"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

The Fellowship of the Ring

My friend Chris recently informed me that last month the Storm Crow Tavern had opened a sister location more or less in my neighbourhood.  I quite liked the original Storm Crow, but it was a bit of a hike to get to it, and as such I was pleased that they'd added a location closer to home.

Karli had also enjoyed visiting the Storm Crow, so we decided to pay the new bar a lunchtime visit to see how it measured up.  The original Storm Crow was a gamer-friendly location, and we had no reason to expect the satellite bar to be any different, so we packed along a couple of our more portable games.

I found it surprisingly busy and loud for noon on a Sunday - I can only imagine what it's like in the evening. Apparently it's been quite busy from day one:  not a huge surprise, the Commercial Drive location quickly developed a loyal following.

The Alehouse is probably a bit larger than the Tavern, and the decor looked considerably more expensive:  a life-sized copy* of Han Solo in carbonite, a mounted rancor head, and backlit transparencies of Tank Girl, Dengar the Bounty Hunter, and genre movie posters. It's a bit reminiscent of the original Storm Crow during its early days - right now it's looks like everything was carefully planned and set in place, whereas the original has gotten a bit funkier and more lived-in over the last couple of years.

During our visit, a professional Starcraft II tournament** was playing on one of the large TVs mounted around the place - in my mind, a perfectly acceptable alternative to football. Other screens featured the Teen Titans animated series and the first Tron movie - they're obviously doing their best to cater to a mixed audience.

After we finished eating, we played a few rounds of Lost Cities, and we weren't the only gamers there: two people at the next table were having a spirited match of Kings of Tokyo, a kaiju board game - good choice for a geek bar.  For people who don't want to haul along a box, the bar also has a nice selection of games shelved in the back. For old school bar goers, there's also a Game of Thrones pinball machine beside the bar.

 

The owners have been quite faithful to concept in other ways as well.  The menu layout is done in standard Starfleet LCARS format**, and features things like the Brew of Cthulhu, a "non-Euclidean lager" from Red Truck, and cocktails like the Sonic Screwdriver or Nuka Cola Quantum.

However, I have to say that some of the actual menu items didn't impress me as much as the design.  Personally, I think that you should be able to order lunch at noon, and the brunch options didn't completely thrill me. (To be fair, Sunday brunch is probably not a fair test.)  In  addition, our waiter was well-intentioned and eager, but if you'd told me it was his first day, it would certainly have explained a lot about some of the more non-standard aspects of his performance.

Overall, I'd give the new location a B, verging on a B+, and I'm confident that with time things will settle in and they'll work their way up to an A. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something a little different in their evening out.

- Sid

* I assume it's a copy - the original prop is supposed to be touring with the Star Wars Identities exhibition, currently in Vienna.

** Library Computer Access/Retrieval System - it's the distinctively geometric computer operating system interface used in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the related spinoffs.