Author: Meghan_Kaczkowska

I was walking “The Drive” this past Sunday and was a bit underwhelmed by it all. Once I had walked the heart of the place up on the hill around around 1st, I found myself on the “other side of the tracks” south of the...Skytrain line. The underwhelming grew until… There was a patio with a few folks sitting at pub height tables in what was a dark but not foreboding patio. It was not a crush like the Sunday brunch/lunch crowd at the places up the hill. The paneled glass door was closed but the open sign was up. I walked into one of the most spectacular mahogany paneled rooms I have ever seen in Vancouver. And this place was not even on Tripadvisor although it’s been here for years. It’s 2 levels with a central atrium. All the walls and most of the ceilings are paneled. The lights are stained glass. There is a bar on the second floor as well as the elegant one below. There is even a “pulpit” thing that almost hints of a church origin. The tables are solid mahogany, not laminate. The original mural artwork, although not completely my style, fit well. The pool table on the second floor is not tucked away in a corner but has a view of the trees and street outside. The mosaic tile on the floor just seems to speak to glamour and elegance 80 years ago. Even the men’s can has the old 4 foot tall floor urinals you just don’t see anymore. This place is more like an old school Engineers Club. It strikes me as a place that could easily turn into a private members club with a formal dress code. It's cool. Not in a hipster, heavy glasses, tweed hat or toque-in-the-summer sort of way. But as a vintage, smokey mob mafia kind of way. I spent all afternoon there talking with a few patrons and shooting pool with Casper the Friendly Ghost. I have to go back there on a Friday night just to see who shows up. If I had a smoking jacket and a cravat with a gold stud, I'd wear them. But instead I'll just iron my best pair of jeans and put on a good white oxford cotton dress shirt. I'll search the internet for a fancy 1930's kind of cocktail and have 3 of them. And then just watch the Al Pachino or Marlon Brando talking business in the next booth.