Six Degrees Ultra Lounge Bar & Grill

Yeah, locals took me here as a kind of introduction to the local scene. This was years ago, and now it appears this place needs to re-​examine itself.
Under the microscope as it were, the drinks are fine, the menu needs some forensic help.

Went to this place on Valentine’s Day with a friend. We ordered mussels and clams ($ 14), as well as crab cakes ($ 15) for appetizer. For main course we both ordered salmon with risotto ($ 23).
Portions:
Appetizer — Our appetizers arrived and we were quite disappointed to see how little we got. We were served 4 little (a little larger than a loonie) crab cakes and a ridiculously small portion of mussels and clams. Not only the portion was very small, the actual mussels and clams were smaller than the standard which meant that there wasn’t much inside the shells.
Main dish — our main dish was somewhat better than the appetizers in terms of portion, but still not much for the price. The actual salmon was a good size but there were about 5 tablespoons of risotto and a couple pieces of asparagus on the plate.
Taste:
Appetizer — The broth (mussels and clams) tasted like canned cream of mushroom soup, except saltier! The crab cakes were flaky and the right texture but tasted more like fish cakes than crab cakes. There was none of that sweet aftertaste that real crab cakes leave in your mouth…
Main dish — The salmon tasted okay but could really use a squeeze of lime or lemon. The few pieces of mushroom that you could expect to get in about 5 tablespoons of risotto were overdone and had turned chewy. The asparagus pieces were not even sized which had resulted in some pieces being the right crunchiness and some too soft. The platter in general was missing the acidic component and tasted one note.
Overall:
We were disappointed with our experience and will not go back except perhaps to have a drink or two. The one star that I have given it is because of its beautiful location.

Location Great
Interior is a mess
Food is ok
Service was quite good
I think it needs a makeover big time…

Great spot on Coal Harbor, food is good (but not great, make no mistake), somewhat pricey for what you have in your plate but this is expected for this kind of location. That being said we couldn’t complain, the view is super and it concluded our trip to Vancouver the right way.
As far as wine goes, list is shortish and not many interesting BC wines are offered but the price factor is reasonable (2 — 2.2x of retail).
Service was good and attentive.
I would rated it 3.5 stars but can’t.

Have been to Crime Lab many times and this place just keeps getting better. It is sometimes months between my visits to Vancouver and this time, it was several months since I had visited Crime Lab so the changes were a bit more dramatic.
The drink menu is still very extensive. I’m a gin martini guy, served «up» with three olives (I guess I’m a pretty specific guy, too). So the book they plop down full of this-​n-​that kind of drink doesn’t appeal to me too much. But that’s just me. Overall, it would appear that this place knows how to mix just about anything and they’ve got some fun things to try from the bar, if that’s your gig. I will say, they know how to make a gin martini slightly dirty if asked … something that I consider to be an art. Often times, bars will put too much olive juice in when «dirtying» a drink … but Crime Lab did it right.
The food menu here are become more edited over the years … and that actually turned out to be a good thing … because it seems the kitchen has focused less on the quantity of offerings and instead the quality. We ordered the tuna poke appetizer: Oh. My. God. Some of the best poke I’ve ever had, served stacked with avocado, mac nuts, onion, crispy wontons and soy sauce on the side … heaven. My seafood curry was delish, but the rice was a tad dry. I tasted my dining partner’s burger, which was one of the best burger bites I’ve had in years. Really. The Guiness cheddar, the kick of chipotle, everything really, made this burger fantastic.
Of course, the location of Crime Lab is spot on, too. Other reviews go on an on about that, so no need here. Suffice it to say, it’s well situated.

Crime Lab is a cool place with a pretty view if you’re looking to do something fancy or bring an out-​of-​towner to a quintessentially Vancouver lounge/​bar/​restuarant.
Along with a wide selection of meaty dishes, I would decribe Crime Lab’s menu as Westcoast with hint of Southern/​Cajun influences (vegan corn fritters, rootbeer ribs, fried shrimp mac n cheese, macadamia slaw etc).
A sweet array of vegetarian options as well (vegetarian platter, cornmeal tofu, beans and greens).
The only mediocre dish we had was the Fish ‘n Chips plate (salmon, halibut, prawn in panko with fries), only because the batter was slightly on the soggy side.
TONS of really fun drinks to choose from as their gimmick seems to be this speakeasy sneakiness. I had an Old-​fashioned and a Rob Roy — both dry and stiff, like I like ‘em.

