Pourhouse Restaurant

At Gastown's Pourhouse Restaurant, the emphasis is on the classics. Everything from the vintage decor to the music speaks to the sensibilities of a bygone era. Bartenders in collared shirts, trilbies and vests serve traditional cocktails behind a bar crafted from planks of 120-year-old Douglas Fir. An antique typewriter is available for patrons who want to compose a line or two. Even the building is rich with history, built in 1910 as the headquarters for the Leckie Boot Company, at one time the most successful manufacturer of boots in the Dominion.

It's a modern bar with an old-school sensibility, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the cocktail programming. And ordering these drinks can be almost as fun as consuming them; at Pourhouse, the cocktail menu is kept intentionally brief, with many signature drinks kept off-menu, allowing patrons the opportunity to consult with veteran bar staff for a totally personalized beverage experience.

“It's not so much about creating a cocktail for an individual person as it is about asking the right questions, and leading them to the right cocktail for that moment,” explains manager Ian Jamieson. “It's more trying to get people to identify what it is that they like. It's about the exploration of your senses, and your taste, and trusting that these guys have a lot of experience at their craft. They're not going to make a bad drink.”