Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
able by the glass. From your communal table perch, peruse the giant blackboard of
house-cured meats and regional cheeses, then go for a $16 tasting plate of three, served
with piquant condiments including Brit-style piccalilli.
You can also extend the tasting approach to your wine: a three-glass flight is $15.
And if you're a real grape aficionado, ask about the wine-tasting dinners staged regu-
larly in the bottle-lined cellar: you'll think you're at a special event in an old-school
European winery.
IRISH HEATHER
PUB
(
www.irishheather.com
;
210 Carrall St; 11:30am-midnight Mon-Thu & Sun, to 2am Fri & Sat;
4)
Belying the clichés about expat Irish bars (except for its reclaimed Guinness barrel
floor), the Heather is one of Vancouver's best gastropubs. Alongside lovingly prepared
sausage and mash, and steak and ale pie, you'll find top craft beers and some well-
poured Guinness. Best time to come? The Sunday to Wednesday Long Table nights,
which run for most of the year but usually take a break in summer. Dinner and a pint is
around $18.
Whiskey fans will also be gobsmacked by the array of tipples in the back room
She-
been
bar. It's the kind of place where you could hunker for hours and still be there a
week later, as merry as a giddy kipper.
BITTER TASTING ROOM
BAR
(
www.bittertastingroom.com
;
16 W Hastings St; 5pm-midnight; 14)
Described by its
owner as a taproom with not many taps (there are eight), this small, brick-walled bar
has an impressive beer selection, mostly of the bottled variety. The drafts are usually
excellent BC beers from the likes of Crannog or Howe Sound Brewing, while bottles
roam from Belgium to California and beyond. Foodwise, it's gourmet pub snacks such
as pretzels and Scotch eggs.
If you fancy trying a few brews, ask the server about the weekly changing tasting-
flight offer. And take time to check out the grainy large-format black-and-white photos
of the area on the walls: they recall a time when this was the center of the city, bustling
with shops and businesses, and hatted locals.
BLACK FROG
PUB
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