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The Cobalt
Categories: Arts & Entertainment Music Venues Nightlife Music Venues Nightlife Bars Dive Bars Music Venues, Dive Bars [Edit]
917 Main StVancouver, BC V6A
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Strathcona
(778) 918-3671
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live, Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Tue, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for The Cobalt
18 reviews in English
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Review from Malloreigh M.
Vancouver, BC
2/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
So the "new" Cobalt is the only Cobalt I've ever been to - I like to pretend that I was a teenage punk, but I was really just a weepy little goth and the punk rock Cobalt wasn't enticing enough for me to actually visit. But the "new" Cobalt, the trendy, hipster and queer infested Cobalt - yes, please!
I don't know if it's some Main Street magic, but I've actually never had a bad time at the Cobalt. I am a legendary bar disappearer - I'll just take off without saying goodbye when I'm not enjoying myself and don't want to deal with the social obligations associated with leaving a party - but I've never ever done that at the Cobalt. I've been there, oh, 20+ times, and each time I've enjoyed myself.
Is it the layout of the bar, with tables for talking, easily accessible bathrooms, a sizeable, high, easy-to-see stage, a good sized dance floor, and a decently long bar? Is it the comfortable decor, that weird blinky light circuit board thing, the wood? Is it the staff, who are far less surly than most bartenders? Is it the clientele, which is somehow always unpretentious? Is it the smoke-pit/bike rack area, sheltered from the wind for a little cool-off outside?
I cannot answer that question, Yelp, but I can recommend a night at the Cobalt for just about anyone. Free pinball Tuesdays fill up awful quick, so get there at 9pm if you want a choice of machines. Man Up, the drag king party, is always a great time and is hosted by a total babe. Comedy events, parties, Queer Bashes, just-drinks - the only way I can imagine this place being better is if it opened at 5 and had snacks. I love to snack.Listed in: Just One Drink
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Review from Stephanie M.
Vancouver, BC
5/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Come here for cheap drinks ($5 vodka soda!) and to hear great local bands. Just sayin'.
Yes it's not in the most "posh" neighbourhood of Vancouver, but that means everyone is relaxed and the atmosphere is super chill. Mind you I was here on a fairly quiet weeknight to hear a friend of a friend's band, and judging from other reviews, it seems things are a lot crazier here on the weekends. But I would be willing to give it another shot for the refreshing change from the all-too-common overpriced drinks and pretentious atmosphere of other bars downtown. -
Review from Rheanna F.
Vancouver, BC
4/23/2011
I'm having a pretty hard time writing a review for the Cobalt because of my mixed feelings about the old vs new venue.To explain, just imagine you've been going to a dingy, cheap mom n pop diner with a regular close knit clientele for years, when they suddenly come under new management. The new management doesn't gut the place, but renovates it so it looks a lot classier and still recognizable, and keeps the same name the diner always had. The biggest difference is that their menu changes ENTIRELY, although the food is still good, just pricier. On one hand, the new place is alright, on the other hand, you lost your old diner. Those are the mixed feelings i have about Cobalt.
The new Cobalt reminds me a bit of the Biltmore since it has that same dimly lit, bordello feeling to it. It's got beautiful chandeliers, and i like the little detail of using wall lamps as ceiling lamps in the bathroom. They still have the big light up circuit board above the bar like they did in the old place too! I've only been to the new Cobalt for burlesque and regular club night, but it seems to suit the place perfectly! The stage is just the right size and you can see it from everywhere in the venue.
The bar is well stoked, but methinks they water down their drinks a bit too much. Despite being able to drink a lot, i still get drunk pretty easily, and after drinking one shot, one double vodka soda and three single vodka sodas in 3 hours, i was just a little drunk. I was so undrunk that i got home, did the dishes and read for an hour because i didn't have enough liquor in me to pass out. I had some friends out last night who were TRYING to get trashed and noticed that it just wasn't working too... This isn't the first time i've noticed this either.
Although it's great that Funky's has taken over where Cobalt left off, i still can't help but feel a bit nostalgic whenever i go there. I was there last night and watched a girl in cute little high heels on the dance floor, having a blast on the spot where a friend of mine had peed on (yep, he just pulled his penis out and peed on the floor) Speaking of which, i'm not sure why people always said the bathrooms were terrible. There were some bad nights, but mostly they were pretty on par with your average club, they just didn't look too pretty! I noticed they took out the little stage that the friend i went with always commandeered for us to stand/sit on since i'm usually too short and weak to go in a mosh pit... And the domed roof with graffiti is gone too!