Oh my goodness, I love this place. I have walked around the Coal Harbour area a lot of times, but always by pass this place.
The restaurant is modestly small with black interior. It has a little restaurant side and a little lounge side. The tables are spacious from each other. The servers are friendly and fast. The food takes a little longer to cook, but well worth it. The grilled lamb lollipops were so juicey, the Spicy Ahi Tartar flavorful, and even the Grilled Beet and Asparagus was soo pretty looking. (hey, its hard to make veggy’s look pretty) They have an immense selection of drinks — wines, cocktails, martinis that it took me awhile to look through them. Most of all its a great place for groups of people to hang out and the hours are fantastic. They close 1am sunday-​thursday and 2m friday-​saturday.
I will definitely go back. I liked the food so much, I even got a take out menu from them :)

Right by the water, sparkling lights reflecting off the water. The perfect view.
We wanted some desserts and drinks and this was one of the few places that opens this late on a weekday night.
It was quiet, and we got a table facing out to the water view. The waitress was very friendly, and brought us waters immediately. She gave us lots of time for our indecisive minds to decide on what to get.
We both got drinks and an order of the Apple Bomb dessert: granny smith apple dried fruit farce wrapped in puff pastry with spiced rum & fig gelato baked to order.
I must admit, the dessert was pretty good. Hot and fresh, and the apple wrapped in a layer of pastry. The fig gelato was delicious; I wish we had another scoop of it! It went perfectly with the apple!
The server was attentive, and also allowed us to be in conversation for the night.

It couldn’t have been a nicer day, despite Mark Madryga predicting possible showers and lows of 15 degrees (fibber!). I found myself sopping up the sun on the patio of this sweet Coal Harbor spot.
Since I couldn’t turn down Sunday’s classic drink special (caesars at $ 4.50) I found myself consuming two– nice and spicy– with my dinner. It’s funny, but I have never had a caesar with so many garnishes, and I liked it! One bean, an olive, a lime and a spicy pickled pepper nicely topped my beverage.
As for supper I thought I best behave myself (I had just indulged in two caesars) and opted for the Thai Chicken and Spinach Salad. Again it leaned toward the spicy side and was blended with toasted macadamia nuts, whole wheat noodles and the various veggies expected to accompany a salad of this nature. It was delicious and just the right size… meaning I didn’t leave the restaurant feeling like I needed to be rolled away (similarly to the character violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
To top it all off, the server made my night, she was hilarious… I’ll be repeatng this crime spree

Keep moving folks, there’s nothing to see here.
Having passed by many times while walking the seawall to Stanley Park, Crime Lab had caught our eye a few times so we finally made reservations and met a friend there for dinner.
On the positive side, the view of Coal Harbour and Stanley Park is great. The restaurant is a bit cramped, but that’s not a show stopper, and most seating offers an excellent view of the north shore mountains.
The menu is interesting but i certainly didn’t see anything to make it a dining destination. The drink menu was far more extensive than the dining menu — maybe they should bill themselves as a bar rather than a restaurant. The Tandoori Spiced Calamari appetizer was small but a nice departure from traditional Calamari. The Prime Rib Burger was apparently very good, but a good burger hardly sets a restaurant apart as outstanding. The Trio Fish & Chips with tempura battered halibut, salmon & prawn was good, but again, nothing memorable.
So the food was good, but our waitress really didn’t appear to be excited to be there and spent most of the evening avoiding our glances. She was there when she needed to be, but we were not made to feel welcome, nor that she had any interest in us at all. For me, the service can push a restaurant over the top, and certainly the people at Crime Lab seemed to feel it was quite a chore to be of service. That was what left us with our final impression of the evening.
If you are in the area, by all means check it out — the food is priced reasonably and is good. I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to go back unless we are in the neighbourhood.

Went to Crime Lab for a staff party. I work about a block away from this place so it’s convenient. The place is kind of small, right next to the water at Stanley Park. The staff were friendly but they seemed a bit understaffed when we were there.
We had about 15 people go and told them in advance. but they didn’t have enough tables for us. We ended up having to all squish into a couple of those tiny high top tables. I didn’t drink, but my coworkers did. They were pretty efficient with supplying alcohol. We ordered random platters of food, from what I heard the crab cakes were decent. Everything else was just kind of bleh. A lot of mussels leftover really. The flat breads with the dip were okay. Don’t suggest going there for food at all. It’s nicely presented, but it’s not that great and not really worth your money. Especially don’t go if you’re a vegetarian. I think there’s about three items on the menu for you to try. one was an appetizer, and the other two was a veggie platter sort of thing with everything ($ 22) and there’s a veggie burger. That’s it.
Other than going there for a quick drink and a stroll around the park, I wouldn’t recommend this place for food. Honestly, if you want a good dinner around that area, take just a bit of extra time to go down either along Denman or Granville Island. Won’t be disappointed.

