- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Cambie Bar & Grill
Categories: Nightlife Bars Pubs Nightlife Bars Dive Bars Arts & Entertainment Music Venues Nightlife Music Venues Pubs, Dive Bars, Music Venues
300 Cambie StVancouver, BC V6B 2N3
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Gastown
(604) 684-6466
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 1 am
Fri-Sat 11 am - 2 am
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
70 reviews for Cambie Bar & Grill
Review Highlights
"I do always remember having a good time."
(in 9 reviews)
"What can I say, The Cambie is the ultimate watering hole."
(in 4 reviews)
"hostel pub is the best way to start a Gastown bar crawl..."
(in 16 reviews)
Loading...
70 reviews in English
-
Review from gretchen c.
Vancouver, BC
11/8/2011 3 Check-ins Here
best pub-food ever (the onion rings are to die for) and probably some of the cheapest drinks you will find on a regular basis in the city.
the crowd is an interesting one... you'll have just the widest variety of people coming to the cambie - best place to people-watch for sure.
the music is random (and awesome) as well. it comes from a jukebox so anyone can go play a song, but some choices do get vetoed randomly from time to time, so make sure your song choice is "cambie appropriate", whatever that means because the entire bar is so random to begin with.
be sure to come early though because this place gets PACKED after a certain time and a long line actually forms outside the door. i don't know if i'd ever line up for the cambie, but i always have a great night when i come here with a bunch of friends to hang out over cheap drinks. -
Review from Edward L.
Came by to chill and try some food.
Their usual in-house Cambie Lager (or as I call it, Cambie Ghetto-Lager) is always great for getting yourself messed up on the cheap.
I also had a "Swiss and Mushroom" burger. It contained.. (wait for it..) Swiss cheese and mushrooms. Yay! This burger is actually quite decent. They didn't skimp on the toppings, and the mushrooms were fused to the cheese. Oooh yes. The fries were decent but could be crispier. I also like how the dish came with a large cup of ketchup, and a smaller cup of mustard. Lets you control how much you put in your burger. Also lets me eat my fries with mustard. Mmm..
My only complaint was that it took over 20 minutes to get my burger. I had to check with the waitress to make sure she didn't forget my order. Also during the visit, some security guy came and told my friend he HAD to check in his bag. This is after we'd been here for over 30 minutes already. That was a bit strange. I wasn't sure if it was someone trying to steal my friend's bag. In any case, my friend said No.
Always a good time.Listed in: Drinking Places
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
12/27/2011
Came back to try their $8.95 Burger + Brew. The burger isn't bad, but.. it doesn't come with fries?… Read more »
-
-
Review from Amir K.
Vancouver, BC
2/8/2012
This is a great Pub to go to if you are one of the drug peddling cockroaches that sells drugs out the side of this ghetto junkie haven. It seems that the staff is even in on it and cares more for the drug deals than the patron business. Watch bouncers suck up to their drug peddling overlords, if you want to buy drugs just stand in the line up on the side where you can be served up with the rest of the junkies.
If you thought this place runs like a business where they appreciate your money you thought wrong, these people seem more like they want you to leave than want your money, talk about hostile in a bad way :)
Food's alright if your waitress can remember your order, it better not be too confusing because she is most likely high on the supply sold on the side.
Bottom line this place is a no go and should more likely be busted by the police as a drug den than be thought of as welcoming to patrons who want to enjoy a night at the bar. Best advice is to go to the Blarney Stone or Chill Winston where the staff and cliental is less junkie ghetto downers. -
Review from Esther G.
Vancouver, BC
2/5/2012
I'm new to Vancouver, so I'm still exploring restaurants/bars/pubs. The Cambie was the first spot where a bouncer checked our IDs. Not a big deal.
It's a huge place. I'm not sure why one half of the bar is fenced off low, but that's where we managed to find a table on an extremely busy Thursday night. Huge crowds and parties of people, but the bar wasn't busy. We were able to order our drinks immediately.
We ordered three different pitchers (or jugs) of beer that ranged from $10-$13.50, which I thought were very reasonable.
We all come back with our drinks and glasses and take our seat on the picnic-table-like seats. And then my friend realizes her jacket is gone.
In the NO MORE THAN five minutes that we were gone TEN FEET to the bar, her jacket was swiped. Not sure if it was intentional, as we ALL had our coats there, but still. Not cool, and definitely put us (well, at least me. She handled it extremely well) in a sour mood for the rest of the night.
The music was obnoxiously loud -- remixes of '90s rap. We were sitting right by the electric jukebox, and some poor guy for whatever reason was trying to play his music. I was sitting right next to it and could barely hear it.
It's definitely a good people-watching place. But I recommended having a drink or two before taking in your drunken surroundings at all the obnoxious/loud mostly hipster guys around you who look like they just turned 19.
