10 Vancouver Bars for Getting in the Holiday Spirit(s)

With December almost upon us, it’s time to start making holidays plans for drinking and eating merrily. Around the city, bars are putting up tinsel and dreaming up special cocktails and bites. Whether you’re going solo, with a special someone, or with family and friends, you’re sure to have a festive time this holiday season.

Below are 10 bars that are decking the halls. Note: make sure to check hours as well as make reservations to avoid disappointment.

Tocador

Tocador, a fun Latin cocktail spot in Mount Pleasant, embraces the holidays with decorations, mulled wine, and plenty of conviviality. The cozy space is made holiday-themed with decorations with a Latin American twist, such as a flamingo pulling Santa’s sleigh. Sip a cherry wood smoked old fashioned with Wild Turkey, Taylor port, cherry wood smoke, demerara sugar, and Angostura.

Bar Humbug at The Ballyhoo Public House

The Ballyhoo Public House is hosting a cocktail pop-up that would put even Scrooge in a positive holiday mood. Bar Humbug takes place December 3 to 31, and will feature festive decorations galore, as well as themed tongue-in-cheek drinks and eats. Get together some friends and drink a Frosty’s Colada, Santa Baby, and Eenie Weenie Spressie Tini, while noshing on turkey sliders and sweet and spicy glazed meatballs.

Bacchus Lounge

For the ultimate in holiday décor, head to Bacchus Lounge in the Wedgewood Hotel. The space, with its fireplace and richly hued fabrics, already lends itself to wintry drinking but Bacchus does the holidays up big with additional sumptuous decorations. Enjoy the Chai This, with white rum, Irish Cream liquor, chai syrup, hot milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon, as you indulge in sticky toffee pudding.

Glowbal

Expect a winter wonderland again at Glowbal both indoors as well as on their enclosed patio, complete with silvery baubles, wreaths, lights, and decked out Christmas trees. Their special holiday drink menu—with traditional favourites and revamped classics—is on offer until the end of December, featuring mulled wine, gingerbread eggnog, jingle juice, and Brandy Alexanders.

Batch

Batch (one location at the Plaza of Nations, another at Kitsilano Beach) is the loveliest of holiday experiences: covered outdoor venues with local food and drink, fire pits, and live music. Both locations will be decorated for the holidays, with Batch Kits serving mulled wine, (spiked) chai, and European holiday food by Yes, Please (December menu still being finalized but may include currywurst, pretzels, and fondue), while the Plaza venue will offer mulled wine, hot apple cider, and food from rotating food trucks.

Los Cuervos

At Los Cuervos, you can find tasty tacos as well as a special winter menu for the holidays (until January 21). Amid festive white lights, sip on wintry drinks such as a Christmas margarita, holiday Moscow mule, or Mexican coffee martini, and fuel up on dishes, like a spiced tortilla soup, that will keep you warm for the season.

Botanist Bar

Botanist Bar, a charming and award-winning spot located in the Fairmont Pacific Rim, has curated holiday cocktails that spotlight both traditional drinks as well as those that reimagine the classics. Drinks on offer this season include West Coast mulled wine, a Remedy Toddy, a Gingerbread Old Fashioned, and a playful Banarama Blackflip with bourbon, brandy, banana, maple, and cinnamon.

Kringle’s

The lower lobby of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is transforming again into Kringle’s, a holiday bar pop-up, with twinkly lights aplenty and tons of good cheer. Kringle’s will take place November 26 to December 31, Tuesday through Saturday nights (closed December 25), and offer seasonal food and cocktails (menu is still to be announced but last year they served house-made eggnog and Starry Night Negroni).

Strange Fellows Brewing

Every year, East Van’s Strange Fellows Brewing hosts KRAMPUSMARKT (November 29 to December 1), during which the brewery metamorphoses into a holiday market of revelry, with Objects of Desire assembled this year by OH Studio Project. There’ll be plenty of beer being poured, including the Krampus, a warming Belgian-style Abbey Dubbel, while creative bites by Eluvian will be served in the tasting room.

Vancouver Christmas Market

If you want to drink and eat in a very holiday setting, make sure to visit the Vancouver Christmas Market (now until December 24) for bevvies like feuerzangenbowle, a flaming German drink, Erdinger at their Bier Haus, Das Apfel Haus for apple drinks, and of course, tons of glühwein from the Christmas Pyramid. Pair your drinks with German eats, like bratwurst and schnitzel.