Judge Begbie’s Tavern

This fun and fabulous little pub is smack-​dab in the centre of New Westminster right on Columbia Street. We really enjoy the patio for people watching downtown. The staff here is excellent, always friendly with zero attitude. The drink and food specials are priced well, The food is pretty good here and they have a screaming hot Caesar that will wake up your taste buds. It is one of our favorite pubs in town.

My experience here was so so. Nothing terrible happened, but the service was not the best despite it being pretty quiet on that night, and the pizza we had was lacklustre and seriously over priced for the quality and portion. The dry ribs were not bad though.

Dropped in here a little over a week ago. I was having my tires changed at a nearby tire shop and had a bit of time to kill. I was hungry and felt like having a pint, so why not?
Food:
Meh. I ordered a personal sized pizza. Aside from being burned on one side, it was a rather poor rendition of pizza. Don’t get me wrong, it was edible and had all the basics, but I felt like they took a frozen pizza from some sub-​par supermarket brand and shoved it in the oven too long. It was seriously uninspired. I wouldn’t pass on eating it if I was stranded on a deserted island and this was the only food available to me, but I think that’s about the only situation where I would ever say «I wish I could have a bite of that pizza from Judge Begbie’s Tavern right now».
Service:
So there were 5 patrons in this place (including myself). A bartender was serving 2 of the patrons and one server handling me and the two other patrons (who were at one table). The other party already had their food and drink so I was basically the servers only responsibility.
Beer glass — empty for 15 minutes before I put it right at the edge of the table (it was a single errant touch away from shattering on the floor) so she would get the hint. This is a pub. How do I go 15 minutes before getting her attention (once) to get my beer refilled when I’m the only patron she is responsible for? Oh right, too busy chatting up the bartender, that’s how.
Price:
About average. Maybe a bit pricier than their local competition because they have slightly upscale décor.
Won’t be back, unless of course I happen to be in New Westminster when an earthquake strikes trapping me right outside of this pub and the only food and drink I can get is inside. In that case I would eat/​drink here without a second thought.

I really wanted to like this place because of the cheap drinks. But I’ve just had s@*# experiences all around.
1. I ordered a Manhattan. Yes, it is on the menu. Clearly the server/​bartender had zero clue how to make a Manhattan. I almost got up to do it myself. Horrible experience that I paid far too much for. I would have preferred that she told me she didn’t know how to do it… I should have complained but I hate being that person and I didn’t want what she’d done to go to waste.
2. I’ve had food there multiple times and am consistently disappointed. Pace picante sauce is not salsa… and there’s nothing tuscan in a quesadilla. The beef dip was the only think that was «ok» but even then it was greasy. Their fries aren’t bad and with the house sauces on the table, you can play with your food a little.
I guess I’d go for a beer and a quick appie snack or to meat up with friends, but it’s really hard to give it a better rating with so many other pubs in the area doing everything… well, better.

Great ambience, the peanuts are a nice touch, the patio is amazing. Only thing that is a drag is that the food and beer menus are a bit limited, especially when it comes to options for my vegetarian and celiac friends.
But if I should ever come by with others outside my regular group, this is a nice little place. Service is good — no complaints but no wow factor either. Definitely worth trying.

I’m tempted to say that this is my favourite «dive bar» in New Westminster — however that probably isn’t a fair description, as despite the free roasted peanuts at the door, cheap beer and down to earth staff, this place incorporates all of the best features of a dive bar, without any of the downsides.
The food is affordable — and there are daily specials, which makes those items food «wonder how they’re turning a profit» cheap. Everyday there are sleeves of beer on for $ 3.50 to $ 4.00. Plenty of TV’s — great for the game, plenty of group seating, and nice German style long tables throughout the middle of the bar, which strike me as the perfect place to talk to new people (if you are more sociable than myself).
The food items are basic pubby — but done very nicely. A few different items on the menu, like Tater Tot Poutine and Memphis Lollipops (which are some form of devil food involving a pulled pork lollipop breaded and deep fried). A very nice touch is their selection of ⁴⁄₅ different brands of hot sauces, and very nicely in house made sauces (there are two different types of BBQ sauce, and a tangy ketchup).
Also a shoutout for being one of the only places in New Westminster I’ve been to where the DD in our group can get 1 refill of pop without being charged again (and at $ 2.50 for a decent sized mason jar of soda, only a true sugar junkie would probably want any more).
And the servers — always very busy, but also always friendly. Not a hint of attitude — and always around for a refill.
A massive upgrade over it’s Drink incarnation in my opinion.

I did not go here when it was The Drink. I do however wish it was still The Drink but it has become very clear to me that the crowd that these businesses around here cater to wouldn’t frequent quite a fancy establishment as it was presented to be. So, the changes are understandable.
The service was good. Some of the décor cool. Bathrooms very clean. The prices and drinks were good. And luckily for me on a Thursday night after escaping one place down the road full of… characters… I landed here where it was a little quieter and the crowd seemed a little more put together.

Way better than the original drink lounge. It’s great for a younger crowd to watch the hockey game. They have 1.75 sliders and tater tots every hockey game. Tvs everywhere so you can watch the game at any seat. The service is always good too.

This used to be known as the Drink, but the owners decided to turn the former cocktail lounge into more of a pub. The décor is basically the same as before, except they’ve plastered TVs all over the walls and added some neon bar signs and Canucks pennants (of course). The clash of concepts is weird.
The Judge Begbie’s menu has had a complete makeover, however, with lots of ribs, cheeseburgers, and wings on the menu, served in enormous portions. (The couple sitting across from us had a great big pile of nachos served to them, which I noted was listed on the side of the menu called «Not So Hungry.») I’m guessing this is part of the «American» theme of Begbie’s, which now features Moonshine cocktails and American beer like Sam Adams, and, yes, Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I had a PBR to see what all the hipster kids are on about. There were some peanuts on the table, but we weren’t sure if they were free community peanuts, American bar style, or if the other couple had asked for them. In the Canadian tradition, we felt too shy to ask, the others didn’t offer to share, and the server didn’t bring them either.
So we just drank our drinks and got out of there. Because for all its half-​assery in décor and service, Judge Begbie’s goes FULL OUT on the noise. Remember all those TVs? You can’t escape them, they’re everywhere you look and they block out all conversation. Really, if we want to drink while staring at the TV, we can all just stay home. It was a game night, but still, as Huey Lewis might say, «I’m afraid you’re just too darn loud.»
They still have a little patio on Columbia Street; maybe in the summer, I’ll be able to tolerate that and have a pleasant drink. For now, it’s a sausage party in an echo chamber.