Baru Latino 2535 Alma St. (at Broadway)  www.barulatino.com (NOTE TO OUR FELLOW BOOZEHOUNDS: We’re more excited than a couple of drunken teenagers who just stole the key to Dad’s liquor cabinet - this is the first post in what we hope will be a long and fruitful series partnered with the good peoples at Granville Mag Online. We talk Vancouver bars, they talk tons of other interesting things from food to art to entertainment and more - and all with a very local focus. Be sure to check out our regular reviews there, and make sure you follow them on Twitter, Facebook or check out the actual site www.granvilleonline.ca. But fear not, we’ll still be posting lots here too. So without further ado…) This is one of those places we discovered by happy accident. The doors of the loser cruiser (sorry - “bus” in the Queen’s English) swung open and there it was, pretty much smack in front of us, like a shining beacon of alcoholic awesomeness. Baru’s been open for just over a year, and although it’s technically a restaurant (tons of Vancouver pubs and bars are, but more on that at a later date), this Latin/South American-inspired establishment’s got a great little bar area at the front, where you can plonk your ass down and get stuck into some of the best cocktails we’ve had in a long time. Baru partners David and Rene (formerly the Food and Beverage Manager at Subeez) are big into doing things right—drinks made from scratch with fresh ingredients and top quality hooch—two guys after our own livers. They’ve got a few local beers on tap if you want to ease into things: Whistler Black Tusk Ale & Weiss Beer, and Red Truck Lager all just over a fiver—but you’re doing yourself a giant-ass disservice if you pass up on a mixed drink. All the cocktails are $9, but, besides being given the care and attention a Michelin-rated chef would give to his grub, they’re also all doubles—and that’s a lot of bang for your booze bucks. Baru’s one of the few places in town we’ve had an authentic Caipirinha (Brazil’s national drink): lemon and lime juice, cane sugar, and the prerequisite Cachaca rum, not some white swill from a gun. If you’ve never had one, think Whiskey Sour crossed with a Margarita. Just dynamite—taste and booze-wise. The featured special the night we were there was a blackberry/raspberry Mojito. Normally we’re not fond of variations on classic drinks, but Dios mio this was amazing. Besides the rum, it probably had more fresh fruit in it than we eat in a week. Who says you can’t get your quota of anti-oxidants via a highball glass? But the cocktail cavalcade continues with Margaritas and Daiquiris (and you know they’re not going to be drawn out of a “slushy” machine), Pisco Sours, original Mojitos, Bombay Fizz, a “Baru Caesar”, and other inspired mixes like: Champanito – champagne, lemon/lime juice, simple syrup Buena Vista – limon rum, mint, lemon/lime juice, simple syrup Guava Mojo – vodka, guava juice, cassis Drinks aside, Barus’ got a chilled out, sophisticated vibe but without any pretentious attitude, and the super-friendly David and Rene are usually there working the room (and mixing drinks) to make sure everyone’s good. We highly recommend you get down there and belly up to the bar. But be smart. Take the bus like we did, ‘cuz them drinks are some powerful good stuff.

Baru Latino

2535 Alma St. (at Broadway)  www.barulatino.com

(NOTE TO OUR FELLOW BOOZEHOUNDS: We’re more excited than a couple of drunken teenagers who just stole the key to Dad’s liquor cabinet - this is the first post in what we hope will be a long and fruitful series partnered with the good peoples at Granville Mag Online. We talk Vancouver bars, they talk tons of other interesting things from food to art to entertainment and more - and all with a very local focus. Be sure to check out our regular reviews there, and make sure you follow them on Twitter, Facebook or check out the actual site www.granvilleonline.ca. But fear not, we’ll still be posting lots here too. So without further ado…)

This is one of those places we discovered by happy accident. The doors of the loser cruiser (sorry - “bus” in the Queen’s English) swung open and there it was, pretty much smack in front of us, like a shining beacon of alcoholic awesomeness.
 
Baru’s been open for just over a year, and although it’s technically a restaurant (tons of Vancouver pubs and bars are, but more on that at a later date), this Latin/South American-inspired establishment’s got a great little bar area at the front, where you can plonk your ass down and get stuck into some of the best cocktails we’ve had in a long time. Baru partners David and Rene (formerly the Food and Beverage Manager at Subeez) are big into doing things right—drinks made from scratch with fresh ingredients and top quality hooch—two guys after our own livers. They’ve got a few local beers on tap if you want to ease into things: Whistler Black Tusk Ale & Weiss Beer, and Red Truck Lager all just over a fiver—but you’re doing yourself a giant-ass disservice if you pass up on a mixed drink.
 
All the cocktails are $9, but, besides being given the care and attention a Michelin-rated chef would give to his grub, they’re also all doubles—and that’s a lot of bang for your booze bucks. Baru’s one of the few places in town we’ve had an authentic Caipirinha (Brazil’s national drink): lemon and lime juice, cane sugar, and the prerequisite Cachaca rum, not some white swill from a gun. If you’ve never had one, think Whiskey Sour crossed with a Margarita. Just dynamite—taste and booze-wise. The featured special the night we were there was a blackberry/raspberry Mojito. Normally we’re not fond of variations on classic drinks, but Dios mio this was amazing. Besides the rum, it probably had more fresh fruit in it than we eat in a week. Who says you can’t get your quota of anti-oxidants via a highball glass?
 
But the cocktail cavalcade continues with Margaritas and Daiquiris (and you know they’re not going to be drawn out of a “slushy” machine), Pisco Sours, original Mojitos, Bombay Fizz, a “Baru Caesar”, and other inspired mixes like:

  • Champanito – champagne, lemon/lime juice, simple syrup
  • Buena Vista – limon rum, mint, lemon/lime juice, simple syrup
  • Guava Mojo – vodka, guava juice, cassis

Drinks aside, Barus’ got a chilled out, sophisticated vibe but without any pretentious attitude, and the super-friendly David and Rene are usually there working the room (and mixing drinks) to make sure everyone’s good. We highly recommend you get down there and belly up to the bar. But be smart. Take the bus like we did, ‘cuz them drinks are some powerful good stuff.

Posted at 10:13 AM (1 year ago) | Permalink