Devil’s Elbow Ale & Smoke House

I was out for a walk looking for something for supper, I found this place that seemed to have a good selection of beverages. In addition to the good selection of beers on tap they also appeared to have a good selection of bourbons and whiskys.
I had a brisket burger which was really good, I would probably come back if I was in town longer.

Awesome food, great service. Good chicken waffles, good gumbo, great mc cheese cornbread good sliders, great fries

A new favourite. Great vibe. Good selection of beers, whiskeys etc. Good BBQ selection.
They have a drink special, called «Beer, Bourbon, and Bacon». A glass of beer, a shot of bourbon, and a glass of bacon! Awesome! (Just don’t tell your cardiologist about it).
I’ll be back for sure.

The bartenders here are really cool. Cuz all the hipsters know it’s cool to be really cool

My buddy and I walked in here to get the insider scoop on restaurants. We were just next door, and that place’s limited menu let us down. Devil’s Elbow is not a food place, but more of a dive bar. This bar has an extensive selection of whiskey.
The waitress was very friendly and helpful. She took the time to talk to us for a good amount of time, told us about must-​see places in town, and recommended a drink to us.
Their bourbon is indeed very good. We just had a shot each, as we were running on empty stomachs, and we were pacing ourselves.
My buddy and I made our way back to the Westin, but appreciated the great experience from this place.
I recommend this bar if you’re in the Vancouver area.

Wife and I stopped in here to get away from the rain. The staff is friendly, the food is great, and the drinks are on point. I loved the Bourbon, Beer, and Bacon. It takes some time while they grill the bacon but it is worth it. Best bacon I’ve had in Canada. I would haunt this place if we lived here. Ask the staff for suggestions of places to check out, they are a wealth of knowledge.

What a cool place! The atmosphere is fun and laid back. The servers were very friendly and gave honest recommendations. We were going to order the brisket nachos between two of us, but our server let us know that the platter is huge. We ended up sharing between 4 people which was very wise. They have many great choices of tap beers and wines, and will let you try them before ordering. I will definitely be back!

Good beer, decent food! Live music is a plus!
Tried the pork slider and found the pork to be a bit dry! Nothing amazing about the food but it was okay for the price.
The chicken and waffles were a little disappointing for me because my chicken was bit dry and weirdly spiced. I think the chef tried to make it a little spicy but at the end it didn’t pair well for me with the waffle!
Also, I am not a big fan of the «stylishly» small water glasses! LOL .I think water glasses should be big!
Overall, a good pub-​ish, fun atmosphere to hang out and get a drink!

My first experience at this restaurant was a paired dinner with Uniqbroue Beer tasting. My dinner companion has graceful thanked me for bringing him along to taste the delicious dishes this place…

On a brisk Fall night, a large group of friends and I gathered here to celebrate two birthdays. As our group size is quite large we find it hard to get together on a Friday night but this place is great for that.
Upon arrival I noticed the the décor is the same as what Chambar was like and not a whole lot has changed aesthetically. Only the ambiance is different because of TV screens and country/90’s rap music being played in the background.
The service was a bit slow as some of were hungry and until the entire group had arrived, our server wouldn’t take food orders which I found a bit annoying.
I started off with a pint of Howe Sound Pothole Filler Stout, which is similar in body and taste to Guinness. The beer selection at this joint is above average.
My Montréal Smoked Meat sandwich was the highlight of my dining adventure; the accompanying house made ketchup was out of this world.
Overall the food and drinks were great, just the ambiance and service is missing.

Can I make a liitle confession here?
I am ADDICT to their…
WAFFLE CHICKEN WAFFLES…
WHAMMY!
You should run and go… FAST…
I swear the breading is purfect!