Definitely way more guys than girls here, too. -
Review from Robin M.
12/20/2011
What. a. shithole.
Cambie's always been a pretty decent dive with a mostly okay patio, ridiculously cheap drinks, tables that are so run-down that patrons are expected to trash them (you know, just a little bit), beer that'll make you sick, and bathrooms that are so effing fowl that you're forced to join the rats in the alley to take care of business (for real, the worst urine-stench-encrusted pit of despair excuse for a toilet in all of Vancouver).
What once was an optional divey spot to get nice and drunk in, Cambie is now on my do not enter list. The cover on the weekends (for real, WHY?) has always been there, but the wank-stain bouncers along with the backwards-hat-wearing frat-boy crowd AND the egotistical staff situation is enough to make me never want to go back. BUT, they did fix the bathroom issue, though I can't decide whether that's truly a good thing or not.
A good place if you're into cheap Kokanee that's almost guaranteed to make you puke and bland pub food that won't cost you more than an average person's hourly wage, Cambie hovers somewhere between SO bad and tolerable. Usually though: SO bad.Listed in: Which town? Gastown., Goings On and Going Out, Nope, Not Again
-
Review from Melissa E.
Vancouver, BC
12/20/2011
Well at least you know what you're getting into when you walk in.
Last time I was at the Cambie was about 15 years ago. Yes, I realize that ages me. I'm cool with it. I thought it was hilarious that I pointed this fact out to one of my friends (i.e., that last time I had stepped foot in said establishment he was 9 years old... awwwwwww! He's precious.)
Anyhoo, we had just left a slightly classier establishment up the street that promised yummy beer and sausage but did not quite deliver so we just needed a quick fix. The Cambie it is!!!
We got a table right away, sat back and enjoyed the parade of delusion. As expected, the beer was cheap and the food mediocre. I was actually pretty horrified that large nachos were not, in fact, that large and that they cost $20!!! WTF!?!
But I guess the cost was absorbed into the "floor show" which was FREE!!!! Endless posers and annoying jocks, a table of "hard core pierced ones" behind us, some dude trying to convince us that Victoria is indeed "THE" place to surf on the west coast (uh....ok) and endless visuals left us simultaneously mystified and in awe.
All in all, it was totally worth it. Not saying I would make this my weekly watering spot, but once in awhile, when you just kinda want to get your buzz on and be glad you are you and not that poor girl puking in the toilet, The Cambie hits the spot.Listed in: Beer me!!!, Drinks anyone?
-
Review from Emily-Anne P.
Vancouver, BC
12/20/2011
I love that in the description it actually says "Dive Bar". That's good, it lives up to expectations.
I've been going to the Cambie since I've been drinking and I can't say I care much for it. It's dirty, loud and while the beer is often cheap it's often crap.
Their nachos are good, and sometimes you can find good beer. I did manage to find a White Bark on tap and had a pint of that while dressed like a slutty Santa.
They were nice enough to open up the patio so we could all stop by and "enjoy" a pint on our drunken adventure.
They've got new washrooms, which is nice.
In the end, I will go back. I always end up going back to the Cambie. -
Review from Kas D.
Vancouver, BC
11/26/2011
This place has gone downhill big-styles. The bouncers are egotistical maniacs. Seriously. I have never experienced bouncers that were less friendly and less douche-y. But I digress. I also spent about an hour in line up when the pub was seriously empty. It was 9:30. What's up with that Vancouver? Bouncers keeping patrons in huge line-ups in the freezing rain while the pub is near empty. But of course, the Cambie has a solution to said problem....pay off the bouncers with $10 to skip the line! Superb.
The drinks are cheap. But I would highly not recommend drinking their beers on tap. They taste awful and give you a raging hang over. I swear they have rusty pipes or something.
On a positive note....they finally redid their bathrooms! Cambie was infamous for possibly the worst bathrooms in the world, however, I am happy to give the new ones my stamp of approval.
It has a large capacity and can hold quite a few people. But I've certainly gone from fan to not so much. Bad bouncers, bad bartenders, bleh. -
Review from Niko D.
Vancouver, BC
1/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Its a bit of a dive....I don't understand how the floors could get that sticky and dirty in such a small period of time. The drinks aren't THAT cheap. The food isn't very good. I just don't know what to say positively..Well there was a beef dip that USED to be served here. One of the best beef dips ive had....well its no longer there..so I can't say anything positive about it...
-
Review from Luisa D.
12/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
I don't get what the attraction is with this place. I don't find the staff very friendly or the beer very good. I can't imagine why anyone would ever line up to get into this place when there are so many other dive bars with friendlier staff and puns wiht better food.
-
Review from Tod M.
