The Emerald - Vancouver

A local recommended we try out this place. Not only did we like the cocktails, but the bartenders were awesome, too! They were busy the entire time

Taking place of the long abandoned space where the famous New Diamond restaurant once situated is The Emerald, a groovy bar/ restaurant serving Asian inspired fare. The inside has been remodeled however the washroom and front entrance bring back memories of my childhood as those have not changed.

Came here for drinks on a Saturday night, you can get Rob roys, Homebrew white russians, Rusty nails, all made especially with care for you by a talented bartender. Prices range from $9.75 to $12.00 for various drinks. the lounge isnt too big, so make a reservation and not be disappointed. We didnt stay for dinner or have appies, but they looked good from what we saw.

Okay, if you can get past the entrance stairs, you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find. Our friends arranged to meet us here otherwise I would never known that this place existed. We initially wrongfully assumed that it was a chinese food place because it is in China town, but, the food did not disappoint. We started with all of the snacks on the menu because it was happy hour so all 5 dishes were only $5 each. We didn't expect much, but, wow, was the brussel sprouts amazing, cauliflower great and the waffle potato fries addictive. As a main, We had the Cod on the potato waffle with french green beans because they were out of the Beef Short ribs. (we went back another night to have the short ribs and let's just say that they are amazing too) The Cod came with a lemon butter sauce and was quite a large piece of fish considering the very reasonable prices. We shared it and it was super good. The other real standout is the cocktails. These girls and guys really know how to mix a great cocktail. Whiskey sours...amazing I had the Cubano Storm (dark and stormy), another additive drink. It looked like they knew how to pour a great Manhattan too. We were there for happy hour so the fancy drinks were about $5 instead of the normal 10-$11. Still a great deal at the full price. The red and white bottles of wine we ordered were also reasonably priced. The music was retro and fantastic even though you might feel like your sitting in your parents basement from the 70's. As I mentioned, we went back again and pleased to state that everything was as spot on as the first time. Definitely worth a visit.

I chose this venue to host my B-Day on a Friday evening for the retro ambiance and drinks, but the night was on the rocks - right from the beginning. I started by coordinating with a rep to reserve the boardroom table: a table in the middle of the restaurant that gives you the "VIP experience", (they waived the min spend, which we would've surpassed anyways) I was also told the in house drag queen would be serving drinks with her little martini cart - but she was no where to be found. They took my credit card info to reserve the table, and never sent a paper trail confirmation. The service was terrible - for whatever reason they had 1 waitress for our table of 20 that I booked 3 weeks previously - Maybe they were short staffed? But no one ever apologized for the delays or communicated with us whatsoever.The drinks and food took forever. There were 2 bartender and only 2 other tables in the entire restaurant (I waited 40 mins for my first drink - which was forgotten about). Most of my guests waited an hour for food and noted the food was cold and soggy by the time they got it. No one wanted to send the food back, because it took so long to get it in the first place! The only good thing anyone ate was the waffle fries....Again, I never heard any apologies for the delays, even from the manager on duty- instead I overheard the waitresses trash talking my table at the end of the night (super professional).After posting my experience through social media, my comment (similar to this comment) was taken down, and I was never contacted to discuss that nights event. Overall, I had an incredibly disappointing experience with The Emerald. Nothing about it felt like the "VIP experience" they promote, and the beloved house drag queen was no where to be found (she really gets things going! - there was really low energy in the room without her). Luckily I had a group of very patient friends with me. They have good drinks, but their horrendous customer service left a bad taste in my mouth and I would never recommend this place again. Alas, Vancouver has many cool places to get a good drink. "The Diamond", "Guilt and Co", Uva, Bambuddah- Just to name a few.