Visited on a Thursday night and there were not that many people here. We were able to get a table for 5 people near the stage. Unfortunately, the system sounded awful, place smelled like piss, and did not like that the water was availably open vs tended to. The people who worked there were welcoming though. The look of the place is atmospheric by its own name - funky in their own regular bar setting way. Overall, i dont see us coming back here again. read more

People are amazing and so fun. Daniel, DJ Vancouver, is sweet and on his game. His karaoke fun time is all that! He plays awesome songs in between singers and fades them out spectacularly! No cut outs so you can enjoy dancing right into the next performance! Thanks Daniel!!! #danielfromDJVancouverquadrin@gmail.com read more

Friendly enough spot with a really nice karaoke host. Good vibe inside the bar and great drink prices. Be forewarned that it is in an area that some folks could consider unsavory, but it's a dive bar with a nice divey feel to it. People inside were all welcoming and great to connect with. read more

Fun spot. Yes it smells . Easy crowd, fun karaoke, great bartenders. A random night out. Always a great time.

Lots of homeless people and people on drugs outside, we felt unsafe. We were there for karaoke because its the only free place we could find. The bouncer was nice but thats about it. The place smelled like a barn. And we werent sure about the drinks because we were afraid to drink anything because of the standards of the smell. We left after 10 mins. read more

I was here with my co-workers around midnight (on Nov 25th) as my S wanted to have friday night out. I was told FWB is a live Karaoke bar so I saw people singing and drinking (some were dancing). Not that I've never been to Karaoke, but I wasn't too familar with being at a Karaoke bar, and I was like why not. Noise level was high. It felt like being in a club, but it was more like a noisy pub where I had to scream in someone's ear. Security was quite helpful. I forgot what his name was, and he helped me getting through wifi when I asked him. The one under FWB didn't work well, however Shaw wifi worked fine. I bought myself a Lonetree cider for $6, and I found the pricing to be average in my personal opinion. The cheapest drink would be Budwiser for $3.50 during the Happy Hour. I thought it was seeing people actually interacting with others. My friend M even got to talk to other customers too. I enjoyed hanging out with my co-workers ; even though I already passed my bed time at the moment. I noticed the queues for the Karaoke could be long. Make sure you look at the list and write the name of the song before giving the paper to DJ. I found the washroom to dirty and it was too dark inside. Tl; Dr friendly helpful staff (security guy was nice!), Happy Hour is available, slow wifi (Shaw one worked!) , cool artworks and great hangout place. Don't forget your CASH! read more

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Wow, they weren't kidding when they say this place is a ghetto-dive bar. I've been to ghetto places such as the Cambie and enjoyed it immensely, but to be honest, this one's a bit too ghetto for my liking. Sure it's on the Downtown Eastside. Sure the inside is beaten up. But wow, the interior smells like moldy dust. Fortunately one's nose goes numb after a few minutes. The interior does have some neat artwork. There's some graffiti on some of the walls that actually pretty well done. On the other side are some paintings of titties and other naked females. The bar area itself is quite large. As I had heard that the tap piping here is on the dirty side, I didn't venture too close. Really didn't want to know. At the back is a raised stage with DJ table, and a small dance floor. The waitress asked us if we wanted to do Karaoke. Considering the place was filled with some really creepy looking guys (I wanted to take a picture but didn't want to get stabbed with a syringe), we politely declined. In the background they kept playing the same 5 or so Rage Against the Machine songs. They looped this. Oh, then they also played a hard rock version of Billy Joel's Uptown Girl in between the RATM loopings. Today (Wednesday) the special was $3 Cariboo pints (several types available). These are the real deal. No skimping on the volume here. They also had $9 pitchers as part of the same promotion. I had the lager. It actually wasn't bad. As the place really stunk, I dared not venture into the washroom. Maybe some other fellow Yelper can take one for the team. This may not be the place to go for a hot date. read more

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My friends and I were really excited to visit here. We've been to numerous of different dive bars before and love how different each place is and we especially love the crowd. Upon entry it smelt like pee so bad that we left almost immediately. The staff were very kind and welcoming, but the smell was horrendous. read more

Came here on a Saturday and although the place was crowded, this place caters to the rock n roll/heavy metal/punk crowd No covers and karaoke is free if you're willing to wait ~1.5-2h for your turn. I've notice that when people start to sing songs that are not within the majority of the crowd, i.e, Beyonce, or Britney Spears or Eminem, the host will only play half of the song Their drinks are a bit pricey - $17 for their special pitcher is not really a "special" anymore. read more