Vancouver, BC
9/8/2011
If you're a beard-sporting, plaid-shirted, Pabs-drinking, Buddy-Holly-glasses-wearing hipster who wears knit caps in the summer and your washed-out skinny jeans are so tight, your muffin-top shows (and you claim you have a muffin-top to be "ironic") and enjoy sitting around with your fellow hipster buddies talking about how The Man keeps you down...
....ZOMG you will LOVE this place!
Everyone else, give it a pass.
:-/ -
Review from Last action zero P.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 10/24/2011
Wow, this place really has gone down hill. Last time I was in van I thought Id go back into the Cambie and see one of my favorite places. I went on a week day, the hockey was on so there were quite a few people in there. One of the bouncers told me it was ten bucks to come in (on a week night?), I think it was because I was wearing a suit that he thought he could get some cash out of me. I reluctantly paid for myself and my lady friend. I work in IT as a traveling consultant so I am in Vancouver occasionally but I am not based here. I met some local friends of mine at a table, the tables are now decorated nicely which was actually a good change. My friend Nico told me that they had not been charged the ten dollars cover charge. I went up to ask the bouncer what was going on and he suggested I go back to my friends before he threw me out. I asked to speak to a manager and he told me to f off and find one. I approached a waitress who pointed me in the direction of a woman manager, she had black hair.
The manager told me she would be with me in a minute than she went back to entertain some off duty staff. I used to come to the Cambie all the time when I lived in Van. Needless to say the manager didn't come over to see me and she actually had the gall to wave when we left. The bathrooms had changed, they are nicer for sure. The pool tables have been moved and there is a bit more space. I decided to give the Cambie another chance and went there that weekend. I got there early, I was hoping Id have a better experience this time round. I got there with a group of friends, 8 of us in all. We went to the pay line, took a long time, they took a hundred dollar bill off me and I had to ask them for the change, twice. They reluctantly gave it to me, than I saw the most funniest thing I had ever seen, coat check at the Cambie! What the fuck? Anyway, I didn't want to give my coat over, they got in my face about it and I reluctantly gave it to them, its a 500 dollar coat, I am apprehensive in handing that over here but the bouncer pretty much told me I didn't have much choice in the matter.
By now I am bewildered and honestly a little pissed. We order a pint off the waitress who asks if we are going to tip now or tip later? honestly? The place is becoming one that promotes greed by the sounds of it. We order nachos, dude what the hell happened to the nachos? they used to be huge now they are served in a little container, I think you'd get more nachos in rangoon.
My friend Pepe goes up to the bar to order some drinks there because of the debarcle we have with the waitress and how rude she was. He frantically waves to us a few minutes later, I walk over and the dude behind the bar seems really pissed. Me and my Australian friend Malcom go over there and ask what is wrong. Pepe starts explaining it, Pepe is mexican, the guy behind the bar starts mimicking his accent and I tell him that isn't necessary. He howls with laughter and another male bar tender joins in laughing as well. I tell him its not funny and he argues that it is. Pepe tells me he gave the guy a fifty and he only gave him change from a twenty. I told the bar tender that my friend was a good guy and wouldn't lie plus Pepe works as a programmer for a well known Vancouver gaming company so he isn't short of a dollar.
The bar tender than tells me that Pepe is "a dirty Mexican" and probably a liar as well. I demand to speak to the manager when I get shockingly told by the bar tender that he is the general manager. He is a fat guy covered in tattoos with facial hair and a real fucking asshole. I tell him to check the cameras and he begrundgingly gives Pepe the correct change.Than Mal asks him why the waitress was demanding for tips and he says because you fucken aussies dont tip anyway. This guy is a fucking racist and hates foreigners. We don't even get to finish our beer because Mal tells him he has an attitude problem (quite rightly) he commands the bouncers to kick us out. Im a big guy, 6"3 and I was getting pissed off, he hid behind the doormen like a coward and they walked me and my friends out. He was still beaking off at us when we got kicked out he thought it was very humourous. I told the bouncer that I had to get my jacket, he refused. I told him that I would lose it if he didn't let me get my jacket and he did get it for me.
I got told off one guy I know from the days when I used to visit the Cambie that the bar is now really pretensious and the gm is one of the most narsasistic people he has ever met, I found out the guys name is Richard. And you can totally tell by the direction that the cambie is going in! I am a white collar guy but I love going to dive bars, this place used to be a great one, now it is just a confused venue that is being bled dry, (another friend told me that she ordered a pitcher and he rang it in as a pint and kept the change) by thieving Richard. I will never return here ever again, two of the worst nights of my life!1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/5/2009
Reading through the reviews, I can't help but wonder how long it's been since some of the reviewers… Read more »
-
-
Review from Joanne M.
Vancouver, BC
12/4/2011
I thoroughly enjoy reading reviews that slam the cleanliness of the Cambie. Did you take a glance at the exterior before you walked in? Or perhaps notice that, in fact, it is a dive of a hostel? Brownie points for upgrading the washrooms! I got hit in the head from some drunk girl swinging the door open while i was behind it...but I guess that's my fault, I should have thought not to stand in drunk girl hitting zones. Always a ridiculous time. Kudo's to you Cambie.
