Presented by National Bank of Canada, our partner in Tastet’s pan-Canadian expansion, this list brings together some of our favourite addresses for happy hours in Vanocuver.
Happy hour in Vancouver has become part of the city’s rhythm. Between the end of the workday and dinner, patios and bar counters fill up with colleagues, friends and neighbours looking for a well-priced pint, a glass of wine or a classic cocktail. Many venues also run a second window late in the evening, a nod to those who keep restaurant hours.
The food matters as much as the drinks. Vancouver happy hour menus often come with snacks priced to match: oysters from the British Columbia coast, fries, wings, tacos and small plates designed to share. Along the waterfront, a happy hour can come with a view of the sunset over English Bay. Downtown and in Gastown, it can be the easiest way to discover a cocktail bar or a restaurant whose dinner menu usually calls for a reservation.
This list gathers the happy hours in Vancouver worth planning an evening around. The selection rests on the quality of what is poured and served more than on the size of the discount: a well-made cocktail at a reasonable price, local beers or BC wines by the glass. Each entry details what to order and when the offer applies.
A few tips before heading out. Happy hour times and prices change often, and some venues limit their offer to the bar or the patio, so check the current menu before you go. Most happy hours run in the late afternoon, roughly between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and late-night offers usually start after 9 p.m. For a full evening out, our list of the best bars in Vancouver picks up where happy hour leaves off.
Our Vancouver recommendations are developed in collaboration with Michelle Sproule of Scout Magazine, bringing together Tastet’s editorial approach and her deep knowledge of the local food scene.
Como Taperia
On the corner of Main Street and East 7th Avenue, ¿CóMO? Tapería takes its cue from the tapas bars of Barcelona and Madrid, right down to the display cases imported from Barcelona that hold small plates along the counter. The kitchen makes its tortilla española to order and cooks chorizo in the open kitchen, and the Bikini sandwich, layered with manchego, jamón and truffle, has a following of its own. The drinks are just as Spanish: sherry, vermut on tap, cava by the glass, Spanish beer, gins and a wine list that changes often. Happy hour is when the room feels closest to the bars that inspired it. Guests standing at the bar get a tapa with their drink, food is discounted in the dining room and on the patio, and sherry, vermut and bottles of wine come down in price. The counter fills quickly, and it is where most of the energy is.
Vancouver
Bar Corso
Narrow and candlelit, with booths built for two and a mahogany bar running along one side, Bar Corso sits in the middle of Commercial Drive’s Little Italy. The kitchen works in cicchetti and small plates, with house-made pasta and seasonal dishes; past menus have included crostini topped with cured albacore and tonnato, mafaldine with crab in chili-garlic butter, and crisp focaccia. The bar holds one of the largest amaro and grappa selections in the city, along with hard-to-find Italian wines and a much-praised Negroni, espresso version included. Discounted pours come around twice a night. The first arrives early in the evening, when crostini and a lineup of spritzes open the appetite before dinner. The second runs late, when the amari and grappa come into their own, following the Italian rhythm of one drink to start the evening and another to close it.
Vancouver
Caffè La Tana
Next door to its sister restaurant Pepino’s, Caffè La Tana is modelled on the old-world Italian alimentari, selling fresh pasta, Italian pantry staples and hand-made pasta tools. Mornings bring espresso and pastries, and lunch brings plates like Pepino’s spaghetti and meatball. In the evening, the room turns to piattini and pasta to share, with an all-Italian wine list, vermouth, amari and grappa. The aperitivo comes with a menu of its own. The cicchetti include Savio’s olives, a ricotta crostino, stuffed dates, Negroni-glazed pork belly and supplì, or a chef’s platter for those who can’t choose. They pair with a feature glass of red or white, discounted beer, a short list of spritzes and Italian-style cocktails. Late in the evening, Volpe di Notte gives night owls a second chance, with a selection of discounted dishes and bottles and new wines every week.