I, a stupid tourist, landed in this bar through a dare. Seriously, how could a bar named loosely after a bland comic strip be nothing but benign? Oh no, I was dead wrong. The interior designer was Ed Hardy during his mescaline period. Imagine if a gang-graffiti-tagged Union Pacific boxcar crashed into your local sports bar at all the hobo passengers leapt out and started demanding Natty Ice in the can. Their dirty clenched fists jingling loose change. Also, The Funky is not terribly burdened with the whole "cleanliness is godliness" dogma. Then again, if I wanted God, I'd go to church and not a dive bar. The bar was pretty dead at 8 pm on a Thursday night except for the dozen smack addicts drooling on the discarded-then-recycled sofas. The barfly sitting by me at the rail couldn't contain her joy at seeing fresh meat (unfortunately, it was me). Although we were probably close to the same age, her deeply wrinkled lips and eye sockets told me she had seen some serious shit - I'm talking some Vietnam-era "Charlie's through the wire" kind of shit. She laughed loudly at a dumb joke I made, her breath whistling through several missing cuspids and incisors. To my chagrin, karaoke would not start for another hour. Seriously, if you can't belt "My Way" at addicts in a homeless bar then why would you even travel to Vancouver? The men's room was as expected: zero privacy, deep puddles of urine produced by poorly functioning kidneys, and a roll of paper towels on the sink previously unraveled by someone who's done a cursory job of personal hygiene for a very long time. I suggest try standing at the urinal with one eye over your shoulder so you can ID your assailant if you survive the attack. Upon leaving the men's room I happened to glance in the center stall - NEVER LOOK AT THE CENTER STALL! The turds on the floor were not dropped haphazardly, they were laid deliberately! There was a purpose, a grand design. I gave Funky Winker Beans five stars because it earned it. If you want well-crafted cocktails with a welcoming ambiance DO NOT GO THERE! If you want a story to share with your co-workers in Monday morning, then go. I'd rather have a memorable experience than a pristine one any day. read more

Service is bad , Where Is Brandi ????? She was friendly efficient and fast , the other woman she had working with her did nothing but stand around on her phone all night and look stoned all night read more

12/100 Am I about to write a review for a "Dive Bar" in the DTES!?!? Yes, I am. Even though I was a bit apprehensive going in, after my second double tall vodka/cran I was ready to party!! I had lots of fun last night!! I love karaokers because they are so much fun and uninhibited. I like singing along and applauding loudly!! I also like to rock out on the mic. Which I can do GREAT at home for some reason. But I guess the combination of stage + lights + audience + singing + dancing = loss of breath on karaoke night. I still do not know why people think they can get up there and rap, that is really brave. But hey,at Karaoke entertainment is guaranteed! Me + NA style Karaoke = PARTY TIME!!! read more

Funky Winker Beans - Karaoke - Music Venues Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Felt bad for Jo. Cohosting karaoke at Funky Winker Beans. Her karaoke boss working with her forced her to keep BS'ing me I guess. If I can't sing at a bar no biggie for me. I host Karaoke. I have plenty of opportunity to sing. But I'm out with my son Paul. Figured I'd sing one song and head somewhere else. I asked how long. Just wondering. 5 to 10 singers she says. Okey doke. After about 15 singers I asked if I was still on the list. Jo talks to karaoke boss dude. He looks over and gives me 2 thumbs up. Okey doke. I wait another 10 singers. Now I just ask Jo directly. Where am I on the list? She's avoiding the answer. I said "I'm not on the list am I". She tried to explain that her jerk boss wouldn't let her. Hosting karaoke is not an opportunity to be on a power trip. It's not your chance to decide who's cool and who isn't. It's a role where you give everyone an opportunity to overcome fears and feel great about themselves that they came out of their comfort zone for 3 to 4 minutes. This new host takes tips to get you higher on the list. And he chooses the order on his whims. He won't last. But I'm sure he has no idea that he's being a jerk. Not a clue. read more

Love it. Great place to hear local punk & metal bands on the weekend. Decent priced drinks, friendly staff, and if you're into old dive bars this place is perfect. As for the washrooms, they always seem to be missing a few key items, but hey, I don't come here for the cleanliness. read more

Fun atmosphere, unfortunately it doesn't smell great and the toilets are nasty. The karaoke is fun and there's lots of space to dance. Some staff are friendly, others not so much. I met some cool people there, which made it an enjoyable experience. read more

