Great atmosphere, fantastic service. We had a fabulous evening in this unique cocktail bar.
Rain De Guzman
The place looked really well done. Very nice touches to everything. Cocktails were creative and the food was well priced and delicious! Try the eggplant! I didn't know it could taste like that!
Michelle
Vancouver needs more hip and cool speakeasies like LaoWai, I give it five star for decor and ambience. The cocktail menu is creative and different from any other places. Food was solid. Salty and greasy, which pairs well with the cocktails but nothing special. I feel the bartenders and servers could be more personable and social with the patrons. I find the fun part about speakeasies is being able to have a good conversation with people. I hope in the future, post pandemic, the atmosphere would be more fun. Love the live music! Overall three star.
Ipshita Sahu
Great new place if you want to escape the mundane. A really cool speakeasy you must check out at least once?Pros: Really cool vibes; Good food; Interesting drinks; Live music; Uniquely done menu booklet; Super cheerful and friendly staff.Cons: A bit of a wait but all that pays off at the end. The food tastes a tad bit sweeter and the drinks a tad bit boozier. And the baijiu (oh man!) Fair warning - not for the faint of the heart !!Food: Jade Drink (great) + Khan and I drink (ok); Pork belly (delish); veggie shumai (interesting) + Lamb dumplings (yum) + pork Szechuan dumpling (ok) + lingcod (delish) + baijiu drink (by Joe!!) + Other drinks can't remember anymore.All and all a Great night out !!Interesting tidbit - the front store to the speakeasy is the restaurant's to go shop called the blind tiger spelled 'blnd tger'. Do you know why ? 'cause they took out the eyes ?
Paul Ambrose Lythgo
I’m giving this place 5 stars based solely on the quality and innovation of the cocktails and the fantastic service. I really don’t care for the eccentricity/secrecy, and the obviously-manipulated google reviews. I seriously don’t believe that people waited several hours only to be turned away. If true, re-evaluate your life. There are many options on this block.
Alice Willis
Waaww, this place is just amazing, from the decor to the well though out menu. Top points to everyone involved who has brought this place to what it is.Thanks Brett & Louis for the fabulous hospitality, I’ll be back & I’ll be sending many people your way too.Seeing these bad reviews about wait time annoys me, it’s a brand new hidden gem which everyone wants to go to, so yes there is a wait and if you know it’s 2 hours (which a lot of places are right now), either wait or run across the road to the Irish Heather for a couple before your spot opens up. Easy!Get down there people, you might have to wait but you won’t be be disappointed!!
Kirk Bonnis
Vancouver needs more cool places like Laowai. Such a cool concept. Amazing décor. Knowledgeable staff. Food, cocktails and music were all fantastic. I can't wait to go back again. The place was slammed from the moment they opened...rightfully so... get there early. What a vibe.
Mike Devlin
An amazing experience! I’d heard great things about the drinks but the food was unexpectedly good! The smoky tofu noodles were excellent as was the lingcod and crispy eggplant!The cocktail menu was a hardcover with some of the most interesting drinks I’ve ever had. Recommend the “Behind Blue Eyes” and “The Khan and I”. Will definitely be back again soon!
Lauren Tagg
Food was great! Atmosphere was lovely! Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. It was obvious that a lot of attention to detail has gone into the space. Will definitely be going back.
What an awesome experience at Laowai! Something with such an edge here in Vancouver. You can tell that the owners definitely put a lot of time and effort into the space and menu - the cocktails were so delicious! Just went for drinks and to check the new space out after dinner. Excited to go back and try the dumplings!
K H
Pros: Great decor. Live music. Speakeasy vibes. Fun menu with main theme of dumplings (wish we could have tried more food but everything was sold out by 8pm, can forgive as it was the first week open)Cons: Not taking phone numbers and texting for the waitlist, making your guests stand in the street for 2+ hours when it's 2021 and we have the technology to notify someone a table is available. This makes people hangry and thirsty and impatient. Partner and I ordered a drink each, we both had a sip and didn't finish, they were not nice drinks. Would have said something but we were so over waiting and the server took 20 minutes to come back to the table.Will wait 6 months for this spot to work out the kinks first before spending more money and time. It has potential but isn't there yet.
Fitzpatrick Phillips
My first google review (I think) and this place was so wonderful. Food was great and the drinks were even better. Extremely friendly staff who are very knowledgeable and make you feel at home. Can’t wait to come back!
Kyle Le
Don’t know why you would post awful reviews about a restaurant you know damn well just opened a few days ago. Especially during a time where restaurants and small businesses need our help the most. Shame on all of you. I digress, Louis was lovely and our experience in the beautiful restaurant was great. Don’t listen to the people who couldn’t get past the front door.
