Lounging at The New Bohemian

Sometimes, good company and conversation can make for an excellent evening. A lounge can be the ideal atmospheric complement. Thus, I am constantly in the search of the perfect lounge in this city. On Monday, great company and conversation gathered at The New Bohemian. Having taken over the space previously occupied by Fiction Lounge, the newcomer now shares its piece of West Broadway with neighborhood favorites such as The Fringe Café and The Eatery.

Right off the bat, a few things were strange about The New Bohemian. Although the décor is beautifully done, with a striking red bar and oh-so-trendy Victorian wallpaper, other elements seemed poorly thought out. On the night we were there, two TV screens were featuring two completely different things: one had a black-and-white movie (subtitles included), and the other a sports game. I wasn't sure why they were there, since the lounge doesn't seem to fit in with either genre. Also, the music was decidedly unoriginal, with the first Amy Winehouse CD being the soundtrack to most of our night. Not a bad CD, but one that seemed out of place and uninspired.

When it came to food and drink, there were also mixed reviews. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the lounge offers 25% off all bottles of wine. My friends and I went through three different bottles during the course of the evening, along with some martinis thrown into the mix. In terms of wine knowledge, our server was a bit unimpressive, being unable to answer whether the sparkling wine we had ordered was a brut or a doux. Although the martinis received good reviews, I had a distinct memory of having had the same recommended Cat's Ass while previously visiting Fiction. Hmm... Mixing the old with the new, perhaps? We also shared the Mussels in Chardonnay and Yam Fries, both of which were good, but not outstanding.

So, while the whole idea of The New Bohemian might be a nice touch to that section of West Broadway, its lack of attention to detail prevents me from fully recommending it. There are a lot of places that do the upscale lounge thing in Vancouver, and a lot of them do it better. If The New Bohemian can step up its game, it will warrant successive visits. For now, though, my hunt for the ideal lounge continues.

The New Bohemian
3162 West Broadway
604-736-7576
http://thenewbohemian.ca/

5:30pm - 2:00am Nightly