Well, you know that the old Cobalt had SOMETHING special going for it when i'm reminiscing fondly about a place that smelled funny. Still, this bar has been open for DECADES and it's cool that they've stayed open for so long, even if their flavor changes.Listed in: Make Mine Music!
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Review from Kreag S.
Vancouver, BC
1/6/2011 ROTD 9/13/2011
I have to say..I was very skeptical the first time I heard I was being taken out to the Cobalt...and even more skeptical that it was a gay event that I was being taken to...at The Cobalt...the scary punk bar...gay + punk = not my ideal night.
Much to my delight...things had changed at The Cobalt..re-vamped and de-punked yet still keeping a Main Street edge..the place was packed with hot gay men as far as the eye could see...gays, drag queens, pin ball, hot DJ's..what more could you ask for!!!
I have been going there on a regular basis now...they have a lot of awsome nights..queer, straight and everything inbetween...it's so great to have a bar that caters to everyone! The staff are all AMAZING, friendly, sweet...they make you wanna keep coming back....which most staff in Vancouver do not to be honest.
Best nights :Tuesday night you can play ping pong, Fridays which feature live bands, Sundays have a weekly drag show called Apocalypstick with hostess Isolde N. Barron and Queer Bash which is the last Saturday of every month. -
Review from Vanessa D.
Vancouver, BC
1/3/2011
I need to put this out there into the universe and subsequently the internet, for 2011 The Cobalt will be the underdog favorite of Vancouver's watering holes.
In stark opposition to the cover-every-night cabaret giants of East Van, The Biltmore and The Waldorf, this cozy reinvention of a Vancouver institution offers a pub shaped sanctuary.
Its proximity to transit makes it easy for anyone who fondly remembers its origin as a grungy cave of debauchery to make this their neighborhood bar. Don't worry, the floor still feels the same, it's just not carpet anymore.
If you like myself made a vow the summer you turned 19 that you'd never drink draft beer from The Cobalt again, now is your time to reconsider. You might find yourself a new favorite. -
Review from Andrea B.
1/21/2011
Coming to the Cobalt with virgin eyes (aka. never been pre-revamping)... I liked it. What's to like about it?
- upon entering you're welcomed by a line of pinball/arcade machines
- drink specials
- post separating the moshers and the people just chilling/watching
Came on a Friday night for live band night $10. Not too crowded (A PLUS!). The crowd was similar to those that frequent Asotria, Biltmore and Waldorf. Prrrobablyyy because they're all very very similar and ride the same frequency. I must say I prefer the stage here though because it's elevated just enough so shorties can see the band playing as opposed to just the tops of their heads. So if you like those places, you'll probably like this place too.
Nothing makes this place WOW but it's a fun venue. AAAnnnnddd if you find yourself checking your watch one too many times, there's tons of bars around the area for you to stumble in to. Or take the train. -
Review from Evilyn T.
10/18/2010 9 Check-ins Here
Surprisingly, I went to the Cobalt for the first time this weekend. I am still amazed I never came here before for a punk show, or had the chance to throw up on the floor back in the day. Cover was $12 for the new fetish night called Noir that was happening on Saturday night. I had no problem getting in and getting down, even though I thought the sound quality was a bit shit, most of the song choices were pretty stellar.
I had a double rum and diet for $9 which is pretty average for a Saturday night in the big city, and coat check was only $3. The place was bumping with different types, gay, straight, cross-dress, or just crazy like me. The bathrooms could have used some better lighting, once you get yourself locked into the stall it's pretty dark, so you can't really see what you're doing, and when you drink like I do, a little light goes a long way, it helps the beer goggles focus. The capacity of the Cobalt is pretty small (like 150 people) so even when it doesn't seem smokin' busy, its full enough to look like a good party. I'd go back to this night and the Cobalt for sure, I can't believe it took me this long to do it in the first place!Listed in: Best Pubs/Clubs
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Review from Luisa D.
10/17/2010 7 Check-ins Here
Wow! I hate to admit it but I'd never been to the Cobalt before. I never got to experience the punk days of this place but heard the stories of nasty odours and horrifying washrooms. Those days seem to be long gone.
We went for an event last night and I was impressed with a few things;
- the staff are super friendly from doormen to bartenders
- the room is sexy with comfortable couch seating and other areas conducive to chatting
- the beer selection is really good! I had Steamwhistle but there were a lot of interesting options all displayed through glass fridge doors.
- the alley for smokers (or cooling off) has a super cool feel to it, is floored with wood and doesn't smell bad at all.
- the bathroom was perfectly acceptable and I like the big, rectangular sink.
Last but not least...
