Pubs, Clubs and Taverns - General, Halifax

There is no shortage of bars and nightlife options, being a univerisity town and all. Here are some great places:

1. Economy Shoe Shop - Many warmly decorated places to sit and have a drink. easy to meet friendly Halogonians here. They also have a separate bar for Belgian beer taps in the high rise room.

2. Maxwell's Plum - 60 Beer Taps! A great sports bar, with some flatscreens. Great Hamburger dish as well, with two hamburgers, and export beers from tap.

3. Yuk Yuks (next to the Westin Hotel Lobby) - Hit or miss depending on the comics, but some of them are hilarious!

Dress Code: none really, but shoe shops has a great female population so look sharp

Believe it or not, Halifax has the largest pubs per inhabitants ratio in the entire country! You'll truly find a pub at each street corner in the downtown area and with students coming from all over the world to study at one of Halifax's universities, you'll soon see that none of the pubs are running out of customers!

Dress Code: Halifax is a pretty casual city dresswise...

Club Nîche is a supper Club and Lounge.

The club offers breakfast from 6.30AM (including for the guests of the next door Four Points Sheraton Hotel), lunches and dinners

Live Music at the weekends.

Summertime terras.

Dress Code: Inside formal to casual.

Terras: as you are.

Reflections is a gay-friendly nightclub in downtown Halifax. They have live music, hot DJ shows and special shows and events, It's a great place to go dancing and there's always something happening here. Great light show, all different kinds of music, karaoke, drag shows, wrestling and hot dance music. Check out the website for events and the entertainment line up.

Dress Code: Anything goes

Nah, it has nothing to do with Jay Gatsby, I don't think...there was no Daisy or Big Egg or green light across the bay. It could be a jazz bar but not that I noticed...I'd understand the name reference, then. OR perhaps it's just someone named Gatsby who owns it and makes everyone THINK it's an F. Scott FItzgerald reference. Regardless, it was a fun place to hang out. We drank some local beers, enjoyed each other's company (b/c we hadn't had enough of that, right Bobby?), relaxed from the long drive for a bit.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the best night out. We did discover there is a secret back room for smokers (not so secret--it's labeled "smoking area" but it took us a while to see it) so, that was good. However, not eating all day: NOT so good for me. I ended up not feeling well at all and couldn't drink anymore beer. What a sad night...Halifax has a million great places to go out. And to eat as well--I had no excuse. Especially considering I could have gotten food right there--they serve food until 2am. We'll do it right next time Bobby, I promise.

Dress Code: Casual.

The Economy Shoe Shop - "Where art flows like wine" as their advert says.

I really enjoyed spending time at "The Shoe", as the locals call it. Many artists and local actors mingle with everybody else at this bar/restaurant. They were packed full of people everytime I went there but the staff still takes good care of you.

When you've had enough of the crowds indoors, you can see if there are any tables and chairs out front on the patio.

Afterwards, there are plenty of cabs roaming Argyle St. to pick up tired passengers. All you do is wave one down and they will pull right up to you. It is REALLY easy to get a taxi in downtown Halifax.

Dress Code: Come as you are.

This was by far our favorite drinking hole in Halifax. Located in another great historical property, The Henry House, this pub was once the original Granite Brewery. It has since moved up the street on Barrington Street to a more commercial part of town. This location remains a pub however and on offer are all the Granite brews, including the trio of cask beers they are most famous for. Their strong ale is based on the UK's Theakston's Old Peculiar with a fruity palate and deceptive alcohol content (5.6%). The Best Bitter is their flagship beer and offers up one of the best interpretations of an English bitter on this side of the Atlantic. The Special Bitter is a "dry-hopped" version of the latter. The pub itself is in the basement of this old atmospheric building so you feel as if sitting in a museum aside from the fact that it is quite popular and lively. They serve beers in 18 ounce pints for CAN$ 5 and half pints for half price, convenient if you want to try all three.

Halifax has 5 universities and the East Coast navy. Thus there are a lot of places to go drinking and there will be a pub or bar that will suit just about everyone. Some of the more popular spots are:
The Dome (see other nightlight tip)
Split Crow (Duke St.)
Lower Deck (Historic Properties)
Seahorse (one of the oldest, Argyle St below street level)
Economy Shoe Shop (star watching! Argyle St)
Pitchman's Pub (has a movie night on Wed. raising money for a new indie cinema, Prince St near Citadel Hill)
Your Father's Moustache (Spring Garden Road)
Thirsty Duck (Spring Garden Road)
Palace (it's a pickup joint but popular. Brunswick St. across from Citadel Hill)
Midtown Tavern (a favourite place for food! Grafton St)
Old Triangle (Prince St. Irish ... see tip)

That's just in the downtown area. There are others scattered about the city and many more downtown than i've listed. Pub crawl anyone :))))