-
Review from Erin U.
10/12/2011
good memories and too much booze pretty much sum it up. Cheap greasy good bar food and cheap pitchers. Random international people due to the hostel upstairs so a great spot to meet random strangers and hang out. Door guys can be jerks but since Im a girl I dont seem to have a problem. Ive gone with guys who have had problems with the door people tho. Anyways its a dive bar with a good outdoor patio and cheap drinks. Bring a crew and get sloshed, if nothing else a great place for predrinks!
Listed in: Best dining and drinks…
-
Review from N C.
Burnaby, BC
11/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's always a blind good time at the Cambie. The beer is so cheap that it will get you Fubar really cheap. I like it, I've never had a horrible time at the Cambie and usually it's a drunken good time!
-
Review from J H.
3/29/2011
Maybe its just not my kind of place....but I can't believe I waited in line for this dump.
Let's start off with having 2 lines and (murphy's law!!) we stood in the shorter one and of course all the people in the longer line got in first. Told we had to pay cover ($10) but maybe they felt sorry for us or something cuz thy didn't ask us for money to pay.
After finally getting inside, got our first ( and last) round and I didn't realize when I ordered gin and tonic I would just we getting tonic and ice. Talk about watered down! Plus the serving was tiiiiiny. Good thing....since it seemed like just ice and tonic! Too bad I don't drink beer because they seem to have quite the selection.
The patrons were just a crazy assortment of rifty raffs. Perfect dive bar with the yucky barely-there bathrooms, and drunk college students with some droppings of foreigners since there were an hostel above the pub.
Just not feeling it.... -
Review from Rheanna F.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 1/20/2011
Man. I came here the other night to meet up with some friends and thought i would give it another go. It's been awhiles since i was there and i figured the atmosphere on a chill tuesday night would make it a decent place to have a cider and chat for an hour or two.
I WAS DEAD WRONG.
Not only was the music cranked up to super loud 1am weekend levels, but the tables were intolerably huge! I know some people like the large dining spaces since they invite mingling with people you don't know... but fyi Cambie, whenever people are drunk and want to sit down, they'll take up whatever flat surface is nearest to their ass and chat with whoever they need to to secure their position.
If you actually think those big tables are great spots for you to talk to people at, you clearly have never tried having a conversation there while sober. (NOTE: yes, i am sober sometimes.) I noticed that unless anyone in our party was talking to the person sitting next to them, they were staring off into space looking bored.
One friend yelled something like 'i feel like this table should be two feet narrower!' and everyone laughed since it was true, but i think the people across the table were only laughing because everyone on our side of the table was. In their heads they were probably like 'what the fuck did she just say? I can't hear due to being 5 feet away from her and the music is blasting. Oh well, i'll just laugh with everyone else.'
I'm pretty sure i'm not being a fuddy duddy. No one there seemed to be having a raging night, so i don't know why they were playing music like it was.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/25/2010
Alright, you know what, i'm just gonna come out and say it: I do not enjoy the Cambie. People always… Read more »
-
-
Review from Ryan G.
Richmond, BC
12/1/2011
The Cambie. I don't know what it is about the beer at this place, but I always get a bad hangover.
-
Review from Ms. Kaddy M.
New Westminster, BC
5/1/2011
Admittedly I've not been here in a couple of years. FOR A REASON. It's a dive - I LOVE dives. You'd think "oh hey - it's a dive. People here are not going to have any attitude & be really friendly!" WRONG. The waitresses / bar staff here are jerks. The door staff are a-holes. One of them actually made a disparaging comment about my weight as I walked in. I was too shocked to reply & needless to say it ruined my entire evening. Wait - no...that was when I went to the toilet....Yes - THAT ruined my entire night. The toilets haunt my dreams to this day.
I've been to the branch in Victoria. MUCH better. -
Review from Kiana F.
7/26/2011
I've been to The Cambie a few times. The first couple times - I had a grand time. I mean, beer, food? Can't protest there. The last time I went, the waitress was rude asking us, "do you not tip in the US?" Ouch. I get that we didn't tip as much as she would have liked, but sheesh.
-
Review from Eeva V.
Vancouver, BC
9/29/2011
When going to The Cambie one must keep a few things in mind: It's below a hostel, it is very casual, its cheap, its loud and it gets very busy on weekends. If you want a quiet, intimate location or want to have a club atmosphere don't bother. If you want to have fun, meet people, play some pool and eat greasy pub food then The Cambie is the place! It's even better now that they have new bathrooms (the old ones were, well, an adventure). At times I have found the bar staff a bit curt, though generally that is on busy weekend nights and if you've been there on a weekend you'd understand why - the place is big and gets packed. In my opinion, The Cambie is a Vancouver institution and is great because it's so laid back and casual. You go there to drink and to have fun with your friends.
