The Cobalt

Stopped in for a drink with some friends at the Box Car, the extended bar to The Cobalt, on Friday night. It was a nice space, long and narrow giving it a cozy and intimate feeling. The long wooden bar dominated the space but was filled with an excellent variety of craft brew from all over Vancouver and BC. I really enjoyed the range of craft beer options, some included: Steel & Oak, Powell St., 33 Acres, Strange Fellows, Four Winds, and many more!
There was also a great cocktail list that is keeping pace with craft cocktail explosion, particularly in Gastown/​Chinatown. In this instance we got some cocktails «whipped up». Be careful what you wish for, in the best possible way.
As the night went on it became a much more social some as people began to gather around the bar and fill up the space giving it a buzzing feeling. The bar staff were awesome! At tentative and accommodating.
Will definitely go back. Ps there is a good truck outside so, when you need a snack…

So this review is skewed because I only visited this joint once, and it was because I was an extra in the movie «If I Stay» starring Chloe Moretz and the ever so sweet and sincere Jamie Blackley.
So it was soon after Halloween 2013 they filmed one rock concert scene here. It is the part where the skeleton costume says «want to give me your bone number» to Chloe’s character.
Upside: super cool bar. Lots of liquor behind the bar. Old school get down and dirty. To stage right is a cool lounge mini area to sit, slightly raised from the dance floor. This place doesn’t mess around and you don’t take your «out of town» friends here on a weekend… Or you could actually. :)
There is a stage inside that’s relatively big enough for a normal rock band.
I will have to come back one day, maybe this Halloween.

A true gem. The Cobalt has one of the best rosters of entertainment in the city in addition to being one of the best venues. The bar is very safe, friendly, and a stupid amount of fun. Great dive ambience with stellar staff, well priced drinks, pinball, and a new tap bar — the Boxcar, which allows for a casual to rowdy time.
Can’t give enough love to this amazing place!

The Cobalt (and their new add on bar next door, The Boxcar) is one of the most fun venues in Vancouver bar none. A total Strathcona institution with a punk rock legacy stemming decades.
Their beer selection is mostly local and super impressive and these guys know how to get the party rocking.
Their staff is always super friendly and not pretentious. It’s a great place to see familiar faces especially if you live in the Strathcona/​Mount Pleasant area.
I highly recommend The Cobalt. Always hilarious.

The Cobalt is exactly what it needs to be! It’s a badass dive bar with decent enough drinks, revamped kickin’ décor, and killer entertainment.
I’ve been here for a few different events, and although dive bars aren’t my usual haunts, I can always get into the vibe at The Cobalt. The space is well laid out, apart from the semi-​awkward pillars in the middle of the room, although they do provide good centre points for tables/​stools. The stage is high up enough to see everything that’s going on, but not prohibitively high.
I like the renovations, it’s still dirty and dark and dingy in a fun way (not a scary way!) but I’m not creeped out to use the bathrooms now! I do miss the old bathtub though, and I haven’t seen the new shiny bar get used yet.
Try the Storm Pilsner, get your groove on, and get into it!

Went here for the first time as the last stop in my bachelorette/​stagette party last night, and it was great! Awesome vibe, reasonable cost ($ 10 for cover/​drag show happening last night), everyone was very friendly, well-​made drinks, busy but not overly crowded. I would say it had sort of your typical hipster/​Main St vibe. Definitely queer-​friendly, although I can’t tell if that was more specific to last night due to the drag show or a more general scene. They were playing lots of awesome 90s hits — it was great!
What actually prompted me to go to the effort to make a review was when one of the women working there, I think somehow connected to the DJs, came over and wished me congratulations on my impending nuptials (I was wearing a crown/veil…the things our friends ask of us at bachelorette parties!) and brought me a drink on the house! Definitely went above and beyond, and I felt very welcome by both staff and other patrons. Would definitely go again!

I always have a blast here whether it be for an event or a regular night out. Great drink prices and friendly staff. Monday night karaōke is great fun and never busy (let’s change that!). Be sure to check out the Hustla event every month and the newish NSFW hip hop striptease. The next event is May 29, the first 2 were a blast!

Well since i just did the commodore i feel i have to do the Cobalt. Now i know the Cobalt for most people is like buying meat from a crackhead in an alley. For all of you people who think its just a scum bucket dive, I say nay to you. Just like anything else nobody has the right to knock something until they have experienced it themselves. Aside from the looming feeling of an overdosed hooker falling through the roof at any given time. The occasional leaks in the roof spilling over to the mosh floor, and on one occasion a pearing knife falling mysteriously from a window a few feet in front of me. You gotta love this place it is one of the last arteries for good local bands of several genres. Cover is always reasonable drinks are always cheap even though i haven’t been brave enough to try the house brew, mostly because of my love for 3 buck mooseheads. Its almost like cheers except nobody knows your name the closeness most likely come from the lack of closed doors on the washrooms and broken bottles underfoot. You have never felt closer to someone than the time you peeled somebodies glued sneaker off the beer soaked floor or saved them from bailing after they tripped over a bottle. A huge favorite of mine and it should be of yours. DONT CLOSE THE COBALT.

