Darby’s Pub

Okay.
I’m moving this week and have ordered Darby’s delivery twice in the last few days for my friend and I. It’s one of the only places that delivers nearby that isn’t pizza or sushi and doesn’t have a $ 50 minimum delivery fee (That WowTasty delivery site can suck it, seriously), so it’s got that going.
First night, we ordered the mac and cheese and a burger. They were out of mac and cheese which is fine — it happens — and we had to go through a ridiculous ordeal with the restaurant and JustEat (again, not totally Darby’s fault) to get it switched with a menu item for the exact same price. We ordered the philly cheesesteak without peppers in place of the mac and cheese. I’ve previously reviewed the cheesesteak and found it to be fairly improved this time, though they prepared it with peppers. Cool. There are a lot of peppers on the menu by the way. Interesting. The burger was charred but okay, and the fries were pretty good. Worth trying again a few nights later to avoid pizza and sushi.
That was tonight.
We managed to get the mac and cheese (yay!), but it was not very good. Extremely bland, even the ham. Next up was the chorizo tacos, and they were hugely disappointing. The tortillas were basically raw, and the chorizo was fried and completely bland and devoid of spice. If you’re going to fry chorizo for a taco, you should definitely indicate that on the menu. It totally changes the flavour and texture of the dish, and we would not have ordered it if we had known.
We also got some chocolate mousse. This was a bit of a mistake. The mousse was the best thing we’d had off the menu so far, but we kept tasting these hard little (VERY tiny) beads in the mousse. They were the colour of the mousse, so we assumed they were… what? pieces of hard chocolate?, but then I got a bigger piece and spit it out. It was a big fat piece of plastic. Great. It’s textured and likely identifiable as a piece of… something…so if Darby’s is interested in finding out what in the heck got into our mousse, I have a photo. We found multiple pieces in the mousse that was still in the to-​go container, so we’re absolutely certain it wasn’t something from our end. I don’t want to be a total jerk and post it here, but it is pretty important that they know what happened.
So, all in all, most of the food is pretty bland, and I had to bump my rating down a star for the plastic because things like that are really, really hard to overlook. I don’t understand how something like that gets into your food unnoticed, but it’s extremely unsettling to think that we likely ingested even a small amount of that.
Sorry, Darby’s. Your liquor delivery service is awesome though.
I’m also not exactly sure what happened to my previous review as it appears to now be a duplicate of this one, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Critiques on the cheesesteak which, as I mentioned, has improved, and a two star rating.

This is the only place in Kits that I know of that serves real 20 oz pints of good beer at a decent price. And I will keep coming back for that reason alone.
Food is a hit or miss here. I’ve had the Spicy Bacon Burger, Veggie burger and poutine and thought they were all great, but some other items were just average or portioned way too small for the price.
But overall this is a great place to go if you’re looking to watch a game and enjoy some excellent beers.

I used to love Darby’s. It’s pricy but it’s always been worth the price. I used to go regularly but haven’t been by since the patio closed until yesterday. And yesterday was terrible. 1) nachos were cold. The top layer was perfect but underneath that the chips were soggy and the shredded cheese wasn’t even melted. 2) The waitress asked us if we needed fresh drinks three times in just under 3 hours. This is unacceptable. Someone should be checking on us much more frequently than that! I’m not accusing the waitress of being lazy or bad, she was working her butt off… but it was a Friday night. Why were there not more people scheduled? And where was the manager? Usually you see a manager come out to help serve tables when the servers can’t keep up. We had 3 gift cards we wanted to use up and only ended up spending $ 50 instead of $ 100 because nobody ever came by to take our order! So you may be busy but when you’re short staffed you’re not making any money. Finally, the cherry on the cake. We went out for a smoke and left a scarf and full drinks on our table. We came back and someone else was sitting there. They had made the waitress move our drinks. And she did. I’m sorry, but if I were the server, I’d have said no, I’m sorry, you can’t change tables and move here because someone is already here. I’ll get you a different table. But instead, she let them do it and moved us, and said ‘oh don’t worry i’ll replace your drinks.’ Well damn right you’ll replace our drinks. They were completely full still! And she didn’t comp us anything. So we got a shit table right beside the door and stayed for another half hour but were just too upset and finally found her for our bill and took off. I wouldn’t come back but I still have gift cards that I need to use because we didn’t get the chance. But after that I will not be going back for a while. TLDR turn around and go to the Oakwood.

