The seven years since my last review has really changed this place, and yet still I frequent it. My surprise originates since the bar itself is nearly a hundred years old, but with recent developments in the Downtown Eastside, and a surprising amount of failing businesses and restaurants on this end of Hastings, the owners have stepped up and really accommodated the need for a good restaurant, pub, and venue. What’s even more surprising is that despite some strategic pricing above the dive bar standard, they haven’t really alienated the community from enjoying some drinks and food. The kitchen menu is a simple 3 page fold out. There’s about 20 items, most of which are variants of the standard pub fare. The portions are decent, the food is well plated, tastes pretty immaculate. The real winner here is accompanying house made brews, their rotating speciality tap selection, and the daily programming including free jazz and blues performances through out the week. I recently saw a band performing standards from Sun Ra and it was excellent of Pats Pub to host them. Expect a different crowd on weekend nights with lots of local punk and rock acts. The rockabilly crowd moved to the Fairview Pub. Also, a secret, the floor in here still bounces!
Sean B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vancouver, Canada
I hear if you buy the door girl Adam(works weekends) a beer he will give you a massage! This is something that will keep me coming back! Ps best fries and great stop on a pub crawl.
Tova H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Vancouver, Canada
This place is the best spot on Wednesday nights. My friends and I dance blues there sometimes and Steve Kozac and his band are so much fun, not too loud and the tunes are all lively and easy to have a great time to. I love all the older people who come there and dance as well, they are so cool and sweet and just the coolest! The food is always as expected, just enough grotty to be bar food, but never grotty enough to make you feel ill. I’ve had their cod bites, chicken fingers and fries, the artichoke and spinach dip and nachos. They’re all pretty good. It can be hard to flag down a waitress sometimes, and there are certain staff members who seem to get lost in the maze of that place and take longer to bus your table or deliver your food. Who knows, the place is so much fun we never really complain. Just saying if you want to go for dinner, it’s a bar, so don’t expect much. The music and the vibe are what make this place special. It’s in an odd part of the city too, so don’t be surprised if you see a whole whack of strung out crazies when you leave the place at night.
Jeff R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Great food and good music! Menu has typical pub food– spots, burgers, sandwiches, and traditional pub dishes. I had a burger with jalapeño jack cheese and bacon… Excellent flavour and great service. Pulled pork sandwich also a great choice. Only thing detracting from experience is the neighbourhood, but otherwise great place for lunch. Live jazz on weekends…
Jerry Y.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Fun character dive with live music + East Hastings flavour. Burgers & perogies are good, pasta is subpar, salad is surprisingly decent. Service is what one would expect for a place looks like this, is located where it is, and features rock-bottom pricing: so be patient, expect little or serve yourself when possible, and have a good, cheap time. Pro tip: most Wednesdays you’ll find Blues dancers rocking the vintage dance floor to house band Steve Kozak & co. Entertainment Book 2015 coupon gets you two for one entrée up to $ 9 off.
Tessa B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
You know, I honestly don’t think I have any real complaints about Pat’s. This is one of the places in Vancouver that I visit the most. While that may be due to it’s proximity to my house and work, I don’t think I’m such a glutton for punishment that I’d keep going back if it weren’t genuinely good. This place is huge, so it’s great for anything from partying with a huge group, or bunkering down in a corner to study. This is some of *the* most affordable pub food in this entire damn city, and it’s actually not garbage food. It’s GOOD food. A burger and fries for $ 8? Yes please. They have a lot of non-traditional pub food, too, such as hummus and falafel. As for drinks, they have a pretty good beer selection, too, and even brew their own. They mix a mighty-fine cocktail, as well! The adorable little pixie in black makes a Caesar good enough to write home about. As for the service, I’m usually there during the day when aforementioned pixie server is working and she’s always on point and lovely. In conclusion, Pat’s is an unassuming, comfortable, affordable place that you might fear because of the ‘hood, but it’s legit.