Michael Tonks
Terrible experience at the door. It was obvious the people at the door favoured there friends or others. We waited two and half hours after being told it would be only an hour. So many restaurants in the area that are miles better and actually respect there customers.
Superb
Great atmosphere, fantastic service. We had a fabulous evening in this unique cocktail bar.
The place looked really well done. Very nice touches to everything. Cocktails were creative and the food was well priced and delicious! Try the eggplant! I didn't know it could taste like that!
Vancouver needs more hip and cool speakeasies like LaoWai, I give it five star for decor and ambience. The cocktail menu is creative and different from any other places. Food was solid. Salty and greasy, which pairs well with the cocktails but nothing special. I feel the bartenders and servers could be more personable and social with the patrons. I find the fun part about speakeasies is being able to have a good conversation with people. I hope in the future, post pandemic, the atmosphere would be more fun. Love the live music! Overall three star.
Great new place if you want to escape the mundane. A really cool speakeasy you must check out at least once?Pros: Really cool vibes; Good food; Interesting drinks; Live music; Uniquely done menu booklet; Super cheerful and friendly staff.Cons: A bit of a wait but all that pays off at the end. The food tastes a tad bit sweeter and the drinks a tad bit boozier. And the baijiu (oh man!) Fair warning - not for the faint of the heart !!Food: Jade Drink (great) + Khan and I drink (ok); Pork belly (delish); veggie shumai (interesting) + Lamb dumplings (yum) + pork Szechuan dumpling (ok) + lingcod (delish) + baijiu drink (by Joe!!) + Other drinks can't remember anymore.All and all a Great night out !!Interesting tidbit - the front store to the speakeasy is the restaurant's to go shop called the blind tiger spelled 'blnd tger'. Do you know why ? 'cause they took out the eyes ?
I’m giving this place 5 stars based solely on the quality and innovation of the cocktails and the fantastic service. I really don’t care for the eccentricity/secrecy, and the obviously-manipulated google reviews. I seriously don’t believe that people waited several hours only to be turned away. If true, re-evaluate your life. There are many options on this block.
Waaww, this place is just amazing, from the decor to the well though out menu. Top points to everyone involved who has brought this place to what it is.Thanks Brett & Louis for the fabulous hospitality, I’ll be back & I’ll be sending many people your way too.Seeing these bad reviews about wait time annoys me, it’s a brand new hidden gem which everyone wants to go to, so yes there is a wait and if you know it’s 2 hours (which a lot of places are right now), either wait or run across the road to the Irish Heather for a couple before your spot opens up. Easy!Get down there people, you might have to wait but you won’t be be disappointed!!
Vancouver needs more cool places like Laowai. Such a cool concept. Amazing décor. Knowledgeable staff. Food, cocktails and music were all fantastic. I can't wait to go back again. The place was slammed from the moment they opened...rightfully so... get there early. What a vibe.
An amazing experience! I’d heard great things about the drinks but the food was unexpectedly good! The smoky tofu noodles were excellent as was the lingcod and crispy eggplant!The cocktail menu was a hardcover with some of the most interesting drinks I’ve ever had. Recommend the “Behind Blue Eyes” and “The Khan and I”. Will definitely be back again soon!
Food was great! Atmosphere was lovely! Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. It was obvious that a lot of attention to detail has gone into the space. Will definitely be going back.
Restaurantji Recommends
What an awesome experience at Laowai! Something with such an edge here in Vancouver. You can tell that the owners definitely put a lot of time and effort into the space and menu - the cocktails were so delicious! Just went for drinks and to check the new space out after dinner. Excited to go back and try the dumplings!
Pros: Great decor. Live music. Speakeasy vibes. Fun menu with main theme of dumplings (wish we could have tried more food but everything was sold out by 8pm, can forgive as it was the first week open)Cons: Not taking phone numbers and texting for the waitlist, making your guests stand in the street for 2+ hours when it's 2021 and we have the technology to notify someone a table is available. This makes people hangry and thirsty and impatient. Partner and I ordered a drink each, we both had a sip and didn't finish, they were not nice drinks. Would have said something but we were so over waiting and the server took 20 minutes to come back to the table.Will wait 6 months for this spot to work out the kinks first before spending more money and time. It has potential but isn't there yet.
My first google review (I think) and this place was so wonderful. Food was great and the drinks were even better. Extremely friendly staff who are very knowledgeable and make you feel at home. Can’t wait to come back!
Don’t know why you would post awful reviews about a restaurant you know damn well just opened a few days ago. Especially during a time where restaurants and small businesses need our help the most. Shame on all of you. I digress, Louis was lovely and our experience in the beautiful restaurant was great. Don’t listen to the people who couldn’t get past the front door.
Terrible experience at the door. It was obvious the people at the door favoured there friends or others. We waited two and half hours after being told it would be only an hour. So many restaurants in the area that are miles better and actually respect there customers.
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