So wack… $ 10 poutine and they don’t even put cheese curds they just put like melted stringy cheese

Wheeeeee!
The special of da day was:
5.50 $ Philips Blue Buck… Huge and fresh sleeve!!!
Also WHAMMY yam fries…
Not the traditional shoe string cut…
Big and thick fries the best I’ve never had!
The fish tacos are yummy…
But lil weak…
They need to put more fish in there…
Also I sat downstairs this time
as it was so patio friendly with da rain…
The décor is lil bit dark and it’s loud but still great!

I am not impessed that Darby’s has taken the tack of having employees wear name tags!!! Did I walk into the McDonald’s of pubs? ?? I understood this to be a neighborhood, friendly, familial kind of establishment. Name tags are not with the times or environment of the establishment. The bartender has always been superior — Kyle– no name tag required. Please rethink this idea.

What’s with the name tags? Did Darby’s get bought by The Donnelly Group? And while I’m at it, bartenders aren’t supposed to have name tags. Don’t turn my favorite place into some corporate joint.

Nice small little pub, showing lots of different kind of games for Sunday brunch. My food was spot on & delicious (fully loaded eggs Benny), however a friends meal — sausage tasted a little off & the bacon had no flavour. Everything else was great & the bartenders rocking the man buns which were great eye candy for Sunday brunch!

**Good collection of beer/​spirits, good patio**
Went here as for drinks after having some good food at the neighboring Raviolino’s. We were quite full so we directly moved on to the drinks menu. First thing that hit me is that these guys have a pretty good collection of beers and spirits. 4 of us ordered the white Sangria, that came in a jug, while some of us opted for IPAs.
The Sangria was disappointing, it was mostly pop, and had very little alcohol content. I could myself had gone through a whole jug of that, while effortlessly tightrope-​ing across the Grand Canyon, and I am not even Irish. :)
My friend tried the Hearthstone Wyld Weisse Raspberry (cloudy, sour beer with low ABV and a flavor of raspberries) from the beer collection, and she really liked it. If you like the flavor of raspberries, I guess this is your poison!
Last but not least, they have an excellent patio! Some say one of the best patios in Vancouver!

Darby’s is, in most respects, a fairly standard neighbourhood pub. They stand out by having a lovely rooftop patio and perhaps the best beer selection in Kits. They have about 30 taps with a rotating selection of craft beers, including some casks, and they serve proper pints (i.e. not the weird mini-​pints common in Vancouver). The inside is a bit generic feeling and has too many TVs for my taste, though fans of sports will likely disagree. While I’m not in love with Darby’s, I do find it less obnoxious, and more authentic, than many Kits bars.

We had seen this place pop up on more than one «Best Patio in Vancouver» list over the summer, so one day while strolling up 4^th street in Kits we decided to pop in.
Pretty good craft beer list, but nothing really popped out at me as a must try. It was a very hot sunny day, so we went for the more lighter and fruity. I had a Kama Citra Session IPA from Off the Rail while my partner started with Bomber Brewing’s Park Life Passion Fruit Ale. Both great choices, the Kama Citra was not overly hoppy and was nice and light and the Park Life a great summery fruit Ale. Oh, and the choice of 12 Oz or 20 Oz glass is great! We generally love to sample more than a few brews when we’re dining out, so choosing the smaller glass means having a few tastes while not getting too day drunk.
For my meal I chose the Smoken’ Chicken Enchilada w/​house salad. This is a Chef’s special I believe and might only be available the month of August. The enchilada’s came piping hot and the smokey flavour was a unique twist on your traditional enchilada. It was listed as having a spicy serrano chili sauce, but the heat was pretty mild. The salad was OK, maybe a little bland and overall the portion of the meal could have been a bit larger.
My partner went with the Mediterranean Flatbread, from the smaller plates portion of the menu. She said it tasted more Mexican than Mediterranean due mainly to the spicy tomato sauce which she said was quite hot. She likes the spice while I shy away from it, by the way. She also said the portion was pretty good for her, but others might think it to be pretty small (it didn’t look like much to me). Also, more veggies on it would have been good.
Our second round of drinks saw her go with the Yellow Dog Apricot Saison while I chose the Driftwood Brewing Whitebark, which the waitress told me taste like Kronenbourg Blanc, except better. I think I might agree with her. The Apricot Saison was another great summer drink with a fruity aroma and a slightly dry finish.
I’d say the best part of this place is indeed the patio. We sat directly by the entrance and I never got up to explore how big it is, but I believe a sizeable amount of people can sit up there. A good mix of shade and sun, though our seat’s were complete sun and we found ourselves sweating up a storm towards the end of our meal — but always great to soak it up while it’s around when living in Vancouver, I say. Comfortable wood seats/​benches make up the patio, while rows of planter boxes with tall grass surround the patio and give it a feeling of privacy while removing you from the busy feel of West 4^th and McDonald.
I would have given it a higher rating if I hadn’t left still hungry though. Will definitely return again for beer or two…