Vancouver
The Garden Strathcona
By day, The Garden is a café, bakery and plant shop on East Hastings, serving coffee, baked goods and bowls beside tall windows. In the evening, it becomes a wine bar, and the room suits the change: concrete block walls, exposed conduit, heavy wooden tables, banquettes, dark leather chairs and plants spilling off the shelves. The kitchen sends out small plates with Eurasian leanings, such as wild salmon and Hokkaido scallop crudo, beetroot hummus, spiced yams with sheep’s yogurt and a roast lamb sandwich, plus a charcuterie board for grazing. The wine list is sustainably sourced, with biodynamic bottles and a clear focus on women producers, and a short cocktail list covers anyone who wants something stronger. Happy hour lands as the café winds down and the wine bar picks up, an easy way to explore a list with a strong point of view.
Vancouver
Dachi Restaurant and Natural Wine
Dachi takes its name from a clipped form of tomodachi, the Japanese word for friend, and its Hastings-Sunrise corner plays that role for much of the neighbourhood. The cuisine is local, seasonal and organic, bought directly from farms, and the menu changes almost every day, although a devilled egg topped with candied anchovy has earned a permanent place. The drinks carry the house’s reputation: an award-winning selection of natural wines chosen from a wall of bottles, plus sake, ciders, craft beer and cocktails. Happy hour was set up as a thank-you to regulars and neighbours, and it plays to the bar’s strengths. A rotating wine of the day, a Negroni and draft beer are discounted, alongside a snack plate of cheese and charcuterie from Les Amis du Fromage with house-made terrines and pickles, served in the dining room, at the bar and on the patio.
Vancouver
Dear Gus Snack Bar
Cobalt-blue window frames make Dear Gus easy to spot on Quebec Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues in Mount Pleasant. The room is compact, with high ceilings, full-length windows, a few seats facing the kitchen and a handful of small tables. The European-leaning small plates rotate with the seasons; past menus have included oysters with pomegranate chili vinaigrette, anchovies with cashew ajo blanco, pil pil prawns and pork belly with a sherry glaze, along with daily cheese and charcuterie boards. The wine list is mostly Italian, with French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Austrian pours and a section of fortified wines. Aperitivo is the moment to explore that list. Glasses and half carafes come down in price, amaro and vermouth spritzes join the lineup, and bottles are discounted too, a fine reason to open something and settle in over a few plates.
Vancouver
Lucky Taco
A short walk from the beach in Kitsilano, Lucky Taco is a casual taqueria whose bar takes agave seriously. The tacos and small plates use responsibly raised meats, sustainable seafood and seasonal local produce, and the lineup runs through carnitas, barbacoa, carne asada, Baja-style fish, crispy cauliflower and chicken al pastor, with a quesabirria for dipping. Mexican and local beers share the bar with tequila and mezcal served neat or as flights, and a curbside patio adds seating outdoors. The margaritas are made with fresh-pressed juices and come in several styles, from the classic to a guava version and a spicy one, which gives happy hour plenty to work with. With tacos, beer and margaritas all part of the specials, it makes an easy late-afternoon stop on the way back from the beach.
Vancouver
The Flamingo Room
A side door next to Havana on Commercial Drive leads to The Flamingo Room, a Miami-inspired space of saturated colours and playful textures, with a raised stage for live music. The drinks lean on rum, which the bar team researched in depth before opening. Each cocktail comes with a backstory, tropical punches are poured over crushed ice, and the daiquiri appears in several playful versions. The kitchen keeps pace with a short list of shareable, Latin-inspired plates drawn from the team’s travels, including guacamole and tuna tostadas. Here, happy hour goes by the name Happy Daiquiri Hour. Daiquiris are discounted, signature cocktails and shots cost less, and the kitchen’s snacks get their own lower price, so a round of drinks can easily turn into a light meal.
Vancouver
The Stable House Bistro
Just off Granville Street on West 13th Avenue, The Stable House Bistro takes its name from the stable houses that once lined South Granville. Locals opened it as a meeting place for good food and wine, and the room still feels that way, with an oak bar under an antique tin ceiling, a dining area for larger groups and a street-side patio in summer. The cuisine nods to classic European bistros, with signature cheese and charcuterie boards, pâtés and terrines, and small plates made to go with wine. The list highlights British Columbia alongside Old World bottles, with plenty poured by the glass. South Granville sits outside downtown and is easy to reach from it, and the neighbourhood character is part of the appeal. Happy hour draws on a limited bar menu that suits the bistro’s way of eating: a board, a glass and a seat at the bar.
Vancouver
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Photography by @dachivancouver