This stylish BBQ joint does so many things well, where do I start…
–beer bacon bourbon flight!
–so many amazing Howe sound beers and a frequently rotating guest list that’s local
–I just noticed they have delicious bomber bottles from Portland and the west coast
–the bartender’s knowledge on cocktails was ridiculous! I had 5 drinks, all of them different, confidently executed. Not expecting pre-​prohibition drinks in a place that you can wear a baseball hat to and crush back ribs… but the drinks are some of the best in the city
–brisket melted in my mouth, hand sliced, the burger is monstrous as the name implies
–French fries could be better, hand cut are the only way to go
–close to the arenas so I can hammer back a few pints on the way to Canucks or whitecaps games
–great crowd of relevant sexy people, with staff that leads that charge
–sometimes vintage movies get left on late at night instead of sports highlights. Rebel without a cause, mad max
I go here at least once a week as I live in the Area and I have loved seeing the constant improvement as many new places go through as they evolve.
Anyways live music is about to start at the devils elbow
Vincent out

What the…
Can I just say I was pretty excited to be coming back here. The weather had turned and i was looking forward to a nice dark porter/​CDA and some asian wings! Alas, it seems like the devil had other plans.
1– Two-​top discrimination — Upon entry, we were «kinda» greeted but then immediately told we couldn’t sit in one of the MANY four-​tops in the front because we were only two and they wanted to «make sure there was enough space for the concert crowd».
«Oh! who’s playing?»
«weird Al Yancovic»
*******crickets**********
so he took us to the 2-​top table options, ALL of which are right in front of the kitchen window… noisy and dark.
«No, this sucks» i said
«haha! you’re being sarcastic!» said the waiter.
my friend glanced at him…“no. she is not“
so we took a seat at the bar. but can i just remark that every other party of two who came in were given the options we weren’t AND NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE GO SEE WEIRD AL YANCOVIC!!!
jeebus
minus 2
2– Food blech — we were PSYCHED for those ribs. i hate it when restos qualify food items with a continent (Asia is a CONTINENT people) but they are goooood! the menu looked revamped and then, we realized… NO ASIAN RIBS!!! dang it!
so we got the wings (same comments as my previous review apply… also, salt and pepper wings should have salt on them) and split the rib dinner.
the ribs were pretty gross to be honest. and cold. mmm cold meat. the fries were hot and crispy but kinda felt like fast food fries with that lame ‘breaded’ coating. not impressed.
minus 1
3– Fly hotel — the piece de resistance came with the fact that there were SO MANY FLIES in the bar area. «fly» flies and fruitflies. i was literally brushing them away from our food and drinks all night. then at one point i looked up at the bottles lining the shelves behind the bar. under one of the lights i counted approximately 14 fruitflies all huddled together like they were at a convention. did something die back there? how often are they even cleaning? are they prepping for kitchen nightmares?
minus 1 (although should be minus 2)
this place has turned into a real dive bar. crap food, lame service but with the veneer of specializing in something and being cool. beer selection is decent but i promise you, i am not coming back. plenty of other spots with great beer.

Good beer, good food, good company
I’ve first heard about this restaurant when i was eating at Howe Sound Brewery after my epic hike. I recommended this place for a friend’s birthday, and i think everyone had a great time. we ordered a big meat platter to share, and each had a lot of beer on tap. This place is good for big groups, but make sure you book ahead. Bonus: The waiter had a really good sense of humor

This place is really conveniently located to me, so I gave it 4 chances each time hoping maybe they’ll get better. The food and drinks are great, but the service — I just have no words. I’ve never seen staff who are just so… openly displeased at everything.
In my opinion, if I’m going out for after-​work drinks to a bar certain things are within the realm of normal and polite. These things would be: my whole group will not arrive at the same time, some people will stay for one drink, some people will stay for 3 drinks, some people for 4. Some people will start off sitting in one chair, but then have a conversation, and move to another chair. Some people will (oh Lord save us from this catastrophe) actually stand up and chat standing next to the table. Wow. Oh lordy, lordy. It’s the end of the world as we know it.
Well, none of this is apparently acceptable behavior at the Devil’s elbow. We had a big group and people were planning on coming and going as they get off work, and the staff would actually not let them come in and join us because they thought we had enough people at our table. But the whole place was half empty. I kid you not. Some tables were reserved, but most weren’t.
I consider myself a polite person. But if I have to go to a BAR where I’m not allowed to move from one seat to another, so as not to upset the servers, and my polite professional coworkers in their forties are treated like a rowdy bunch for wanting to have fun and chat and have a drink, then I won’t go to that place. And this has happened every time I’ve gone there.
So I guess if you like quietly sitting in the same chair all night and looking into your cup, this is the place for you. Don’t make eye contact with the staff, and try not to have too much fun. This displeases them.