Steve V.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I’ve lived in Vancouver my whole life so thought I would have heard if there was a century old venue still in existence that is woven into the very DNA of jazz itself. The Patricia hotel, to me, is somewhere I steered clear of most of my life. I just never gave it a second look and assumed it was a place you just didn’t want to end up. As it turns out, it is the hub of a scene,. or many scenes, of music, and the venue itself is neither grody, nor a place to avoid. Inside it is more 70s than turn of the century, but not«old»,. more like retro reno and clean, with nice bathrooms and all! The food was decent too and they brew beer on premises that I really liked. The burgers are not frozen and my friend’s pulled pork poutine looked amazing. The night we went was the«early seating for music on Saturday which is 3pm-7pm for jazz and there was a hardcore audience there(multi-generational), The host was a true enthusiast of jazz and also helped deliver the food,. I felt that added to it and would go back to this great new find. I’m going to add this venue to my weekly scan of what is going on around town.
Shona E.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vancouver, Canada
We have mostly gone on Thursdays… always a wonderful time… folks of all ages… fabulous Band, lots of dancing, great food and friendly staff!!! A great hang out!
Sue J.
Rating des Ortes: 4 North Vancouver, Canada
Loosen up Hipsters. Pat’s Pub is a great venue for music. Friendly staff, decent food. The area is what it is. I go there by myself(female from North Shore) and have a blast. Common sense and respect goes a long way wherever you are.
Kasey B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Vancouver, Canada
Ended up here over lunch one day, when the place we were heading to wasn’t opened. Thankfully, Pat’s Pub was just around the corner. It’s a dark and dingy-type place, but the staff are friendly(though our large order made for some bill complications). They have a $ 10 beer & burger special, so that’s pretty sweet. I got the beef dip, which wasn’t bad — better than expected. Not amazing, but not too bad. The fries were tasty. The World Cup was on lots of screens, and checked off the boxes for a fun lunch break.
Mark G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Biddeford, ME
I was in Vancouver for a business trip and we went here on Saturday for a few drinks and a quick bite I must say I was amazed they had fries made from yams and they also had Live jazz music it was by far on of my best nights in Vancouver!
Jimmy C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
This place is awesome, great service and beers. Very honky Tonk friendly vibe and you leave gunned.
Thomas G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Beaverton, OR
Pleasantly surprised. It was next door to our hotel, which was cheap and located in a pretty seedy area of the city. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting much at all, but we had just ran a marathon and we weren’t about to walk anywhere else. I opened the door and braced for the worst. Wow, not what I was expecting. A huge dining area and the place was well decorated and clean. Felt right at home. They had an array of local beers on tap(my favorite) and the burgers were delicious. Service was friendly and prompt and prices were more than reasonable. Pat’s definitely surprised me in a good way and I’ve love to go back next time I am in Vancouver.
Britz B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vancouver, Canada
Pats pub can offer that rare mix of unpretentious yet sophisticated entertainment. If you wisely decide to avail yourself of their free jazz offerings(now on Friday evenings in addition to Saturday afternoon) you’re in for possibly the best free music offering Vancouver has to offer. I personally choose the dates I attend based on what I know to be my cup of tea, so I can’t speak for any given concert you might attend there but I can definitely say that on average the quality of performance is very high. I can’t say I know the menu extensively as I’ve only ordered food once but it was fine, and others seem to like the pulled pork poutine(not my idea of a good time). Beer selection is surprisingly good as well. Anyways the main point of this review is that the food and drink is just icing on cake that is the incredible music performances. All of this in addition to the self-righteousness you’ll be entitled to for supporting local music. Do it!!!