-
Review from Dahlia R.
9/25/2011
Walked in to this bar while visiting Vancouver by random pick. Fell in love with Fireball Shots. Cinnamon whisky to warm myself up. The crowd was very laid back, young, and easy on the eyes. Def nothing you would see in LA and made this place all the more better for an LA girl visiting Canada.
-
Review from Kari C.
11/25/2010
This is another place that I will not set foot into unless I'm dragged kicking and screaming and it's someone's birthday. Maybe not even then.
1. The bathroom looks and smells like someone took a metal baseball bat to the pipes, threw paper towels in the air like a ticker tape parade, and peed on all the walls.
2. There is spilt beer all over the tables, every time, that pools in the cracks/lame writing that people carved into them. Don't wear a leather jacket or anything that covers your elbows unless you expect to have it ruined.
3. The crowd is grungy punks in studded jackets, hipsters and dirty hippie travelers, none of which I care for, but that's not the issue. My friends and I trekked in the snow for 20 minutes because a birthday girl wanted to visit this hellhole. The bouncer let half of them in fine, because they looked like typical students in hoodies and jeans, but the three of us in nice coats? He demanded to see ID. My hands were frozen NUMB and couldn't slide the cards out of my wallet, and he started getting mad and telling me to hurry up! I asked him why he carded us and not our friends, and he said because WE looked like we might cause trouble. Really? In a place where I expect a biker fight to break out at the top of every hour?
4. A fight broke out there last night. Some weirdo in poop-covered pink skinny jeans (!!!) and his friends beat the crap out of my sous chef. The bouncers didn't do anything until his girlfriend and her roomie jumped on him, trying to deter those guys from kicking him anymore, and the girls got kicked instead. Eeeek. I read from other YELPers that the bouncers here were sketchy, but that was pretty low.
If you like getting hammered and don't mind the possibility of losing a few teeth, go on ahead: Vancouverites are generally blasé about what happens there, saying "Oh, The Cambie!" People are drawn here because the beer is cheap. I don't drink, so this place is ridiculous to anybody who is sober unless they're here to people-watch or something. The food is pub filler that should be served to people who are too buzzed to care about good eats, and the only thing I like about this place is that on the jukebox they have a sign that says they will kick out anyone who plays the Black Eyed Peas nonstop.Listed in: Eff THIS Noise!
-
Review from Darien C.
BC
The Cambie is the thing dive bar dreams are made of. If you ever feel the creeping urge to get unconscionably sloshed in a trashy downtown neighbourhood, then look no farther than this spot. First you must traverse the horde of beggars and miscreants shouting inane obscenities, but it's oh so worth it.
The bar itself appears not unlike a barn, and the picnic style tables inside don't do much to dissuade this notion. The Cambie is one part bar and one part hostel. This naturally means that there is no shortage of ill-scented travelers. But this only adds to the ambiance and eclectic clientele. People from all walks guzzle pints here, from Yaletown to Surrey, West to East Van. And of course the throngs of Australian backpackers on their way to/from Whistler.
Monday is the equally infamous and epic cheap pitcher night. The booze is pumped out like an assembly line -- the intoxication is relentless. People rapidly descend to an animal level. Utter chaos; I adore it.
The crowd is of one mind, consume beer in quantity, mingle and enjoy the ironic college music. Perhaps it is only myself who enjoys it ironically, but regardless, prepare to hear some Green Day.
The management wisely elected to avoid the dance floor. Cheap booze, Led Zeppelin and drunk frat boys lends itself more towards moshing than dancing.
The washrooms are an experience all their own. A Dickensian description of a British slum could not begin to capture the sheer depravity of these rooms. Trainspotting's worst toilet in Scotland comes to mind. I cannot fathom how girls endure it; my heart swells with an even keel of sympathy and pity.
Fortunately, nature equipped me so I needn't suffer from the washrooms, and so the disgust once more contributes to the dive bar experience. My only true fault is the lighting. The bright, garish lighting. It's not like the suspiciously high illumination is preventing people from making regrettable hookups -- people four pitchers deep are immune to the effects of appearance. Or more accurately, the reality of appearance is far removed from the intoxicated mind. Something tells me we didn't all make out with models last night. No late night joint should ever be drenched in light. And certainly not when the people are already drenched in beer. -
Review from Andrea C.
8/7/2010 3 photos
Are those velvet ropes I see? AT A DIVE?!?!
OH yes.
We walked by this place twice, once in the middle of the night, and once in the middle of the day and both times it was packed and poppin.
So, of course, we had to investigate.