- they have a wall lined with pinball machines!!!!
I'm looking forward to checking this place out for more events down the road, maybe even a punk band or two. -
Review from Jasmine O.
Vancouver, BC
12/28/2010 1 Check-in Here
I used to come here in 2000-01 to mosh, drink, play punk rock bingo and meet new people. Then I stopped...
Since then, I've come for a birthday party last year, halloween 2010, one other night (?), and then for the burlesque show (shoes booze and girls with tattoos...) and don't remember it ever being so cool. I guess times have changed. Owners have changed. And most of all I've changed.
It suits my fancy and I will always suggest this venue for any random night out... I'm not THAT old :)Listed in: Where you'll find me, Drink it up
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Review from Lex M.
Okotoks, AB
12/14/2010
If you happen to be in the area, The Cobalt reigns supreme as the place to get gritty in Van city, an experience to either immerse yourself in or avoid like a foaming Rottweiler. This Vancouver icon is a loud, hot and filthy dive - the type of marginal establishment that entices berserking patrons with hardcore bands, drink specials and Brass Knuckles Night. It's fantastic.
This is a dangerous place in a dangerous area - the skid row of Main Street - and the notorious hundred year-old building looks every day its age. Having been the site of numerous beatings, stabbings and shootings, the carpet is stain-colored with liquor, blood, sweat and burns. The toilets and sinks are so grungy you may not realize what you're looking at until the stench provides you with the missing evidence. It's ugly enough in here to cause irreparable retinal damage.
Presumably not wanting to pay the $5 cover charge, none of the local fences who frequent bars in the area to sell their stolen merchandise are around, but one slender syringe of a man has the salesmanship to offer me a "clean" handgun at a very reasonable price. When I decline, he slouches his amphetamine attrited shoulders in defeat, closes his trenchcoat gun shop and stalks out of the bar like a leather ghoul.
Now a live music venue for heavy metal and punk bands, The Cobalt was a strip joint back in the day and the pedestal shower towers remain present to sprinkle a welcome sleaze over an atmosphere I can only describe as Pedestrian Perilous. The band that's playing tonight are friends of mine, and the crowd is power drinking to work up aggression for the frenzy of the mosh pit. A lot of bands get their first gig here and many of the ones that achieve success come back to play for reminiscence.
The show ends up featuring all kinds of nudity, booze dumped on the surging crowd, a negation of all common sense and courtesy - and this is why we've come here. This is dark adventure on the Wild Side, locked away from the ordinary world in a place to abandon all convention and get completely out of control. This is The Cobalt, and it's full of life down here in the abyss. -
Review from Simon R.
BC
12/8/2008 1 photo
This skuzzy death metal bar used to be a strip club back in the day, and the mounted pedestals with shower nozzles are still located throughout the room, adding an authentic trashy vibe to the already filthy ambiance.
The Cobalt is the lowest common denominator of bars in Vancouver, but it manages to take a certain pride in the dilapidated scenario. Typically full of punkish-goth kids, it serves extremely cheap beer and highballs, has ample seating and room for mosh pits, and comes off as unpretentious, in a "too good for good" sort of way. Many loud bands are given their first opportunity here, and many of the better ones return after achieving success for nostalgia's sake. Things can get out of hand, as conventional wisdom tends to get left behind in coat check, and obnoxious teenage drunks start doing whatever they want. I've even seen a band shoot whiskey filled super soakers out into the audience.
This is actually the only place I ever did cocaine, taking it for the only time on one of the musty old cars parked out back. I had always envisioned doing blow with nice clothes, beautiful women, a mirror, and a rolled up hundred dollar bill, but the Cobalt was so exactly opposite that it seemed perfect. -
Review from Emily-Anne P.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 6/18/2011 4 Check-ins Here
You know what I like about the Cobalt. $2 non alcoholic drinks. I've stopped drinking so I ordered a cranberry juice and it was $2. So many places woulda charged me an arm and a leg. Here, $2. Win.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/23/2011
I am one of those Vancouverites who says "remember what the Cobalt was like." Having grown up… Read more »
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Review from Cameron M.
Toronto, ON
12/8/2008
I definitely agree with what's previously been said about the cobalt. It's one of the few places along Main that hasn't had a revamp or an upgrade to suit its hipster clientele. That said its appeal is more to the scuzzy metal punk hipsters so, a revamp would probably only act to piss them off.
What I do give the stars for is its viability as a music venue. There aren't a lot of great places for music in the city and the options for bands of the hard rocking metal, industrial etc. vibe tend to be even less. With the Pic Pub gone now The Cobalt has really worked overtime for letting the scene still have a place to land downtown. With the Astoria seeming to sway more and more under the pressure of the scenes of Vancouver it's commendable that The Cobalt at least stick to its guns.
