Backstage Lounge

I have friends down to Vancouver for the week and took them over to Granville Island to show them around and have a beer on the patio at this place. We sit for about 10 minutes and nothing but the waitress looking through the window at us. So I go get our drinks from the bar and take them outside thinking maybe they are just not serving on the patio. 15 minutes later two groups show up and come on the patio and the waitress comes out and serves these people. This is atrocious and will not come back. Get it together, you are at one of the hotspots on the island.

This place varies every night. Some nights it is packed with young 20 something year olds and sometimes is cougar city. Either way it’s a fun vibe, the bands have always been good and the dance floor seems to be quite happening every night I have been there, including week days.

Don’t expect a good poor. Here on a $ 4 high ball evening and I’m fairly certain we barely had vodka with out tonic.
The food was fair. Veggies with hummus were plentiful, fresh, and crisp. The kitchen doesn’t understand the difference between feta and dairy, but it’s a bar, so that wasn’t a surprise or disappointment.
I was surprised how dirty the patio was. There were cigarette butts, used paper napkins, and even a used bandaid under the chair at our table.
It’s probably a good place late at night with live music, but not for a late afternoon for drinks on the patio.

There may be signs «no minors», which we hadn’t seen, but the first staff who saw us with a stroller said to us in a super bitch tone that we couldn’t come with a baby. I have been here before for cocktails amongst adults but this waitress may have just killed it forever for us. On any other more polite tone would have been better. Not good for any kids, because they are not welcome at any age, no matter how well behaved/​asleep they are. No minors.

Burger meat had a green hue! I took one bite, and it tasted so bizarre and gross. The fries were good. but wow. First time I have not eaten a meal after ordering it. Asked for the check (she took it off the bill as it was clearly disgusting) and got out of there.
I could also tell that the meat had been frozen and not unthawed before trying to cook it. such a shame when 15 steps away there is fresh local meat at the granville market. When I pay 15 dollars for a burger I expect a base level of quality, but mcdonalds blows this one out of the park.
My girlfriend had a ceaser salad. It would work as a side salad but not at the entrée price. She stopped eating after seeing my burger.
Waitress was kind and positive, though we didnt get asked for refills and both ran dry. There were only about 5 other tables of people when we were there.

A busy sports-​bar /​modern pub on Granville Island, right next to several theaters. It features both indoor and outdoor seating, a good selection of beers, and a good selection of bar food, salads and small dishes.
They can handle small groups (10 – 12 people) fairly easily, and the waitress had no trouble keeping track of separate checks for our party, even matching up couples properly, though they changed places over time to talk to different friends.
The drinks and beer were good, the food OK (kind of standard, but fine).

My wife and I are enrolled in Rob’s and Alexis’s East Coast Swing (
) dance class and have been attending Sunday ‘Swing Night’ at the Backstage Lounge for 3 nights thus far. We were going to Lux Lounge prior to this. I am writing to say that we like the Backstage more so than the Lux because the dance floor and stage are larger and the tables are set up in a better fashion. The fact that your sound system doesn’t cut out ever few minutes also helps :-)
We very much enjoyed your flat bread, other assorted fresh dishes, cheap stellas (Sundays), and fine scotch, and you charge a reasonable price for a double; thanx!
One negative comment er… ahm… suggestion… the Nachos bite! I have not had such dry salty fake corn chips served all but completely lacking in fresh veggies, bla-​zae guacamole stuck together with the most god-​awful cheese in recent memory.
Located by the water on Granvile Island there is a wonderful patio overlooking False Creek and nightly live entertainment. The speed of table service is poor so consider walking up to the bar and purchasing a Stella and/​or fine Scotch while you are waiting.
I would especially like to thank Steve, one of the managers, who quickly and cordially put things right after a disappointing meal (the Nachos).
We will be attending many more Sunday ‘Swing Nights’ at the Backstage, where parking is free after 6pm, which helps to make up for the cover.

Music great, atmosphere great, food ok, bar staff absolutely obnoxious — and that’s the reason for the two stars — because no matter how good certain aspects of a bar are, if you’re treated like sh*t by the people who work there, what’s the point?
At a certain point in the night the backstage lounge always switches from table service to bar only service (which is fine in my book). It’s just a shame that some of the bar staff are rude a holes.

When i arrived, there was a $ 5 cover charge, which I didn’t mind at all. I went over to the bar to order a couple of drinks only to be faced with a line that just would not move. It was packed and there were only 2 bartenders on deck. Of course the line that I just so happened to be waiting in had the SLOWEST BARTENDER ON EARTH. There were only about 4 people in front of us and we waited a good 25 — 30 min for a long island iced tea and 2 shots of tequila. I was pretty annoyed too because she would serve people who CLEARLY budged in line. After the first round I knew it was going to be a sober night. There was no way I was going to wait in that dreaded line again for the «juice» that they were serving us. The long island literally tasted like cool aid so I strongly advise against it!
I came here on a Friday night to watch a live funk band play a 2 hour set. I looked at the reviews on Unilocal and saw that it was a popular music venue so I had high expectations of their sound system… sadly disappointed though because the mics were low for the whole show and no one bothered to fix it? That confused me…
Granville Island isn’t exactly the most accessible place so I wouldn’t be interested in going out of my way to come back unless another good band was playing. and for the future I’ll come prepared having had drinks before hand that’s for damn sure.

We went here to see a few local bands on a Wednesday night. Upon paying an $ 8.00 cover at the door we entered an almost completely empty bar. I jubilantly stand up and applaud the Backstage Lounge for supporting local bands. I just wish they didn’t charge so much for cover, had a better food menu, and faster service. Anyways cheers to the great view and sound system.

