Speakeasies of yesteryear were all about not being seen—but Vancouver has turned the trope on its head with an abundance of not-so-secret bars with passcodes, hidden entrances and fun themes. Like Gastown’s tarot-themed Arcana Spirit Lounge (238 Abbott St.), where you can have your palms read while sipping a Fallen Angel (it’s bourbon-based and arrives in a faux Bible).
Or Chinatown’s Indian train car-inspired Bagheera (518 Main St.), where you enter through a faux bookie’s office (don’t forget the password) before you can order a cocktail or a plate of pitch-perfect pakoras.
We’re also fans of 1920s Shanghai- inspired Laowai (251 E Georgia St.), which is hidden behind a functional dumpling shop (don’t sleep on that, either), and is where you receive a tome of a menu in which each cocktail is more enticing than the last (we recommend the Purple Butterfly: it contains buttered popcorn syrup).
We can’t forget Main Street’s Key Party (2305 Main St.), where drinks are adventurous (like the Blood Hound, which includes beet, mezcal and a smoke bubble) and party-worthy (like the Kir Royale Jello shot), or its precursor, the one to start it all: the Narrow (1898 Main St.). The dimly lit, easy-to-miss spot has been a go-to for bargoers looking for a place with both an ice-cold PBR and a perfect Paper Plane for years.