Good times! Drinks and the service are decent. This place is unique and fun. Lots of fun games to check out. If you like pinball, this is the place. Dating Score: 2 out of 5.

Yeah yeah its the «new cobalt», but its also A LOT OF FUN!
A friend was headed there one Saturday night and convinced me to come along. It was the Shin Dig, the monthly Sock Hop. 50s and 60s music, queer friendly crowd, no line ups. I played some pin ball, got my groove on, and was not hassled by a drunk handsy man at any time during the evening. This is my jam. I shall be back to dance the night away!

PINBALL REVIEW
List of Games currently as of Oct/​13
Road Show, Game Show, White Water, Tales of Arabian Nights, Fish Tales, Sopranos, Junk Yard, Cyclone
Probably the best place for pinball in the city based on the variety of games, cheap drinks, and best of all Tuesdays is free pinball.

I love going out drinking with my friends… but I don’t want to talk to them the whole time I’m there. That’s one of the reasons I love the Cobalt, and its’ dancefloor and more importantly its’ pinball machines. I love being able to enjoy all the great stuff that’s going on and still being able to slip away for some mindless good times on the games. Did I mention the drinks are also ridiculously cheap and there seems to be a fun and different sort of event happening most nights? Oh and the staff are babes, that’s right Tadia I’m talking to you and the crowd is great too. Go, it’s good times.

Come here for cheap drinks ($ 5 vodka soda!) and to hear great local bands. Just sayin’.
Yes it’s not in the most «posh» neighbourhood of Vancouver, but that means everyone is relaxed and the atmosphere is super chill. Mind you I was here on a fairly quiet weeknight to hear a friend of a friend’s band, and judging from other reviews, it seems things are a lot crazier here on the weekends. But I would be willing to give it another shot for the refreshing change from the all-​too-​common overpriced drinks and pretentious atmosphere of other bars downtown.

OK, things change. Get over it. Learn to love it or leave it alone.
The current owners showed some of the BIGGEST cojones around when they took this place over — especially after it was ‘blacklisted’ by the entire Terminal City punk community. On top of that, they didn’t even try to change it. Not much, anyway. They didn’t ‘renovate’ the place so much as merely fix it. Not that the Cobalt was broken — just everything in it.
Now they’ve created a venue that’s truly for locals. They take chances on local bands, DJs, and promoters, giving them a spot in a town where most venue doors are ‘locked’ by the local cliques. Sound familiar? Kinda sounds like the best part of what the Cobalt’s always been.
Plus, they’ve got the best collection of pinball machines in Vancouver, and one of the best around. So put yer hatin’ away and stop by for a beer, play some pinball, and check out some local sounds (and art).

So the «new» Cobalt is the only Cobalt I’ve ever been to — I like to pretend that I was a teenage punk, but I was really just a weepy little goth and the punk rock Cobalt wasn’t enticing enough for me to actually visit. But the «new» Cobalt, the trendy, hipster and queer infested Cobalt — yes, please!
I don’t know if it’s some Main Street magic, but I’ve actually never had a bad time at the Cobalt. I am a legendary bar disappearer — I’ll just take off without saying goodbye when I’m not enjoying myself and don’t want to deal with the social obligations associated with leaving a party — but I’ve never ever done that at the Cobalt. I’ve been there, oh, 20+ times, and each time I’ve enjoyed myself.
Is it the layout of the bar, with tables for talking, easily accessible bathrooms, a sizeable, high, easy-​to-​see stage, a good sized dance floor, and a decently long bar? Is it the comfortable décor, that weird blinky light circuit board thing, the wood? Is it the staff, who are far less surly than most bartenders? Is it the clientele, which is somehow always unpretentious? Is it the smoke-​pit/​bike rack area, sheltered from the wind for a little cool-​off outside?
I cannot answer that question, Unilocal,but I can recommend a night at the Cobalt for just about anyone. Free pinball Tuesdays fill up awful quick, so get there at 9pm if you want a choice of machines. Man Up, the drag king party, is always a great time and is hosted by a total babe. Comedy events, parties, Queer Bashes, just-​drinks — the only way I can imagine this place being better is if it opened at 5 and had snacks. I love to snack.