Jeff M.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Bellingham, WA
I came to Pat’s based on the reviews I read here on Unilocal*They weren’t all good, but they weren’t horrible, either. The concerns raised(personal safety in this particular neighborhood) didn’t seem insurmountable, to me. I checked out the web site, too and found that there was a Jazz Quartet performing close to the time we wanted to visit, so we made sure we got there in time for some good local, live jazz. We arrived and Pat’s was packed, lots and lots of people clearly there for the music, but not necessarily for food or drink. We got seats and waited patiently for table service. When it didn’t come, I went to the bar to get a couple of beers. I paid with a credit card, no problem. When I got back to the table, the waitress still hadn’t visited our table and soon visited the table next to us(who got seated after us) and then she walked right past us to the table on the other side. I tried to flag her down and was actually given some crap by one of the tables near us, like I was being a difficult or too sensitive customer. So we waited some more, she came and went, once, twice, three times before we finally caught her. She took our order and, as she left, said, «it’s cash and carry, no credit cards». Since I had just paid with a credit card for our beers, I wasn’t quite sure. She brought our 2nd beers and asked for payment. Here is where things get weird. The waitress(the only one) is apparently an independent contractor. She takes the orders, then puts them into the kitchen, then she«buys» the food from the kitchen and sells it to us. She then collects payment from us, cash only! Things didn’t go well, she handled it poorly, we simply didn’t have cash(I rarely travel to Vancouver with cash). I think its’ pretty absurd that I was able to use my CC to buy beer but then I couldn’t buy food in the same establishment. She said«who travels without cash???» In any event, we worked it out. We ordered a vegetable appetizer(simple raw veggies with dip) was perfect, a nice selection of fresh vegetables. We also ordered Fish and chips which was a single piece of Haddock(well prepared and pretty tasty) with fries. The fries were pretty crispy, too much so for my fellow diner. The beer(the in-house brew) Pat’s Classic Lager was a little weird. I can’t say why(I am not a huge beer connoisseur) but it wasn’t the best. Just saying’ I really wanted to like Pat’s Pub. I wish it had worked out better.
Danielle B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Came for a beer tasting(fab!!!) and was also wowed by the homemade shepherd’s pie. I have to admit that as I crossed the parking lot to the entrance, I genuinely debated whether to just turn around and leave and pretend I never was there … But I’m sure glad I decided to keep walking! I had the shepherd’s pie, which was house-made and delicious, came drenched in a luscious dark and savoury gravy, and perfectly complemented the darker beers in the tasting flight. The décor is pretty standard for a pub around here, and you’d never guess the neighborhood once you’re inside. I highly recommend, if you can get past the surrounding area(literally!). P. S. it’s only 2 blocks off Main St, so I’m including it on my Main Squeeze list
Carly B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I was super pumped to discover that Pat’s has wicked awesome food. Pub food yes, but still tasty and relatively cheapish. I usually alternate between the perogies and lasagna, but their burger and veggie burger are great choices too. I like that Pat’s is never crowded(well except when there’s a show) and that they’re always showing games(hockey, football, soccer — whatever) on their TVs. The staff are friendly and helpful. The only complaint that keeps this from being a 5 star is the lack of vegan options. A large portion of my friend circle is vegan and they can’t eat here. The veggie burger has dairy in it :(
Gary M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Honolulu, HI
dive bar redux, done well. We came in here after Dan J’s show and it felt like walkin’ into my dad’s home bar circa 1989 complete with organ that had violin sounds in it. Server was a doll with a kick ass heart tattoo in the middle of her something or other chakra. tres trill. great spot for a live band or a quick drink. g
Joel B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 North Vancouver, Canada
One of the last remaining places of awesome in metro Vancouver. Cheap craft home brew lager(delicious by the way), dirty punk rock bands, classic pub fair and tons of high fives. lets keep this place alive as its the last remaining dives in town due to its location.
Emily-Anne P.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Edmonton, Canada
Cheap beer: Five Points. Karaōke: Five Points. All in all I have to say I have few complaints about this place. It’s a hole in the wall dive bar downtown so that has to be said up front. The staff are kinda grumpy and the patrons are strange(especially the regular karaokers) but all in all it’s great and a Vancouver must see.