Outstanding food. I had the duck sandwich and butternut squash lentul soup and it was excellent. Our party had chicken, brisket and salads and all of agree it was super and a good value. Lots beer on tap!

Food 2
Service 2
Ambiance 4
After reading several reviews and having the location so close to where I live, I was stoked to try out this new place. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the food but can see this as a good place to burrow into as a new drinking «hole» (hole in a good way!).
Food:
SMOKED TUNA ($ 13) — togarashi rub, sweet ponzu onions, tobiko ³⁄₅
Similar to a tuna tataki dish except that the tuna has been smoked rather than raw and lightly seared. I was hoping for more «wetness» and a ponzu sauce to accompany it.
PULLED PORK PURSES ($ 11) — smoked pork butt, smoked bacon, cabbage, Zesty honey BBQ sauce ³⁄₅
A take on a Chinese eggroll, these pork purses were tasty but again needed more saucy goodness inside. The honey BBQ sauce that it came with was delicious, I just wish there was some of it on the inside.
SHARED PLATE FOR 2 ($ 39) — Braised beef short ribs, smoked chicken, salmon ²⁄₅
The meats were all cooked perfectly but lacked flavor all around. Disappointed with this dish.
Service:
Plenty of servers however… quality over quantity!
Ambiance:
Dig the rustic décor. The front of the restaurant’s music is a bit loud for my preference but if you want something a TAD more quieter, I would opt for towards the back of the restaurant. But since the back hosts many of the bigger group tables, the chatter from other tables leaked over.
Overall, would not come back for the food, but definitely worth it for the drinks.

What a nice surprise, we were suppose to go to Chambar next door but could not accommodate our party of four so we decided to check this place out. The place was pretty slow at 5:30pm on a Sunday night. No problem getting a table. We had tickets to watch a show at Queen Elizabeth theater so we wanted to be close to the theater.
The menu was generally comfort food such as mac ’ cheese, ribs, short ribs, pulled pork, sandwiches, so much more! I ordered a couple of appys and a glass of red. The sliders were good and I ordered side of fries. The fries was delish and came a spicy dipping sauce. Everyone my table enjoyed their meals they ordered. The portion are very generous I barely finished my two appys. They have a great selection of beers on tap and great cocktails. The service was on point and the atmosphere is very relaxed.

From Howe Sound Brewing in Squamish, Devil’s Elbow is their «tied house», off-​site brew pub. As a seemingly modern gastropub tied to primarily serving a particular brewery’s beer, Devil’s Elbow mixes Howe Sound’s reliably solid craft beer lineup with the usual pub fare.
HSB makes some good, diverse beers and Devil’s Elbow was a pleasant experience, but with the advent of local brewery tasting rooms, it just felt like it was missing something.
As for the beer, I very much liked the Whitecap Wheat Ale with its easy drinking nature, fresh taste and aroma. The Rail Ale Nut Brown Ale was a little standard but nicely full-​bodied with a good bite to it.
I was disappointed by the IPA mac ‘n cheese with its satisfactory but unremarkable taste and texture. It needed more creaminess and possibly IPA flavour.
As for the smoked duck BLT (with orange glaze, smoked bacon, rosemary jam, and sans tomato), it was quite tasty. Served on a long bun, it was tricky to eat with the thick cut pieces of duck, but still quite enjoyable. This is a good sandwich.
For a downtown bar close to the stadium district, you can’t go wrong with the quaint, appealing bar. In between Crosstown and Gastown, it’s wedged in a fancier district near the stadiums and makes for an appealing watering hole.

Came by for some alcoholic goodness. This place is the former site of Chambar, which moved a few doors down.
Parking here is horrendous — try to take the SkyTrain here instead.
The inside definitely has that trendy hipster feel we’ve all come to love on the West Coast. Right down to the feel-​good name of the place. The seating area is one long bar area, as well as a larger room in the back, and a special VIP lounge with its own separate bar.
Staff were friendly and easygoing. Always a nice thing about most hipster places.
The beer selection is quite decent, with craft beers taking the centre stage. I tried the Sky Pilot Northwest, and it wasn’t bad at all. They also have a house brew available.
I also tried the yam fries, and they were fresh and crispy.
The place was nice and chill, and quite quiet on a Monday. Great place for a chat and good times.