I spent my entire last weekend here for some reason. It was a little slow on the Friday, despite some metal bands playing. A lovely fellow with forehead tattoos kept my cousin and I company for most of the night. I think his name was Ryan. Anyways, we realized halfway through the night that someone abandoned 4 open but full cans of Caribou on our table. Our new friend Ryan grabbed an empty pitcher and filled it with our new free beers. I may or may not have drank a few glasses of this questionable beer. I like to keep it mysterious though, so I'll let the readers decide what happened. We came back the very next night for SNFU and it was packed! It was a good night and the drinks there are pretty cheap. The only downside of the entire weekend was when an empty but very used thing of underarm deodorant landed in my lap after flying across the bar. I hucked it back at the crowd and I think I hit a really tall guy. Aaaanyways, the washroom is hard to figure out in a drunken haze, but I sort of figured out that the middle stall is probably your best bet if you want the door to close and lock almost properly. There is plenty of seating available which I really like. I also like the man that wanders through the bar selling pizza slices. He spiced things up on Saturday and sold calzones instead. WACKY. read more

Hahahahahahahaa. After reviewing the Cambie a story popped into my head and I just had to review Funky Winker Beans. When I say I love the Cambie people often tell me its sketchy and they don't feel safe there. That's when I tell them about Funky Winker Beans. A couple of my guy friends swear by the $2 pints here.....yyyeeeaaahhhhh.... At the behest of my date I went here with him and a friend of his (another small girl). Right in the middle of the bad part of East Hasting, next to Save on Meats, is this little gem. We walk in, and the first thing we see is a poster of a missing woman taped to a structural pole. Awesome... Next thing we see are several giant Plasma HD TVs showing CBC... Alright.... Once we sat down, I noticed that my coaster had that nice half wet and then dried look to it and I noticed half a phone number written on it. I applaud the good common sense that made the person not give the final 4 digits... It was pretty apparent that our waitress was on the 3rd day or so of neglecting personal hygiene, and to be honest, I'm not sure why we had a waitress at all... The bathrooms......I'm not a neat freak or a clean freak....but try to stay out of them. The woman's bathroom was missing at least one door. Why? Maybe someone really needed it. It was a Thursday and it was karaoke night. I can only assume this one woman was a regular, she definitely seemed the part, and sang about every 3rd song. The beer is ridiculously cheap here so we ended up drinking quite a lot and ended up closing the bar with our own rendition of "Tearin' Up My Heart"...after the local bar stars rendition of "Kiss From A Rose" I thought she owed us one. I can assure you though, not one song sung was not ear grating, and that included ours. All in all the crowd of strung out patrons and the general air of the place made me feel like I could get shanked at any moment, and I was warned not to sit in one of the corner tables because it would be assumed I was "buying." After our little adventure here we walked, very briskly, to the Cambie, where I have never felt more safe. read more

I know this is going to sound weird but I liked Funky Winker Beans back when it was just that, back before it became Funky's. It's now where all of the orphaned Cobalt devotees go in absence of a proper punk rock dive bar, but this place lacks a lot of the charm to be found at Cobalt as it's still filled with genuine creeps, a bunch of 19 year olds who want to learn what it means to be "punk" and of course the esteemed guest of honour, bed bugs! I will occasionally follow the herd everyone wants to go here, but I'd never suggest it. If I want to show someone a dive bar I'll take them to one of the many, many *actual* East Hastings dive bars. I'd actually rather spend time around miserable old alcoholics than teenagers who think we can relate because we both wear a lot of black, and whose "favourite" band is the Misfits despite only knowing three of their songs. At least the miserable old alcoholics aren't all up in my grill. Okay I guess like I sound like an old curmudgeon, but I'm not I swear! I'm still hip, I'm still cool! I have just genuinely never enjoyed myself here and the bothersome patrons don't make taking the bed-bug or hepatitis risk worth it. read more

If you have to go to Canada, make your trip pleasant, and go here. Its my number one spot for that country. The floor is sticky, the air is sticky. No atter how freezing it is outside, its humid as a Banthas Ass crack in this place. You can almost drink the warm salty air with a hint of 80's metal BO. I love it, and i now crave it from writing this review. Beers are cheap, service is fast and this is the only place to go after the Cobalt closed. Do yourself a favor, get in there, let the pores of your skin open up and absorb the delicious atmospheric molecules this place provides. read more