My wife and I spent a nice summer afternoon at this place. There was some corporate boat building event was going on the harbor next to this place. Although I believe a true nature of a lounge is only visible late at night, this place was equally good for a sunny afternoon.
They have excellent collection of beer. But, the collection of cocktails is very limited. We were not that hungry but wanted to get something to bite, We ordered for a spinach and artichoke dip and a soprano sandwich. I was pleasantly delighted to see that they nicely halved the sandwich and served in separate dishes. That made our sharing and bite experience excellent.
I visit Granville island often and planning to visit them after-​hours too.

If you’re waiting for a show to start, Backstage Lounge is a good spot to find yourself in for a pre show bite or drink. They announce the next show start over the lounge speakers and someone also comes in to make sure there’s no one missing the doors opening.
However, just popping in for a brew or a quick bite? Our experience wasn’t so great. The sign said to seat ourselves anywhere. So we did. And we waited… and then waited. I got up to go to the washroom and came back. Then we waited. Where was everyone? Our server came over after we flagged someone down.
We ended up sharing a pizza and we each got a pint. There’s at least a decent beer selection here. Pizza wise, you’re looking at 4 choices. We split the Gotti — salami, ham, carmalized onions, feta and mozzarella cheese, topped with fresh tomatoes.
The food and beer would warrant a 3.5 stars. But they weren’t enough to wipe away my underwhelming first impression of the Backstage Lounge.

Spent a couple of hours there with a large group on the weekend — 3^rd time in about 18 months — and increasingly disappointing.
Great location (on the water) with a good outside patio, although the food and drink prices are definitely too high for what’s delivered.
Might deserve 4 stars or more if most of the service staff, particularly the bartenders, were not among the laziest and rudest ever encountered. An easy thing to fix (retrain or rehire), but I guess the owner doesn’t give a damn. I don’t either. Done with the joint.

I would have given them 1 star but their Tues special Lager was delicious AND only $ 1.96. Maybe that is not out of the ordinary in Vancouver, but I’m visiting from Toronto and beers on special would be $ 4.99 if you show up on the right day.
My experience at The Backstage Lounge was pleasant because of the company I had and the waitress was very polite. However, our food took one hour to arrive at our table. There were 7 of us… one of whom didn’t order any food.
I ordered the Chicken Pomme Panini with a side of fries ($ 12.38). The description sounded delicious. Apples, chicken, caramelized onions and slathered with cheese… how could this go wrong? Oh but it could.
The chicken and the apples were diced so small. They were almost none existent. All I could taste was the buttered bread. I had to open it up to see if there was any filling in there. Hardly any. I threw on some black pepper and red peppers which gave it some flavour. There were two of us at the table who ordered this and there was no doubt that this was probably the worst panini we’ve had in a while.
To top things off, the fries were the frozen crinkle cut fries. The kind you serve children at birthday parties because they don’t know any better.
You do get a 15% for watching a show next door but needless to say, I will not be going back for food… maybe just for a drink on their patio.

I love Backstage lounge for summertime day drinking. They have a fantastic patio right under the bridge, and daily drink specials.
Lurve it!

Perfect place to drink away a sunny afternoon. Or drink away the evening watching a live show. Patio is wonderful and lets you perve on both tourists and passing boat traffic.
Vast drink menu at cheap prices. Veggie options are disappointing though so just plan to drink if you’re veg. The edamame was way over cooked.
Did I mention the drinks and the patio?

My go-​to place to bring friends from out of town! Go on thursdays to listen and dance to The Phonix. I seriously want that band to play my wedding or birthday or every day anything. They play some of the most fun and easy to dance to music I have had the pleasure of seeing live. To top off thursday nights, beer is $ 1.59! Do you know how ridiculously awesome that is! AND it’s not crappy beer; it’s Bowen Island Lager! IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?
Oh yeah: did I mention the chairs are incredibly comfortable?

Came here to check out their West Coast Wednesdays, and to watch a live performance.
Parking around Granville Island wasn’t too bad today. Of course, being the slowest day of the week totally helps.
The lounge itself is quite small. There are a few tables, with a small stage and dance floor. I don’t think this place can even hold 100 people. The stage is off to the side, placed in such a way that only about half of the seating area can view it.
The place was totally packed due to one of the singers having her record label crew there as well. The rest of the place wasn’t too crowded. There was no lineup at the door.
They have a wide selection of local brews. With that said, there was nothing exotic about the variety.
The one thing I wasn’t too happy about was the accoustics. The equipment is undersized. You can hear the speakers saturating. Maybe if they just turned it down a notch it wouldn’t be so bad.
Overall it’s a good place to watch some loud music and enjoy a drink, but not the best place to chat with your friends.

I like Backstage Lounge because it is a GREAT spot to hang out at during happy hour. THere is a good selection of beers. Good variety of food. They even have poutine here!
And if you’re dining outside in the patio, there is an excellent view of the marina. Life doesn’t get better than this.

Forget waiting in line for an hour to get into a crappy club playing crappy music, Backstage Lounge is the place to be.
With upscale digs, no line-​ups, killer Granville Island waterfront view, and live bands, can you ask for more?
Okay, so the food isn’t the greatest, but this is definitely a great place for some boozing and dancing (or if you’re like me, just head bobbing).
The Phonix (
) was the band of the night. They were superb, playing old classics. The female and male vocal leads were stellar. Soul filled passion throughout every song.
Crowd was a friendly mix of old, young, and in-​between. You gotta love watching 50 year old+ couples doing the funky dance.
Definitely going to be a regular weekend hang out place.