At the Northern-most end of Mt. Pleasant, The Whip is a fun, neighbourhood pub, that is one of the most popular hangouts in the city.
I've wanted to write up The Whip for a while now. My problem was that it tends to be packed. People love it, and it fills up fast. This is a good thing. My friends tend not to be the most prompt people in the known universe. It makes getting a bunch of us into a popular bar difficult. We took advantage of the pre-Christmas lull, and went a few days before the big holiday. I would have gotten this up sooner but... Christmas.
I really dig this place. It's a long, low, two level room that is actually fairly spacious, but manages to feel cozy. It's in an old building; lots of exposed wood. This probably contributes to that feeling of coziness. I've said before that a good pub should be one in which you feel instantly comfortable, and this place has that quality in spades. Something about bars in old brick buildings...
Food's really good. Standard pub fare. A little more expensive than I'd like, but they're trying to turn a profit in Mr. Pleasant, what are you gonna do? Everything on the menu seems strategically designed to go well with a cold pint. They also do a weekend brunch. I haven't been for that, though, so I can't tell you if it'd go well with beer.
Speaking of beer. They've got a healthy list of local microbrews. No major national or international producers. (For those not yet in the know, that's a good thing, nationwide mega-breweries tend to produce terrible beer). They rotate the whole list every few months, and one of the taps rotates much more frequently than that. They also do a cask Sunday (cask ale is an absolute treat). This was a bigger deal a few years ago when cask ale was hard to get your hands on in this city. It's still rarer than it should be though, so I'll encourage any place that's trying to sell it.
Final word: The Whip is an awesome place, and a Vancouver treasure.
The Whip Restaurant & Gallery
Showing posts with label Mt. Pleasant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mt. Pleasant. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
The Hideaway (Narrow Lounge)
I debated for some time whether or not I should include this in a full review of the Narrow itself, but since I haven't actually been to the Narrow proper in about six months, and they're so very different, I thought they each deserved their own entry. What on Earth am I talking about? Hideaway is the Narrow Lounge's patio.
Now, I say patio, but that doesn't really do it justice. In a non-descript alley off Main Street, you will very suddenly come across a small tiki-bar. It's open air, but surrounded by foliage, bamboo roofs, and a couple of fairly creepy tiki idols. It's only open for the summer, and one of Vancouver's best kept tropical secrets. It's absolutely tiny, I doubt you could get more than 30 people in there squished all together. However, I've been there a couple of times and never had trouble getting space. While owned, operated, and run by the Narrow, the only thing the two places share is a kitchen and a bathroom. Both bars (and I'm treating them as separate bars) have totally different atmospheres.
I normally am a total beer head, but this place is all about the rum. True to the Caribbean theme, rum is in just about everything. Everyone gets a craving for a fruity drink once in a while (particularly when it's hot. A mojito with chunks of watermelon in it? Delish! All sorts of tasty rum drinks, and bottles, (or buckets of bottles) for those of you who just need a beer. The bartender was even selling rum he infused himself, I can't tell you how awesome it was. Unfortunately whether he and his rum are there on any given evening is a bit of a crap shoot.
Food is good. Nothing to rave about, nothing to shoot down. I'd say eat first, and have some of their bar food as a snack. I give them credit for not being beholden to a typical pub menu. Tortilla Soup, and their bowl of cookies seem quite popular. I also appreciate the machiavellian genius of selling popcorn. Once you smell fresh popcorn, you just have to eat something.
The Hideaway is an awesome place, and definitely worth checking out. My only regret is not reviewing it earlier in the summer. As the season winds down, it'll only be open for another month or so this year.
The Hideaway
Now, I say patio, but that doesn't really do it justice. In a non-descript alley off Main Street, you will very suddenly come across a small tiki-bar. It's open air, but surrounded by foliage, bamboo roofs, and a couple of fairly creepy tiki idols. It's only open for the summer, and one of Vancouver's best kept tropical secrets. It's absolutely tiny, I doubt you could get more than 30 people in there squished all together. However, I've been there a couple of times and never had trouble getting space. While owned, operated, and run by the Narrow, the only thing the two places share is a kitchen and a bathroom. Both bars (and I'm treating them as separate bars) have totally different atmospheres.
I normally am a total beer head, but this place is all about the rum. True to the Caribbean theme, rum is in just about everything. Everyone gets a craving for a fruity drink once in a while (particularly when it's hot. A mojito with chunks of watermelon in it? Delish! All sorts of tasty rum drinks, and bottles, (or buckets of bottles) for those of you who just need a beer. The bartender was even selling rum he infused himself, I can't tell you how awesome it was. Unfortunately whether he and his rum are there on any given evening is a bit of a crap shoot.
