The Blind Sparrow

I was meeting up with an old friend and she suggested we check out The Blind Sparrow for happy hour. I'd never been so I was down to try them out.

We dropped in on a Thursday (around 6:00pm) and the place was busy. Lots of seating inside but they also had a cute garden patio. Service was friendly.

The menu is pretty small with mostly shares and then sides, snacks and sweets. The drink menu was more vast with cocktails, wine and beer. Happy hour is 4:00pm to 6:00pm. They also have live music on Wednesdays.

- 2x PT Twin Sails dat juice ($5.00) - happy hour pints. This is the quintessential summer beer. Light, tasty, easy drinking. Should have got a second round!
- Avocado and beet fries ($10.00) - this was one of their HH food specials. Lightly fried and good seasoning. Perfect with beers to snack on.
- Fried chicken with Romano ranch ($8.00) - another of their HH specials. Not too greasy and pretty tender chicken.
- Quinoa tacos ($14.00) - quinoa oven roasted root vegetables, fried cauliflower, fresh salsa verde and iceberg shells. Te quinoa mixture was tasty but I wasn't a fan of the cheap, tasteless iceberg lettuce pieces. Not worth the price point.

It's a cute spot that's perfect for a few drinks with buddies or a date. I'd come back again.

I liked this bird, so sad he/she can't see what a great pub this is! I'm writing this at 4:30 so forgive my poor excuse for humor.

Blind sparrow is located on Denman street near Robson, in the zone of "EPIC people watching." If you are looking for a summertime patio experience with a "not too bad" happy hour, I would stop by!

28 degrees outside and post ocean swim, "The Blind Sparrow" was the destination to get happy. HAPPY HOUR is 4-6pm with Pints for $5.50, wine for $7, featured taco for $3.50, Fried Chicken for $9, Avocado and beet fries for $11, and their Mezza plate for $10.

The patio is on the smaller side, but cozy and 100% worth the people watching. You get a great chance to see some interesting characters walk by, and possibly also people you know......that you can shout at and express the wonderful time you are having drinking vino on a beautiful summer day! Yes, that was me. :D

The happy WINE was a new one for me, it's "C.C. Jentsch" Cab Merlot for the red and "The Hatch" White Blend. Being just slightly a wine snob, whom more often than not, highly dislikes Happy Hour wine (not cause its cheap, but because it's often garbage) I was skeptical it would be any good. Well, I had three glasses so..... of the red. The server said the white was garbage lol. She also said she didn't like white wine....:p

The Cab Merlot has great flavors of berries and plum, but isn't too sweet with a touch of oak and a bit of a bite.

For FOOD we tried the Fried Chicken, the Mezza Plate and the Avocado fries. The Chicken was as good as everyone says. Fried crispy goodness with juicy chicken flavor and my arteries and screaming for more lol. The Mezza plate came with two enjoyable spreads (pine nut hummus and artichoke lebneh), whole olives, fried feta cheese balls (surprisingly good), soft bread and thick crispy nachos. Personally I disliked the nachos. They were weird to me and I would rather have crackers or like "Normal" nacho chips. :)

My Avocado fries were sadly disappointing. I didn't like the appearance of the dish or the fact that it was a plate of fried avocado and beets. The Avocado pieces where way too small and we're more like morsels than fires. The beets would have been more appetizing without the breading and deep fryer coating. I didn't think it looked appealing and I wasn't really too impressed with the flavor. I would not order this dish again.

SERVICE: It was of the slow and distracted variety, but friendly enough overall. I dunno if she was super busy or having an off day, but flailing arms were required to order food and replenish our libations!

I would like to try this bar out again, at night preferably. I like the vibe inside and they also have daily specials. Check out my menu pix!

I learned three things when I was here: in Canada, a beanie is a toque, a medium beer is a slipper, and The Blind Sparrow is the best bar in the West End!

Although I only stopped in for a happy hour beer and a bite after a day exploring Stanley Park, I can't recommend this place enough. Very lively atmosphere, trendy vibes, and great HH prices. Our waitress was friendly and fun, and the HH buffalo chicken dish was delish. We were also given spiced popcorn for free... this might be only be during HH, though. Overall, the Blind Sparrow was just the oasis we needed before the long march back to our accomodation in Gastown.

I wish I lived near here so I could come back and try out the rest of the menu!

Canada is a great adventure right now - every night felt like happy hour!!!

Vancouver's West End offers quite a few great stops for a night out. This place was quite nice. During happy hour, the 'mug' drinks were on special (CAD $7). I enjoyed a bourbon lemonade and tried out their moscow mule too. Our chickpea bruschetta was also a tasty addition to our evening out. Friendly server who made nice conversation and was a great hostess as well.

