Bars & Pubs
A whisky lounge inside Club Versante with a large by-the-glass list and izakaya-style plates off a robata grill. There is a glassed-in vault dining room, live entertainment several nights a week, and two small private rooms. Dressier than a pub.
Smoke, salt, fat and a bit of char are what whisky and charcoal cooking have in common, which makes pairing a by-the-glass list with robata grilling a better idea than it sounds on paper. Tokyo has done it for decades. Metro Vancouver attempts it rarely, and a room built around the combination becomes a destination for that reason alone.
West Cambie sits north of Cambie Road between No. 3 and No. 4, a mix of newer residential blocks, business park buildings and hotels. It has none of the restaurant density of the Golden Village a few minutes south, which cuts both ways. There is nothing to wander into out here, and equally nothing competing for the kerb when you arrive.
This one sits inside a larger private club, so entry conditions are worth clarifying before a group drives over, and the whole thing reads as an evening out rather than a quick pint. Richmond has hundreds of places to eat well and a much shorter list of places to sit and drink properly, largely because so much of the dining here is family-oriented and food-first. Rooms organized around a serious spirits list are rare enough that people cross the city for one.
The geography suits a destination rather than a drop-in. Anyone staying in the airport and Bridgeport hotel cluster is a short drive away, and the Golden Village is close enough to combine with dinner first. The neighborhood goes quiet once the business park empties, which makes the trip out feel deliberate. That is the correct frame for the visit.
In the West Cambie neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other bars and pubs and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
The restaurant and lounge at the Radisson on Cambie Road, serving West Coast plates and casual Italian. The lounge side is the useful part: a quiet place for a drink near YVR, with parking and hours running from breakfast to late evening.
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A restaurant and bar on Minoru Boulevard serving Pacific Northwest cooking from breakfast through dinner, with cocktails, BC wine and local beer. Live music on Thursdays and free parking. Handy to Richmond Centre, Minoru Park and the hospital.
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A Westminster Highway bar and grill named after a regular who has eaten there daily for over thirty-five years. Big local wine, craft beer and spirits list, screens throughout and a patio. Opens early for takeout and runs through the evening.
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A Cambie Road beer bar and grill carrying the long-standing Vancouver name, with a wide international bottle list alongside the taps. Burgers, wings and pub plates, screens for the game, and easy parking. Convenient to the Bridgeport hotels.
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A casual bar and brunch room in the Executive Hotel on Alderbridge Way. Oysters, tavern burgers and smoked salmon, plus a well-priced happy hour with mimosas and fried chicken sliders. Airport and hotel traffic keeps the hours long.
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