Comfy seats, cozy atmosphere. Only came for drinks with some ‘refugees’ from the Unilocal after-​party.
Kudos to Richard for taking care of us. I’d probably check them out again if they weren’t kind of out of the way.

so we ended up at this spot for an «after party», I’ll use the term loosely… we didn’t get into a game of drunken jenga or anything. It’s not an after party unless someone shows some private areas.
anyways, this place was right on the water and I’m sure there is a spectacular view when it’s not pouring sheets of rain outside…
We had a group of like 20 people and were able to sit in a semi-​private area with a bunch of high top tables and comfy booth chairs. also — it was next to the bar. need to order a drink — just swivel your chair and yell for Richard. Ok, maybe ask nicely… but the service was really solid (and yes, Richard is a real person).
they even handed out additional ambiance (candles) when the oil in ours ran out… solid move Crime lab. We all got a lot more attractive at that exact moment.
We also sampled the menu, it was so good, it didn’t last long — i ended up with one lamb lollipop which was really juicy. After 3 hours of drinking — it was the perfect pairing.
Great food and service… I think I want to go and have dinner there now.

Last night was a choice of Hot Pot or Crime Lab? Which? What? Why? Oh Kay. Lets go to Crime Lab and hang out with the bunch.
Got there. Easy to find and parking wasn’t bad for a night like Wednesday night. I was pretty hungry and ordered a Veggie burger cause the patties there, are hand made veggie patties (cool). So I had to try it.
It was very good. Messy, so I ended up deconstructing it and eating the insides, but dropped my bun and tomato so couldn’t eat them. I did like the Yam fries and my brothers Fish and Chips were a hit. Jes really liked it and her lollipop Lambs were really good too!
She ate them all!

As a trained criminologist, I wince and roll my eyes at things like CSI and its pseudo-​science — and to be honest, I probably avoided Crime Lab as long as I have due to that same knee-​jerk reflex. Looking back, it was a bit silly — do I expect scientific validity and accuracy from all gimmick-​themed restaurants?
Just outside Stanley Park and with a fantastic waterfront view, Crime Lab is pretty subtle with its crime/​forensics theme outside of some cheesy menu titles and some subtle signage. Came here after the Unilocal party at the Loden, after my alcohol-​influenced eyes adjusted to the dim lights — the interior is pretty nice and clean.
I skipped the food menu but there’s a drink special (mainly cocktails) every night and the service was quick and friendly. I could do without the cheesy theme gimmick, but I think this is a prime spot for some patio drinks in the summer and soaking in the water view.

Not really great but the quality, presentation, and price is reasonable for dinner. Food kinda taste like Uncle Willy’s buffet back in the 80’s.

I ordered the chicken curry in a tortilla wrap and soon after realized that Indian nor Mexican food are this place’s specialties.
And using the Impact font for your logo? Really? When there are so many more other sans-​serif fonts you could have used you went with the free default one?

Killer martinis — literally. They have the forensic names to match! Plus they have a mean cheese plate and a view to die for!
This cozy and classy lounge is a great place for over agers to get loud with your friends, but not feel misplaced. Trust me, my friends and I were the loudest in the bunch and not once did we get a dirty look.
Personable, unpretentious service, but we could have done without the stale marshmallows that accompanied the chocolate fondue.
If I were a Vancouver resident, I know this would be a frequent weekend hang out for me.

This is one of those high-​turnover locations. It’s unfortunate, as I thought the last two restaurants (Bliss and Bravo) served up tasty, unique fare — which is the exact opposite of what Crime Lab serves up.
The $ 14 prime rib burger was extremely dry and bland — no sauce, no mayo, no cheese — and to add insult to injury we added a dried out portobello mushroom for an extra $ 1.75. We thought maybe we just got an unlucky plate that had been sitting under a heat lamp, but our friend sitting at another table got the exact same quality. Yikes — if you can’t even serve up a decent burger, that’s a serious red flag.
Perhaps it’s not fair to review this place as a restaurant. A lounge with a good martini list and a waterfront view is still worth checking out.

Originally located on Pender, Crime Lab was pushed out by the all-​powerful condo developers in 2005. Since then, a former employee has re-​opened at a larger (and easier to find) space.
Situated on the waterfront, right by the seawall, is the newly re-​vamped Crime Lab. Floor-​to-​ceiling windows open up the dining area, letting mounds of natural light permeate.
Aesthetics asides, the menu is a bit wanting. Nothing seemed particularly interesting and was actually on the bland side. All dish names are in keeping with the set theme (appetizers and entrees are named after misdemeanors and felonies). I had a portabello and goat cheese ravioli, which was alright but I was expecting a bit more given the high standards set by this Crime Lab’s predecessor. Thankfully, it seems like a work in progress and will hopefully improve with time.