for $4.75. I quite like this as its light and easy to drink.

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Also for their daily happy hour, they have the House Lager for $4.75

dubh-linn-gate-fries

Chip n Dips (Large – $7) comes with a bowl of fries and your choice of garlic mayo, sour cream and chive dip. The fries are quite addictive and to munch on, plus the dips are tasty too.

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Banger and Mash ($16.50) has Two Rivers produced custom Guinness infused pork banger, served with creamy mash, pale ale onion gravy and topped with a crispy sage leaf.

dubh-linn-gate-guiness-burger

Guinness Burger ($16.50) has 6oz St. Helen’s beef burger on a brioche bun with Guinness cheddar, roast garlic mayo, stout bbq sauce, lettuce, pickled red onions and tomato. The burger was delicious and the beef patty had a very nice flavour to it. Fries were great too.

dubh-linn-gate-pie

Steak and Guinness Pie ($16) has AAA Alberta beef cooked tender in rich Guinness gravy with spuds and carrots, baked bubbly with a flaky golden pastry top. This comes out piping hot, so make sure you don’t bite into it right away. It stay hot for a long time.

I find the drinks and food great, but the value you pay is a bit on the higher side for a pub. An entree is around $16 – $25, which is a bit much even for lunch. They don’t have any daily specials except for drinks. $14 for wings as an appetizer makes me sad.

We Rate Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub

Address:
1601 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://vancouver.dubhlinngate.com/

Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

blackfrog-outer

Black Frog Eatery is located in Gastown right by the Steam Clock. M and his coworkers came here for lunch and I tagged along. I can’t say no to trying out new places.

I’ve never noticed this place till now.

blackfrog-bar

It definitely looks like a sports bar with their big bar and all the sports scarves. Clearly I know nothing about sports. I just like to eat. I can see this would be a busy place during sports games, but since it was lunch time, there wasn’t much going on in here except a few people having lunch.

blackfrog-BLT

BLT ($10) is served with mayo on a toasted multigrain bread. I got the house salad on the side. The house salad has canned mandarin oranges, sunflower seeds with a balsamic dressing. It was alright.

blackfrog-snitzelburger

Schnitzel Burger ($12) has deep-fried pork schnitzel with dijon, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. M got fries on the side.

The food here is pretty standard for pub food. It was decent, but nothing that really stands out.

We rate Black Frog Eatery

Address:
200 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.theblackfrog.ca/

Black Frog Eatery on Urbanspoon

the-pint-outer

The Pint Public House is located on Abbott and Pender Street close to Stadium Skytrain. It’s definitely a sports bar and attracts lots of people when there are games on. The prices are fair and the portions are huge! This is one of the reason it attracts M and all his coworkers to come here for lunch often.

I received a SocialShopper voucher redeemable at The Pint Public House for Niagara nachos platter, plus one-pound of chicken wings with 40 signature sauces. $14 is a pretty good price to be paying for the voucher when you get $28 worth of food.

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Niagara Nachos are topped with jalapeños, olives, tomatoes, fajita vegetables, green onion and it’s smothered in cheese. It also comes with a gravy boat of beef chili and sour cream. Nice touch!

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It was huge! You can probably split this among 3 grown men and they would be very very full. Definitely buy this when you are with a bunch of friends! It’s worth the price and it seemed quite bottomless. The only improvement would be to have the cheese gooey and warm. It wasn’t very hot.

the-pint-wings

Their wings come with 40 different sauces that you can choose from. We chose orange ginger, one of their classic sauces. Their sauces range from mild to insanity. You can definitely have a lot of games with those wings and dare friends to try super intense flavours.

Overall, pretty good pub atmosphere and the food is pretty good for the price. Service is decent during lunch hours.

We Rate The Pint

Address:
455 Abbott St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.thepint.ca/

The Pint Public House on Urbanspoon