**I've noticed everywhere we ate the servers use portable (mobile) payment machines for purchases with cards. They come to the table and you complete the transaction on-screen. So convenient, wish the states would have more of these.**

We arrived at 1:59 and even though the servers were preparing for the 2pm opening they greeted us with smiles and were very helpful. Tried a beer and settled for the sour which I enjoyed. They gave us complimentary popcorn and beef jerky which was a really nice touch.

What a nice surprise! We were walking down Denman Street after a trip around Stanley Park, and just wanted to grab a nice, cold beer. This place had that and much more. There are a dozen beers on tap, and then others you can buy in a growler to split with your table. You will also find a list of reasonably-priced cocktails, and it seems they usually have a few on special for $7. I got the Moscow Mule, and it was very limey and refreshing.

We decided to order a few small plates, and we were glad we did! The quinoa salad and poke bowl were both delicious. But they are small, so if you're hungry, you may want to order 3 small plates for 2 people. We had room for gelato after ;)

Our waitress was so sweet, and she was engaged to the chef, so she was giving us some tips on what to order. Loved the casual atmosphere, and would definitely recommend it as a chill bar with great food!

Food here was ok but definitely nothing special. Tried the Steelhead Ceviche and the Charcuterie & Cheese Board. Things are for sharing and are definitely on the smaller end of things. Ceviche has several small cubes a of fish marinated in a llimejuice. There is definitely better in the city, albeit not in the Denman/Robson core. Charcuterie & Cheese plate had a very small selection of meat & cheeses. For the price, definitely not worth it. Those pickled onions were amazing though. I left still hungry for more substantial food. The cocktails were normal price and they claim it's a double. I wouldn't go here on an empty stomach.

I love going to The Blind Sparrow when I have friends hanging out at or near my place because it's only a five minute walk away to this cute bar with great beer and neighbourly vibes. They have a great happy hour that goes on until 6 where all of their beers on tap are $5, more importantly their beers on tap are always a great selection well suited to the season. Their food is great for snacking and sharing while topping up those happy hour beers of course! They have a small patio in the alley just north of Robson, super discreet and great for people watching and enjoying the sunshine. Their charcuterie board is good. Their fried chicken is good. Their beet fries are good. I haven't had everything on the menu but all the things I have had have been SO good. I will be back again for sure!

Enjoyed my first experience here: two people, high top table, had both food and drinks.

The space was busy and loud on a Saturday night, not great for a romantic outing but would totally set the mood for a fun weekend night out. The staff were friendly and attentive, answered questions about the menu and seemed to enjoy doing so.

The Bourbon (Jim Bean Black) Lemonade and Moscow Mules we were drinking tasted great and they were served quickly and often. I wished they had a more traditional copper mug to serve the Mules from but thats a touch too picky.

They had Kusshi oysters (my favorite!) so we started with a half dozen of those. The oysters were served with dry shaved horseradish, cocktail sauce and a hefeweizen mignonette. Needless to say these were incredibly on point. You also get a spiced chex-style mix to snack on when you sit down.

We shared: Vietnamese Steak Wraps, Spicy Prawn Tacos, Tri-Cooked Fries and Roasted Cauliflower. The food is served in a tapas style so don't expect your portions to be ridiculous but the taste was all there. The Steak Wraps were served 'disassembled' so you got to fill them differently with the fixings each time; tasted amazing! Prawn Tacos were actually not that spicy and a little bit small but they also were spot on good. Honestly, the fries are crazy good here and very crispy (hence the triple fry), the dipping sauce was a curry-coconut base that I would honestly drink by the bucket full if i had no shame.

I'm looking forward to going back and sharing more delicious food. It will be fun to introduce people to this place, the Downtown Westend needed a place like this.

I love the decor. The space is very cool, and while the liquor selection is somewhat limited, there's a selection of micro brews, and some decent looking good that makes the place feel like a nicely rounded out pub.

My only complaint is that the wait staff aren't very welcoming and I don't feel comfortable here. I overheard one of the waitresses talking about me to someone in the kitchen because I ordered oysters after admitting I'd like to try some local ones though I'm not a fan of raw oysters. They seem a bit put off with me, maybe because I'm a foreigner rather than a local and their postures seem to reinforce that (arms crossed, terse responses).

It seems like a great place though. Outdoor seating, dimmer lighting, and earth tone decor are all nice touches. I won't be back but this could be a great place for locals.