Patios

From pop-up to permanent

June 25, 2021 No Comments

How the pandemic’s temporary spaces may change our streetscapes forever

Day or night, it’s all fun and games at The Keefer Yard, the patio created from an empty lot next door. Photo courtesy of The Keefer Bar

When restaurants and bars were given the green light last year to open temporary patios in response to the pandemic’s toll, the team at The Keefer Bar didn’t want people sipping cool cocktails on alley benches. In went a mini-putt course, fire tables on custom wooden decks, booths, a disco ball and artist-designed graffiti on the walls. The Keefer Yard was born.

“It feels like you’ve walked out of normal city life and stepped through the doors of Narnia, only it’s an outdoor cocktail bar,” says The Keefer Bar’s media-relations rep, Chantelle Benzies. “I describe it as a daydream.

“Every day we are adapting in ways to make the Yard as memorable of an experience as possible, while also keeping it as safe as possible,” she says. “It feels really nice to be able to offer an exciting experience to the community at a point when many of us need it the most.”

The Alchemist

The Alchemist Spring/Summer 2021

June 9, 2021 No Comments

Photo courtesy of the
Fairmont Pacific Rim

After months and months of being cooped up at home, there’s one thing we know for sure: We’re going to be spending a lot more time outside this summer.

So in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue of the Alchemist, we celebrate the patio.

Bar Bites

Patio at the Parq

July 13, 2018 No Comments

We’re always excited to see a new patio in town, especially when it’s one that serves great cocktails. And so we’re thrilled that D/6 Bar and Lounge at Parq Vancouver has flung open the big glass doors onto its vast new patio space.

Located on the sixth floor of the DOUGLAS boutique hotel, the D/6 patio has great views of the city skyline and offers locally inspired cocktails like the Douglas Fir, which is made with Douglas fir-infused gin from Yaletown Distilling Company. (The gin is also available in all the guest rooms.)

Even better news: The patio is covered, so guests can enjoy the views and the cocktails come rain or shine.

The Alchemist

Best hidden patios in Vancouver

July 28, 2017 No Comments

Bar manager Barry Jackson on the patio of Gotham restaurant. Dan Toulgoet photo.

Summer in Vancouver is all about the patio. Almost any patch of sidewalk will do, really, but it’s certainly better if that chunk of concrete comes with a decent cocktail or two.

That said, our very favourite patios are Vancouver’s hidden ones, those quiet urban oases that we share only with a handful of people in the know. Finding a new one is like discovering treasure buried in your own backyard.