Canada's Top 15 Hotel Bars

Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge
Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, Vancouver



This is the paradigm of the old-school hotel bar. Pianist riffing on jazz standards? Check. Roaring fire? Check. If the three-martini lunch still exists, it exists here, although the suits really start to congregate after work when the room is buzzing with bigwigs. Later on in the evening, don’t be surprised if a patron gets up the nerve to try out his piano skills with a boozy rendition of “Misty.”

Eat
Bacchus Cobb Salad. There’s no trickery here (bacon foam, anyone?), just a classic Cobb, expertly executed.

Drink
Boulevard Martini: Maker’s Mark bourbon, Grand Marnier Louis Alexandre, Cinzano and bitters. 

Uva Wine Bar
Moda Hotel, Vancouver



If the best Vietnamese restaurant is the one with the most Vietnamese people, does that make the best bar the one with the most bartenders? If so, Uva is a contender. Small is beautiful in this industry favourite. The room’s modern decor with its bold wallpaper and prickly fixtures is tempered by the building’s historical elements, like
the 100-year-old terrazzo floor.

Eat
The charcuterie plate comes with thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, a sprinkling of parsley and a handful of  Marcona almonds. Inspired.

Drink
Served in a coupe glass that resembles an upside-down CN Tower, the Toronto cocktail is a brash and lively combination of rye, Fernet-Branca, cane sugar, Angostura bitters and orange oils.

Yew Restaurant + Bar
Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver

Photo: André Doyon/ lowprofile.ca; Styling: Anne Fillion; Food Styling: Noah Witenoff; Thanks to The Bay and to vinumdesign.com

Massive renovations – featuring western red cedar, alder and fir – have transformed the staid former Garden Terrace into an elegant West Coast space. To keep the wood-heavy feel from falling into patchouli love-in territory, the designers have incorporated a glass jewel box of a private dining area smack in the middle of the room. Now both the power brokers and the pink-drink crowd feel equally at home.

Eat
Dungeness crab BLT with a tomato chili jam, prosciutto crisp and a mesclun green salad.

Drink
Pacifica: vodka, ginger and agave syrup, the latter ingredient giving a sticky sweetness that balances out the zippy ginger.

Bar
Hotel Eldorado, Kelowna

In the summer months, when the healthy, tanned and attractive staff all run around in white, the bar resembles a cross between a sanatorium and a tennis club. It maintains its tavern credentials with numerous variations on spiked lemonade and a lengthy list of wines by the glass, many of them local. When it’s warm, try to book a spot outside on the large patio overlooking the marina. Spontaneous singalongs have been known to break out to classic Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen tunes on the stereo.

Eat
There’s a complete steak-house menu, but save room for the truffled lobster mac ’n’ cheese, a very popular recurring special.

Drink
El Crantini, a deceptively pretty cranberry cocktail that makes good use of Finlandia vodka.

Raw Bar
Hotel Arts, Calgary

Anyone expecting bronco statues and wagon-wheel tables will be in for a shock. The brightly coloured room with its wavy ceiling and oversize chairs is more Wonderland than Cowtown. The bar looks out on the heated swimming pool in the courtyard, where model types canoodle with oil tycoons. The art of flair bartending – think Tom Cruise in Cocktail – remains alive and well, and a few of the bartenders here compete with the world’s best.

Eat
Platter of chilled, marinated seafood: mussels, clams, oysters, prawns, crab and lobster. Big enough for a table of four.

Drink
To keep things from falling too far down the rabbit hole, stick with a classic like the French 75, which combines Tanqueray No. Ten with Taittinger champagne, fresh lemon juice and a touch of sugar.