I don't understand the low ratings for this place, c'mon people, it is what it is....a dive! This in not the sort of place where I could really walk in and be genuinely shocked or surprised by the general grubbiness, the state of the washrooms, the sticky carpet or the "colourful" clientele. Seriously, anyone with this reaction, do you know where you are? I can tell you now, you ain't in Kansas anymore, Toto. Sure, Funky's may not be my number one choice of watering hole EVERY day of the week, but when I visit to check out some local punk/metal/hardcore/grindcore/doom/thrash-whatever is on that night, its totally fine. Cheap drinks, table service and one of the safest venues on East Hastings to watch live music. And you know, in the big scheme of dives worldwide, this place is tame as hell. If you miss the "real" Cobalt and want an unpretentious venue for live music where you can shout and swear and get highly intoxicated, check it out. If peeing without a lock on the door or being served by some goth-babe with attitude is going to keep you awake at night, perhaps give it a miss. read more

A day after posting this review, we were contacted by the management who apologized for the terrible service their bartender offered, informed us that they would discuss the matter with him and even gave us two free tickets to any of their Saturday Concerts that we choose and when we got there we even got two complimentary caesars. The previous bartender was no longer there and the new one was great. She had no problem making all the orders of Caesars that we purchased and even made them a hundred times better than the previous bartender. Our second experience was amazing and we go back often to enjoy Heavy Metal Tribute Bands. read more

I give this place 5 stars because it is very good at being what it is and making no apologies for it. The karaoke is a main draw and is well run by the DJ who keeps it real and fun! If you're looking for a place where you can come as you are and have a great time...add this to your stop for the night. read more

Well, one of the regulars started a fight again, like she did every time I've been here. As soon as I got to the bar she was throwing coasters at me and the bar tender, who asked her to stop (despite me being in a good mood.) Afterwards she had to be separated from trying to knock someone out who just seemed to be minding their own business. Similiar behaviour from her seems to happen every time I see her here, but she's never asked to leave. What's with that? Oh yeah, review update, got it. Evil Bastard's Karaoke has been running for al ong time here and it's is really fun. I love the leather couches at the front. Full range of beers from dirt cheap $3 cans to not so cheap $6 cans. Crazy art on the wall from their various shows, some really good, some really really bad. Weekends are shitty unless you're in to patches, studs, and people from Langley, but I like the bar enough otherwise. I will subtly raise the rating on this if I notice her being reprimanded for being a total jerk, or just not being welcome back like any one else who acted like her would be. read more

We staggered over here after the Yelp Elite party at the New Oxford, we went from classy graduates, to sloppy drop-outs in a matter of minutes. It was karaoke night at the Winker Beans, so we needed to get on that stage and rock the joint. They had the song list taped up to the wall outside the bathrooms, which was not the most pleasant place to stand if you were planning on breathing without a gas mask. We picked out a few songs and they somehow made it into the DJ's hands, I honestly don't remember much past this point? However, I do recall staggering next door to use the bank machine since they do not have one in the pub. Lucky for me, I didn't have to take out too much money since doubles cost about $6.50 or so, and obviously at this point I really needed another drink. Most of the people who get up to sing aren't very good, myself included, so you never have to follow up some jerk that actually CAN sing who regularly comes down to practice for their cover band at the pub, who thinks they are the shit. The place was not too crowded, in fact I don't think it was crowded at all, so even if I was seeing double, there was a lot of room to sit down with a crew of peeps and get in on the fun. I sang some Pearl Jam, cuz I've heard that I can do a pretty good Eddie Veddar. I like to think that rumour is true. I have to ask though, why the heck is this place called Funky Winker Beans? What the heck are Winker Beans anyways? read more

cheap beer, unpretentious, good karaoke. friendly staff. good place to meet people and hangout! read more

So, this bar is pretty cool. Karaoke 7 nights a week is great. The real selling point? The crazy cool bartenders. They're all pretty cool... but until you've met Kat, or "Special K" as she's known on stage... then you're missing out. Not only is she incredible at her job, she owns the stage when she does karaoke. AND she's easy on the eyes. She's seriously the main reason I keep coming back. The rest of the staff is great, But seriously, you should come in and ask for Kat. You'll know her when you see her. read more

