The 515 Bar — Restaurant in Vancouver

We were looking for cocktails when visiting Vancouver. One of us was able to find a cocktail to their taste on the menu. I needed some advice from the server since their refreshing sweet cocktails are all grapefruit heavy. I explained that I hate grapefruit and was looking for something that wasn’t bitter. Upon reading the description of the cocktail the server recommended, I flagged that it literally contained grapefruit. She seemed surprised and then assured me it’s so balanced one won’t even notice it. When the cocktail arrived, I tasted it and it was very bitter and the grapefruit flavor was clearly perceptible. She asked what I thought, I said I didn’t like it and wouldn’t drink it. This is the first time it happens to me, as my cocktails preferences are straightforward. I was astonished to see when we received the bill that we were charged full price for my cocktail and not even given an apology. If you like grapefruit cocktails and don’t care if your server knows their drinks, the ambiance was cosy and nice and it could be a place for you. However, if you’re looking for knowledgeable bar staff and expertly crafted cocktails, there are other bars to put higher on your list, such as...

A group of 5 of us came in for drinks and were told the next table would be about a 20min wait. The hostess said we can wait at the bar and have a drink in the meantime and start a tab. We proceeded to the bar and ordered drinks. I saw that a group had just left and assumed that the hostess was preparing the table for us. Three new people came in after us and the next thing I know, the hostess gave them that available table. I immediately went to ask the hostess why as we literally just spoke about the table and she told me that she thought we were happy at the bar. And that she would give us the next table. It was her who mentioned for us to wait at the bar. Then the manager proceeded to tell us it was our fault for sitting at the bar.

Terrible service and rude that they blamed us for following their instructions, we just left - they hadn’t even started with our drinks.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s better to seat 3 white people at a table and let 5 brown people remain at the bar.

So many other bars for me to spend my money. ...

Don’t you just love the vibe of this place?? Especially this ceiling light. I also like how they have larger tables so groups can come in and chill.

There’s happy hour everyday from 4-7pm, which includes specialty pricing on wine, selected cocktails and food. Here’s the happy hour food menu, everything is bar bite size and it’s only 5 to 7 dollars! It’s perfect to have a snack before heading to dinner, which is exactly what I did.

I ordered the Tropic Thunder cocktail which was $15 and crispy cauliflower bites $6.

The drink was so good! It’s a super fruity margarita.

I’m usually not a cauliflower fan but I’ll definitely be having these again. It was so crispy on the outside and the cauliflower wasn’t soggy at all. Though, I did find the pico de gallo to be very oniony. This sirarcha aioli is to die for. Yum!

The table beside me ordered I think a smoky old fashioned? It’s cool how they torch the wood and smoke it instead of using a smoke gun. It was really...