Alexander Gastown

This is a place where you can dance, chill, drink or whatever. The crowd is always good, and the sound is great. Good staff. Dope venue.

Love it here, great DJs, friendly bar staff and they always have a variety of different events so it never gets «old»

So it looks like Canvas is now closed and replaced by The Alexander. As this is a very recent change, as of the time of writing there wasn’t even a sign out front yet. I would’ve walked right by if it weren’t for the doorman stopping me and inviting me in.
Parking is available in front at night. One nice part about this area of town is that clubbers don’t take up every spot under the sun. With that said, the area is definitely seedier, but the culture is there.
The bar is split level on the W side, with an upper area overlooking the lower section (bar area) via a balcony. Towards the rear there is room for a DJ, a small live band, and even a mini dance floor. On the E side (it’s more like a «basement level») there’s a much larger open area for mingling.
The night I went (Wednesday), whiskey singles were $ 4. Not too bad. A quick glance shows a typical variety of whiskies available. This is no Irish Heather, but if you just want a no-​frills drink and don’t feel like chatting.
On this night the DJ was having audio problems — the music was punctuated with both feedback (too loud) and the audio cutting out (too quiet) due to a bad connection somewhere. His setup looked temporary though, so I’m sure they’ll get this fixed eventually.
My one complaint about this establishment is the layout — it is too freaking narrow. People were jostling me repeatedly, and on this night the place wasn’t even 40% full. You’ll probably be packed in here like sardines when this place gets popular. Can’t really blame the owners though — it’s all part of being in a heritage building.