Bars & Pubs
A small bar off the casino floor at River Rock, open from late afternoon until close. Asian-influenced small plates, mostly BC wine, craft beer on tap and a cocktail list make it the quieter place to sit in a very busy building.
Quiet is the scarce commodity inside a casino complex, and knowing where to find it is most of the value here. River Rock is a big, loud building, and not every room in it runs at the same volume. A small bar off the main floor counts as a genuine service in a place that size.
Richmond's drinking culture is shaped by its food, and the bars that fit the city best treat small plates as the main event rather than an afterthought. That is a different proposition from a standard hotel lounge, where the food exists to keep people ordering drinks. The distinction is worth understanding before deciding where in the building to sit.
Bridgeport is the part of Richmond most visitors see first and understand least. It is warehouses, big-box retail, hotels and the casino complex, sitting between the Knight Street and Oak Street bridges with a Canada Line station in the middle of it. Almost nobody lives here.
That geography makes Privé Bar somewhere you end up rather than somewhere you walk to. You come after a show in the theatre upstairs, before a flight out of the airport, or at the end of an evening when everything closer to home has already shut. The station is directly outside, which solves the obvious problem with drinking anywhere in this city, and it is the single best reason to choose this building over somewhere nearer your own neighborhood.
In the Bridgeport neighbourhood of Richmond.
Get directions (opens in a new tab)Keep exploring
Other bars and pubs and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
A waterfront bar and grill beside Milltown Marina with three patios: one facing the North Shore mountains, another looking out at the Fraser and the airport's main runway. Pub food, Sunday prime rib and a genuinely rare view.
View details
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.
View details
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.
View details
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.
View details
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.
View details
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.
View details
From the blog
Longer reads from the editor, with the places worth a detour linked inside them.
The Night Market's final season is the loud story. The quieter one: free admission at the Cannery ends Monday, Britannia keeps summer hours through Sunday, and Steveston does sunsets better than anyone.
Read the guide
Nothing on Alexandra Road is a secret. It is just in a strip mall with bad signage and no patio, which is why visitors never find it. Here is how I actually use Richmond's plazas and food courts, which specialists are worth the drive, and when not to bother.
Read the guide
The West Dyke Trail is about five and a half kilometres of flat gravel between Terra Nova Rural Park and Garry Point, and I ride it most mornings. Here is what is actually at the north end, which way to walk so the wind is on your side, and why winter is the better season for it.
Read the guide
Keep the directory honest
Own Privé Bar?
Claim the listing to confirm your details, add your hours and photographs, and keep what people find accurate.