Worst service I have had since i can remember. Not only did it take forever to order our food it was cold when we got it

These guys deserve five plus stars. I came here on my bike and realized I’d forgotten my lock. After unsuccessfully trying to lock my bike with friends (it was like a jigsaw puzzle we just couldn’t fit them together:) the bar staff went out of their way to help me, and locked my bike up in the room with all the beer! It was really awesome of them. We then proceeded to enjoy a beautiful sunny evening on the rooftop patio and were pleasantly surprised by the food. It’s a pub, so had no expectations, but it was good. Downstairs is kind of a typical sports bar, nothing special, but the patio is one of the only rooftop patios in kits that I can think of. Anyway, this review is for the wonderful and kind service we got. Thank you so much!

Best pub in town. Open mic night on a Sunday is the bees knees… his arms and his legs! Its that good! Darbys to pubs is what god is to religion. The pinnacle. Go there. Its the shizzle.

Can’t wait to come back for some more hangover hash. The kids beach eggs benny is to die for.

Tons of beers on tap and a liquor store that delivers. What else do you need?
The staff is great and I have seen this place improve a lot over the years with an added patio and increased food choices.

Great patio, decent service and food. I’d say there veggie burger is awesome, their chicken burger is pretty good if u specify you want a real breast… Otherwise the sandwich is gross. Thier chorizo tacos are yummy, the veggie curry lacks flavour but for a pub is pretty decent. Don’t expect what you would get from an Indian restaurant. Drink specials regularly which is always good. This place is happening! I’d go back again

Friday nights are packed !
Must try the buttermilk fried chicken! It was hot, crispy and moist. It also came with corn bread! Another one in my top 5. It was topped with onion corn mixture and drizzled with honey. Mmm delicious.
The duck confit poutine was great too! Not your usual poutine with the cheese curds so don’t be disappointed with the amount of cheese. They use cambozola cheese which tends to melt into the sauce. You never know when your juicy duck, carmelized onion and fries bite will include that strong rich taste. Very unique.
The ale Mac n cheese had spinach and tomatoes in cheese sauce and an ale (can’t rmb what it was). It was yummy.
Best thing about this place is the huge selection of craft beers. Lots of IPAs. My personal fav is the parrellel 49 seedspitter.

One of the nicer neighbourhood pubs in the MacDonald area.
Parking is available in a small underground lot (so I hear), but if you come late enough, you can park for free on the street.
The interior is quite cramped. People were bumping into my friend and I constantly. Guess all that traffic is a good thing, but there isn’t really much one can do, short of removing tables (bad). I would recommend groups of no more than 4 to be honest.
The night I was here, there was a live band. Good if you want to listen to their music, bad if you want to chat. My buddy and I were sitting on the far end and we couldn’t hear each other.
Beers are $ 5 – 7, which is average.
I didn’t try the food, and therefore cannot comment.
The is also a patio upstairs, which they open up during the beautiful summer months.

For a little adventure, park in their underground. The near hairpin turn of an entrance keeps bad drivers away so you’ll likely get a spot.
Stair door had the the below mural of sorts. Cool. We didn’t see any clear directions to get to the pub so we somehow ended up in their store room. As we headed back down the stairs we caught a bum trying to steal empties. He slyly vanished with a pretty hilarious look on his face.
They have a pretty patio with lots of wood elements and a view of the mountains. Food reviews:
Deviled Eggs — Doesn’t come close to others I’ve tried
Nachos — Order the ½. Not bad.
Duck confit poutine — tasty rendition
They have a pulled pull sandwich with a pretzel bun which is on my hit list because the bun is a great idea.
With a bunch of open mics and such and within crawling distance of my bed, it’ll suffice.