Food is good. Nothing to rave about, nothing to shoot down. I'd say eat first, and have some of their bar food as a snack. I give them credit for not being beholden to a typical pub menu. Tortilla Soup, and their bowl of cookies seem quite popular. I also appreciate the machiavellian genius of selling popcorn. Once you smell fresh popcorn, you just have to eat something.
The Hideaway is an awesome place, and definitely worth checking out. My only regret is not reviewing it earlier in the summer. As the season winds down, it'll only be open for another month or so this year.
The Hideaway
Monday, 2 July 2012
The Cascade Room
At first I wasn't sure if I should include this place. I'm not really sure if it qualifies as a pub. However, it was then brought to my attention that according to City of Vancouver bureaucracy, there is no such thing as a pub within city limits. Canada's liquor laws are ancient and baffling at the best of times, and British Columbia's manage to be even more so. As such, I'm now defining any establishment where the primary source of entertainment is chatting, and where you can drink, (but not necessarily eat), as a pub. Qualifiers subject to my own discretion, blah, blah, blah. Now that we've got that out of the way, The Cascade Room.
My first impressions were of a deceptively small space. From the outside, it appears tiny, but it spreads out into the back, and is absolutely huge! It was quite busy, but we didn't have any trouble getting a table on a Friday night. The decor is... different. The walls are covered in shiny, patterned wallpaper that was disconcerting to say the least. However, I've yet to figure out how to drink wallpaper, so I try never to judge a place on its aesthetics.
The food is very good. It's a bit more expensive than I typically go for when I'm looking for a quiet night out with my friends, but it's Vancouver in the 21st century. I need to learn to suck it up. Besides, concerns about price tend to melt away when your response to the meal is "daymn!" I also really appreciated the fact that all the burgers come with both fries and salad; this eliminates the agony of choice (though who are we kidding? The salad never won).
Cascade has a healthy and respectable beer list. They also pour proper pints, (sadly a rarity in this town). The Main Street Pilsner is a co-production of the bar's owner, and of the owner of the nearby Portland Craft. It's nice, and crisp, and a definite summer beer. It'll be a go-to drink if summer ever actually starts this year. Otherwise, plenty of choice in the drinks department, and some really bizarre looking cocktails. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to cocktails, bizarre is a good thing.
Shortly after our evening here, I discovered they had been written up in a recent Georgia Straight (the real media is always one step ahead of me). Apparently, starting next year the managements of Cascade Room, and Portland Craft are going to take their co-brewing a step further and open a local brewery. I'm always excited when a new microbrewery opens up, and local pubs selling their own brew is always a good thing. I'll review Cascade again when the brewery opens. Until then, it's a nice place. Go check it out.
The Cascade Room
My first impressions were of a deceptively small space. From the outside, it appears tiny, but it spreads out into the back, and is absolutely huge! It was quite busy, but we didn't have any trouble getting a table on a Friday night. The decor is... different. The walls are covered in shiny, patterned wallpaper that was disconcerting to say the least. However, I've yet to figure out how to drink wallpaper, so I try never to judge a place on its aesthetics.
The food is very good. It's a bit more expensive than I typically go for when I'm looking for a quiet night out with my friends, but it's Vancouver in the 21st century. I need to learn to suck it up. Besides, concerns about price tend to melt away when your response to the meal is "daymn!" I also really appreciated the fact that all the burgers come with both fries and salad; this eliminates the agony of choice (though who are we kidding? The salad never won).
Cascade has a healthy and respectable beer list. They also pour proper pints, (sadly a rarity in this town). The Main Street Pilsner is a co-production of the bar's owner, and of the owner of the nearby Portland Craft. It's nice, and crisp, and a definite summer beer. It'll be a go-to drink if summer ever actually starts this year. Otherwise, plenty of choice in the drinks department, and some really bizarre looking cocktails. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to cocktails, bizarre is a good thing.
Shortly after our evening here, I discovered they had been written up in a recent Georgia Straight (the real media is always one step ahead of me). Apparently, starting next year the managements of Cascade Room, and Portland Craft are going to take their co-brewing a step further and open a local brewery. I'm always excited when a new microbrewery opens up, and local pubs selling their own brew is always a good thing. I'll review Cascade again when the brewery opens. Until then, it's a nice place. Go check it out.
The Cascade Room
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