So yes, it's a run down strip club that's a little rough and weird. But its like that on principle and I'll give it a little respect for that. -
Review from Renee C.
2/15/2010
Breaking News: The Cobalt is about to be reopened! And let me tell you, my guess is that you will love its new evolution.
I was in there last night, and although it's not officially open (i.e. no Grand Opening yet), already a group of very cool and friendly people have begun to give this place a new and very cool vibe against a backdrop of brick walls, friendly staff, and great music filling the space.
My top 3 reasons I think this place is going to be very popular:
1) Mingle space. One of my top criteria for a good hangout/bar is lots of mingle space where it welcomes people and it's easy to talk to everybody and anybody for no reason in particular. The way they have set it up definitely lends itself to this. And so far the people do too.
2) Atmosphere. Brick walls cleaned of past scuzz but still echo charm (and even a couple of posters plastered on there from once upon a time ago), clean and open vibe but still with an edge, elements kept of its...er, colourful, past kept alive.
3) The music being spun by Chris was brilliant. I would pay good money to get that as a playlist on my iPod. The kind of music that makes you notice it, and notice the energy it gives a room. They will apparently be having lots of live music to rock the crowd in days to come...only more of the 'rock and roll' variety than the punk rock that the Cobalt had previously endured. As Cameron M mentioned, it definitely has a lot of 'viability as a music venue'.
Lastly, the staff are really friendly and you can tell the owners put a lot of personality and love into this place. I was instantly won over by its atmosphere and comfortable appeal. -
Review from Jew C.
Burnaby, BC
Updated - 5/1/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Girls girls girls
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/15/2011
The bathroom could be cleaner. Do not drop something then try to eat it. No matter how much you… Read more »
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Review from Pork Fried Rice C.
11/19/2010
OK .... so I met a buddy the other night for a drink and he told me he was going to the Cobalt. I'm like .... WTF ????? Isn't that the sh*thole down the street from the other sh*thole Ivanhoe bar ??? My friend say's yeah, it's his buddy's place and he renovated it. I'm all for a new experience and thought why not.
I'm not the usual alternativey type of guy. I'm pretty mainstream for the most part but I do have an eclectic side to me too.
So to the Cobalt I go for the first time ever and much to my surprise, it was awesome !!!
The place was divey, but not was I thought it was going to be. I've been to some crappy places but this by far wasn't even close. The bar was spacious and had a DJ playing some tunes. There was a pinball tourney of some kind going on which was pretty cool. In the back a ping-pong table drew quite the crowd !! There was lots of seating around the bar and had a cool looking stage setup. Lots of local art was up on the wall too.
The barman Patrick was awesome !! Friendly and very willing to do lots of shots with his guests. There was a great selection of bottled beers that I'm definitely gonna have to try !!
The crowd was very cool and unpretentious. None of that downtown club bullshit that I usually have to endure. This place is a great place to chill, listen to some cool music, and get away from the typical downtown scene.
Give it a try !!! I'm sure you'll be surprised too ! -
Review from Mathieu Y.
Vancouver, BC
10/6/2009
This bar/venue is now closed for business
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Review from Rachel P.
Vancouver, BC
8/12/2009
The Cobalt may be dark, dingy and fairly grotty, but one must admit that it is honest. This is not a winebar/gastro-pub/lounge with some covers-band crammed awkwardly in one corner, nor is it a "space" (loft, gallery or otherwise) in which various "projects" (in this world bands don't exist) can perform. This is not hip, but that's why it works. Its a band venue where bands play loud music - punk, rock, metal, hardcore,doom, thrash, grind, metalcore or any other sub-genre you care to throw on the heap. An honest music venue where local bands get their first break, which may not lead to super-stardom, but perhaps some local notoriety, free beers on the rider and a poorly recorded demo. Either way, we all need venues like this in our city. The late 90's goatee-sporting, wallet-chain wearing, denim vest with patches/Metallica t-shirt guys here took me back 10 years, but I couldn't help but wonder; "Are they almost extinct?" Without bars like this, I would say yes. That's up to you whether or not that would be a bad thing, but I must admit that if Vancouver did not even have one bar where I can stumble across a long-haired bogan head-banging to Slayer, it would be a glaring omission. If sticky floors, scruffy clientele and toilet doors that fall of their hinges bother you, don't go to the Cobalt. If an unpretentious vibe, cheap drinks and a general public that are simply there to enjoy the show appeal, then get on board!