The draw, I have deduced is the beer & burger special, a beer and a burger is $7.50, and it was effing delicious. Their burgers are INSANELY good. You can get cheese and fun stuff for extra, but I got a regular one and was beyond stuffed.
We also got an order of fries, and they sent over a PLATTER of fries. Hella fries!
Two burger-beer deals and a mountain of fries was under $20, so I'm assuming this was a major pull here. We got there in the evening, but once the sun set, it got super packed. We left and hit another bar and passed by, there was a line of people that was gigantic and effing velvet rope holding them back.
So serious. -
Review from vanessa G.
Vancouver, BC
2/23/2011
Wow, this place has solid memories of being sloshed, and drinking rank pitchers of beer at a maybe too young age. I do always remember having a good time. Last night we tried unsuccessfully to find a place to eat before the hockey game. Every place was full, and we ended up at the Cambie. Who knew! They make there own fresh veggie burgers! Seriously. They cost $6.50 with fries or add $2 (steep!) for a salad. It was delicious too. My friend got the cajun chicken burger and said it was tender, fresh, and delicious.
Well now i know.. i will not avoid with old memories but embrace with new! -
Review from Evilyn T.
Updated - 10/18/2010 1 photo
My friend and I came here for an after-work drink last week. She had a Strongbow and I had a double cesar, which was pretty nasty. We both ordered the daily special which was pizza and a side salad. The veggie pizza was more like garlic bread, since it was on focaccia bread and all that was on it was pesto sauce and cheese. The side salad was actually pretty decent though, it had some sliced tomatoes and cukes on it and came with a side of this really nice balsamic dressing.
The cambie can be a pretty chill place to meet new peeps during the week, since there are only so many tables and they are all pretty big so you have to share space when it gets full, but it can also be a good place to bring a pile of friends on a Monday when its slower, cuz you will be able to snag one of those big tables for your crew, if you get there early enough. I fear the bathrooms, since they look like inside out-houses, and smell accordingly.
The real reason we go to the cambie = cheap eats and drinks, and pretty decent rock n roll tunes. So if that's what you're in for and you can hold you bladder long enough to pee in an alley (cuz sometimes that's what I'd rather do) this is the place for you.Listed in: Best Pubs/Clubs
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/12/2010
Since when does a pub charge cover? $10 to get in on a Saturday night? Sorry friends, that's just… Read more »
-
-
Review from Brett B.
Vancouver, BC
2/9/2011
Best bar in western Canada. Cheap, friendly, quaint and humble.
Ironically situated next to all that other pretentious garbage in Gastown. -
Review from Lex B.
8/12/2010
I will come right out and say it. I really don't enjoy this place unless I am very very drunk (which does happen more than I readily admit.)
First, on the positive side, it isn't a bad place to grab a couple drinks and an acceptable plate of fries or nachos mid-day with some friends.
Now, on to the LINE UP to get into a dive bar without the genuine charm of a dive bar. I prefer dive bars that have at least a few charmingly cynical drunks staring into their beers who have probably been there since 10am. I refuse to go To the Cambie if there is a line when there are perfectly good line-free dive bars all around gastown, much less pay just to enter. Screw. That.
It is infested with boring college-y people who while laid back, are completely uninteresting and usually obnoxious. And while I do enjoy the occasional obnoxious outburst, you need to back it up with something of substance, or at least style. The whole place has neither, and the stench of novelty hangs in the air as soon as it hits 8:00.
The food is no great, but that doesn't really bother me given the type of place it is. It's edible. The drinks are bad, but they ARE cheap.
Almost every time I am convinced to go there I do end up having fun though - since I walk in the door with a single mentality: Just keep drinking until it's fun. Which really, I can do anywhere. -
Review from Malloreigh M.
Vancouver, BC
8/4/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I know that you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear what vegans eat when they visit a dive bar like The Cambie. Believe it or not, this shithole has a GREAT veggie burger - it tastes like a pakora on a bun. Deep fried and full of veg, this is one fattening, disgusting burger that goes really well with a beer. I always make sure to order it "without cheese or mayo", and they always make sure to tell me "it doesn't come with cheese or mayo."
Best thing? The Cambie offers a little-known burger-and-a-beer special. It used to be $5.50, and I think it might be $6.50 now. You get a burger (no fries) and a cheap can of beer, but for another $1 you can usually get the bartender to upgrade you to whatever beer is on special that night. We always hit it on Mondays when Granville Island pitchers are $10 and pints are $3. Sure, the lines at the Cambie haven't been cleaned since 1974, and yes, you will be gassy and miserable the next day, but you'll get fed and watered in great company.
Unfortunately, The Cambie just changed ownership (or management) and they're assholes about letting you write on the tables. In fact, we were told by our young server (an SFU student) that if we wrote on the tables he'd have to stay late rubbing it off with a powerful chemical solvent. Seriously?! This once lovably grungy Vancouver institution is trying to match the rest of Gastown in gentrification, perhaps forgetting that what we love about it - what's kept it hopping every night since I've lived in Vancouver - is that it's NOT an uptight establishment. It's disgusting, it's a dive, and we love it. -
Review from John F.