I’m having a pretty hard time writing a review for the Cobalt because of my mixed feelings about the old vs new venue. To explain, just imagine you’ve been going to a dingy, cheap mom n pop diner with a regular close knit clientele for years, when they suddenly come under new management. The new management doesn’t gut the place, but renovates it so it looks a lot classier and still recognizable, and keeps the same name the diner always had. The biggest difference is that their menu changes ENTIRELY, although the food is still good, just pricier. On one hand, the new place is alright, on the other hand, you lost your old diner. Those are the mixed feelings i have about Cobalt.
The new Cobalt reminds me a bit of the Biltmore since it has that same dimly lit, bordello feeling to it. It’s got beautiful chandeliers, and i like the little detail of using wall lamps as ceiling lamps in the bathroom. They still have the big light up circuit board above the bar like they did in the old place too! I’ve only been to the new Cobalt for burlesque and regular club night, but it seems to suit the place perfectly! The stage is just the right size and you can see it from everywhere in the venue.
The bar is well stoked, but methinks they water down their drinks a bit too much. Despite being able to drink a lot, i still get drunk pretty easily, and after drinking one shot, one double vodka soda and three single vodka sodas in 3 hours, i was just a little drunk. I was so undrunk that i got home, did the dishes and read for an hour because i didn’t have enough liquor in me to pass out. I had some friends out last night who were TRYING to get trashed and noticed that it just wasn’t working too… This isn’t the first time i’ve noticed this either.
Although it’s great that Funky’s has taken over where Cobalt left off, i still can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic whenever i go there. I was there last night and watched a girl in cute little high heels on the dance floor, having a blast on the spot where a friend of mine had peed on (yep, he just pulled his penis out and peed on the floor) Speaking of which, i’m not sure why people always said the bathrooms were terrible. There were some bad nights, but mostly they were pretty on par with your average club, they just didn’t look too pretty! I noticed they took out the little stage that the friend i went with always commandeered for us to stand/​sit on since i’m usually too short and weak to go in a mosh pit… And the domed roof with graffiti is gone too!
Well, you know that the old Cobalt had SOMETHING special going for it when i’m reminiscing fondly about a place that smelled funny. Still, this bar has been open for DECADES and it’s cool that they’ve stayed open for so long, even if their flavor changes.

I have to say. I was very skeptical the first time I heard I was being taken out to the Cobalt… and even more skeptical that it was a gay event that I was being taken to… at The Cobalt… the scary punk bar… gay + punk = not my ideal night.
Much to my delight… things had changed at The Cobalt. re-​vamped and de-​punked yet still keeping a Main Street edge. the place was packed with hot gay men as far as the eye could see… gays, drag queens, pin ball, hot DJ’s.what more could you ask for!!!
I have been going there on a regular basis now… they have a lot of awsome nights. queer, straight and everything inbetween… it’s so great to have a bar that caters to everyone! The staff are all AMAZING, friendly, sweet… they make you wanna keep coming back… which most staff in Vancouver do not to be honest.
Best nights: Tuesday night you can play ping pong, Fridays which feature live bands, Sundays have a weekly drag show called Apocalypstick with hostess Isolde N. Barron and Queer Bash which is the last Saturday of every month.

Surprisingly, I went to the Cobalt for the first time this weekend. I am still amazed I never came here before for a punk show, or had the chance to throw up on the floor back in the day. Cover was $ 12 for the new fetish night called Noir that was happening on Saturday night. I had no problem getting in and getting down, even though I thought the sound quality was a bit shit, most of the song choices were pretty stellar.
I had a double rum and diet for $ 9 which is pretty average for a Saturday night in the big city, and coat check was only $ 3. The place was bumping with different types, gay, straight, cross-​dress, or just crazy like me. The bathrooms could have used some better lighting, once you get yourself locked into the stall it’s pretty dark, so you can’t really see what you’re doing, and when you drink like I do, a little light goes a long way, it helps the beer goggles focus. The capacity of the Cobalt is pretty small (like 150 people) so even when it doesn’t seem smokin’ busy, its full enough to look like a good party. I’d go back to this night and the Cobalt for sure, I can’t believe it took me this long to do it in the first place!

Wow! I hate to admit it but I’d never been to the Cobalt before. I never got to experience the punk days of this place but heard the stories of nasty odours and horrifying washrooms. Those days seem to be long gone.
We went for an event last night and I was impressed with a few things;
— the staff are super friendly from doormen to bartenders
— the room is sexy with comfortable couch seating and other areas conducive to chatting
— the beer selection is really good! I had Steamwhistle but there were a lot of interesting options all displayed through glass fridge doors.
— the alley for smokers (or cooling off) has a super cool feel to it, is floored with wood and doesn’t smell bad at all.
— the bathroom was perfectly acceptable and I like the big, rectangular sink.
Last but not least…
— they have a wall lined with pinball machines!!!
I’m looking forward to checking this place out for more events down the road, maybe even a punk band or two.

This skuzzy death metal bar used to be a strip club back in the day, and the mounted pedestals with shower nozzles are still located throughout the room, adding an authentic trashy vibe to the already filthy ambiance.
The Cobalt is the lowest common denominator of bars in Vancouver, but it manages to take a certain pride in the dilapidated scenario. Typically full of punkish-​goth kids, it serves extremely cheap beer and highballs, has ample seating and room for mosh pits, and comes off as unpretentious, in a «too good for good» sort of way. Many loud bands are given their first opportunity here, and many of the better ones return after achieving success for nostalgia’s sake. Things can get out of hand, as conventional wisdom tends to get left behind in coat check, and obnoxious teenage drunks start doing whatever they want. I’ve even seen a band shoot whiskey filled super soakers out into the audience.
This is actually the only place I ever did cocaine, taking it for the only time on one of the musty old cars parked out back. I had always envisioned doing blow with nice clothes, beautiful women, a mirror, and a rolled up hundred dollar bill, but the Cobalt was so exactly opposite that it seemed perfect.