8/13/2011
The Cambie manages to keep the dive bar atmosphere and character in an increasingly upscale area. It's a decent selection of beers with loud music, brick walls thick with paint and a grit and grime atmosphere. It's all good of course, sometimes it's all you need. Good fun without any form of pretension.
-
Review from Brendon D.
12/31/2010
Had Christmas lunch here. LOL.
This place is gritty and loud. The speakers are amazing. The songs sounded like there was a live band.
We had a simple lunch of salad and sandwich, as there were no other places around serving food on Christmas day.
Don't half step. Can get dicey in this area, so pay attention to your surroundings. -
Review from Yulya B.
Burnaby, BC
11/1/2010
I'd be giving this place 5 stars if it wasn't for the uptight bouncers. Usually they're not too bad, but one time my boyfriend and I came here, we arrived around 9 pm and got stamped for later re-entry (as we leave to smoke once in a while). Well we went out for a smoke at 11 and tried coming back in, and the bouncers tell us that the stamp is from last night!?!? We ended up getting in after I got furious and started telling them that we came here 2 hours ago. The bouncer wasn't pleased but he let us back in and gave us a new stamp.
Other than that, this is my favourite place in Vandirty to get sloshed. $11 pitchers attract college students and foreigners, and the place is always bumpin' on Fridays and Saturdays. Good place to meet lots of fun, rowdy, and strange people as well. Also, the key with this place is to get here early to get your drink on (as in 9 pm, 9:45 at the latest), otherwise it's not worth it at all to wait forever in that huge-ass line (plus you'll probably be able to find a seat)!
And as far as the bathrooms here... every guy I know avoids them like the plague, but the girls bathroom isn't too terrible... The stall doors look like they're about to fall off, but as long as you try to touch as little things as possible, you're fine... It's no worse than a lot of public bathrooms.
Best watering hole in van. -
Review from Bonnie B.
Vancouver, BC
12/19/2010
This is the best dive bar in Vancouver! (at least in my experience, and I'm fairly new here) I just moved to Van in July and had been attempting to find a decent pub style bar but kept getting stuck in douche-bag alley(Granville Street). It wasn't until my fabulous coworker told me I had to check this bar out, that I discovered it.
They have cheap beers, greasy yummy food for super cheap, and tons of random/crazy/fun types of people. Ive yet to have a bad time there. -
Review from Sam W.
9/3/2010
One of the best bars in Vancouver. Always packed, cheap beers(as far as Canada goes) and a good crowd. Impossible to not make friends and for the 2 years i lived there, this was the second best place to the Cobalt (RIP)
If you do not go here, you aint experienced Vancouver. -
Review from Tim L.
Vancouver, BC
3/29/2009
I'm done with this place.
Perpetually filled with college douches from the 'burbs and their ilk with even douchier bouncers manning the doors (listening to reason is not exactly their forté) this place is a blight on the city. It has become such a haven for aggro-monkeys and their violence-inducing girlfriends that any sane person with an ounce of respect for themselves won't be found within a several blocks of the place. That's the men. As for the females, only girls frequent this dump. Douchettes if you will.
Granted there are some nice people there but they are usually foreigners and even though they're generally quite nice, a real conversation will not be had. The one star goes to all the Asian beauties that can usually be found there and can occasionally well worth the effort but it is A BOATLOAD of effort so be prepared to speak slowly and have a good arsenal of charades-symbol-finger-pointing and humour with very few words. Seriously, most literally stepped off the plane yesterday.
So anyways, the formula of shitty beer, aggro-antics and shitty service may work for some but you're probably like 21 and lookin'-for-a-fight so good for you. And it was fun when I was 21. You just won't find me there by choice in the near future. I'm 29 now and am officially done with this dump. Have fun kiddies. Baby soothers dispensed to the right of the horrifically maintained urinals. -
Review from Albert W.
8/15/2008
There are pennies jammed and bent into the crevasses of the aged wooden tables and one time one of our hero's inebriated friends almost got kicked out for sticking more pennies into the table and hammering them down with a mug.
Another time, a girl from the adjoining hostel was walking around topless the whole night flaunting her D's.
For his birthday, a weary friend of our hero's decided to celebrate at the Cambie. He put his head down on the table for a minute and a bouncer grabbed him and kicked him out, shouting "NO SLEEPING AT THE CAMBIE!"
Many times, there are fights outside.
Regardless of the classy nature of it patrons, the Cambie is a well-known establishment since 1887, which makes it pretty much as old as Vancouver itself and the longest standing bar in the city. It's situated almost on the wrong side of the tracks and seems to attract a lot of rowdy folks every night.
PROS:
- It doesn't matter who you come with, you'll always leave with a story.
- Very mixed crowd with lots of international people from the hostel.
- Fairly cheap drinks.
CONS:
- Strict security. No sleeping on tables here unless you want to be shown the door.
- Often has long lines outside and at the bar.
- One of the diviest bars in Vancouver. -
Review from Nicole F.
8/12/2010
I really like The Cambie but for some reason I never come here. I guess because I don't like the weekend crowds (ahhh too many people!) and there aren't too many reasons to go out drinking in the middle of the week. I should really find some more, because I can definitely afford The Cambie.
I went on Wednesday the 10th for a friend's birthday. It wasn't packed at all so we actually had really good service and Hefeweizen was on special! LOVE.
The one thing that has always surprised me about this place is how clean the bathrooms are. I keep expecting them to be really really awful because The Cambie (as awesome as it is..) is kind of a shithole. A delightful shithole.
I am really mad at the jukebox though. It ate my dollar and I did NOT get to hear Social Distortion. THIS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. -
Review from Dayna B.
Vancouver, BC
8/28/2009
I'm loving the fact that the Cambie is categorized under "Dive Bars"! Haha. Oh to hit the nail on the head like that...
So to sum it up early - I love the Cambie! Absolutely, love the Cambie. This is the kind of place where anything goes. Want to have a beer by yourself and watch the game? No big deal. Want to take out a date and see how they react outside of Yaletown? Perfect. Want to bring your birthday party down here for cheap shots? Why not! Want to meet some cool people? Done and done.
The Bar & Grill part of this establishment is below the hostel part of this establishment. A quick aside for this hostel, although I've never stayed here, I would recommend....um....Not. haha. As much as I love it, I wouldn't sleep here.
Anyhow this close proximity to a well advertised hostel means there is often a lot of cool out of town travelers and because of the low, low prices, everyone from students, to alcoholics, to the young working crowd to student alcoholics are attracted here, which makes for an amazing mix.
Back in the day it wouldn't be uncommon to see a hooker stopping by for a drink but I think in the last few years maybe the huge line has been scaring them on down the road to Funky Winker Beans. Now there is still a downtown east side element but it's nothing to be weary of.
Now for those of you who like antibacterial wipes: Don't come here. As if you haven't gathered that already. If you're afraid to drink the draft beer and you're looking for coat check, just mosey along.
This is definitely a social place. It has giant wooden benches at giant tables that encourage sharing and meeting new people. This is a place to talk and mingle. And I bet with all that talking and mingling you're getting parched. Well you're in luck! Beer here is cheeeeaaaaaaappppppp. May I suggest the Cambie Kick Ass Pale Ale? It's really good and for $11 pitchers how can you go wrong?
For your entertainment the Cambie has a pool table, which is covered up as the night wears on to prevent the alcoholic students from spilling their beverages all over it, and a jukebox. As a testament to the crowd, the music is always really good, considering the whole of Friday and Saturday night is pretty much DJed by the patrons. It's one of those fancy new juke boxes too were you feel all sci-fi ordering your songs. Beware though, that thing is backed up! Expect quite a bit of a turn around time. They also show most sports games and fights here on their many tvs. Beware that the juke box shuts off during games so stop throwing your money in there! It's gonna be awhile...
A couple of tricks of the trade...If you haven't done the math already I'll break it down for you. Cheap beer + Cool people + No cover = LONG LINE. It's science. It happens. Only on the weekend though so don't worry about week nights. Show up early for the Cambie on Friday or Saturday or expect at LEAST half an hour. If you show up at 10:30 you might be out of luck. Also, for some reason, there is a nice swinging door splitting the Cambie down the middle, and you can't bring your drink from one side to the other. So if you want to migrate, chug it down and avoid getting a stern talking to. Also, if you're not a fan of heat (and I am) and it's a hot, hot, day, don't expect to go to the Cambie for relief. They don't even have a fan in there, I once has to wait 20 minutes to eat my burger because I was trying to get it to cool down. I'm ok with this but I can see how others would not be.
And a quick side note...they have pretty good pub food. If your tummy is a little empty, definitely get some grub. You won't be disappointed.
So if you can handle a diverse crowd and aren't afraid of a little "atmosphere" try the Cambie. It's a great time. -
Review from Graham D.
Vancouver, BC
5/2/2011
If you are new to Vancouver you have to go here. It is the most welcoming vibe in the city. Downside is that it fills up really fast and the music is loud beyond conversation and is generally nothing you haven't heard or care to hear.
The beer is wicked cheap but the draft will give you a stomach ache.
Bottom line, go here for a bit if you haven't and then move on. This place is an institution and it earned that distinction.
Also the nachos are rad.Listed in: Cheap Beer