SHADY... I've been living in Oaktown for a year and a half now and this place is pretty f'ing shady. I had good time, but I'm certain that this place only goes OK when there's a gig there. My cousin and his posse had a shindig here (No More Strangers) and I think that livened the place up a lot, otherwise I can imagine the barflies, junkies and weirdos kicking it here. The neighborhood isn't great at night, so watch your ass if you're headed around the way. When a buddy and me ordered a pitcher a cute chick attending the same event immediately says "whatever you do, don't order beer from the tap... the taps here are dirty and gives people upset stomachs" she says this as she walks away with a pitcher full of tap beer (also, this was not the first time nor the only place I've heard that line said to me in Canada; I guess there are a lot of dirty taps up in 'er). Seeing as we're two homeboys from the Oaktown, we get a couple of pitchers anyway... It was fine..., what wasn't fine was an old homeless lady was all over my buddy when we were drinking beer before the band played! It was pretty funny however! Over all the place is pretty sh@t, but if there's a gig there it's worth it. Who said Canada was all clean? read more

"Ermahgerd!! I'm scared to go inside there!" This cry from every bridge and tunnel princess is the reason you need to go inside there. Cheap drinks, sticky floors, shady bathrooms and an even shadier clientele is what keeps me coming back. Hosted by The Evil Bastard, The Evil Bastard Karaoke experience is karaoke for people who hate karaoke. None of that pretentious crap by people who take it too seriously. It's the way it should be, free spirited and fun. Also is one of the city's last live punk & metal music venues, no Nickelback cover bands here! read more

Ok, with trepidation i'm giving this place another go... My boyfriend and i came here a few weeks ago since it's pretty much one of the best music venues in the city, bed bugs or not. We didn't sit down the entire time, didn't put anything down, tried not to touch any surfaces and washed our clothes when we got home, but that still didn't keep me from having bad bug dreams the next night. I'm curious to see what will happen with this venue since it just got bought out and is under new management. I've heard it's Donnelly Group (probably holding the spot until that area gets a bit cleaner before turning it into a douche bar- shudder) OR it's the people who run Electric Owl. Either way, the venue is reopening shortly after renovations, and the new managers definitely have some money. They have little postcards at the bar telling patrons there is new management, but they aren't little homemade handbills they put together in Word and printed themselves- they obviously spent money on the graphic design and went to a printer to get them made professionally. When i was there though the venue still had the same cool vibe and the music was great though, so no complaints!! So we'll see what happens to Vancouver's hardcore music venue! At this rate, if Funky's keeps changing hands, getting bugs, but consistently having good shows, and having otherwise notable news, i'm going to end up with 500 review updates to this place!! Yeesh!! read more

The sound is now awesome due to new sound guy with equipment. We book there as it is the only small capacity downtown club that we can book at so we keep the cover cheap, .. Doug is great to work with and the beer lines are fine. Please read below, I posted something Doug sent me aboutt he history and the changes made.. "A few words about the history of Funky Winkerbeans and changes we have made recently. Has been called Funky Winkerbeans Pub since around 1984 I believe Before that called Palace Hotel. The paintings of the ladies on the wall are supposed to be of the ladies that used to work as prostitutes in the 1920' in the hotel rooms upstairs. In its day it was a first class hotel with doorman etc to let you into the hotel and the bar. This area used to be the main part of Vancouver, Of course in those days separate entrances for men and women. Since we have purchased the business and land and building we have built stage, DJ Booth, removed some of the carpet and put in flooring, removed some railings to open up back area around stage, done repairs to the front outside of the building ie new cornice and painting. The building has a great sound. We will now building new overhang on entrance and new sign. We have installed new beer lines so we can serve more than one draft, we now have 8 lines. We have security onsite during evenings when musical events been held to ensure safety of patrons. We are trying to establish a reputation of a safe secure place on Hastings Street where customers can enjoy drinks at very reasonable prices, enjoy the entertainment in a safe friendly environment. We are the first bar on Hastings Street to attempt this and it is working. " read more

Great bar for cheap drinks, good bands and good ol fashion debauchery! Lots of great shows coming up that im excited to see and they have a website...finally!!! http://www.funkys.ca read more

Tenacious D was in the house! Karaoke never was so much fun... I enjoyed the artwork and the beer was flowing constantly, great place.

This is getting to be one of my favourite bars in Vancouver. I'm not even going to tell you why because I want to keep it the way it is. So just forget you ever saw this. read more

Came for a Saturday night "Live punk or Metal" show, was charged a $15 cover to see a a punk or metal band, the guys working the door would not tell me who was playing...It turned out to be a couple of rappers from Nova Scotia. The bartenders were friendly, the door men could have just told who was playing and I would have moved on. I will not be back. read more

I go past everyday on my way to work.. looks like a rough crowd.. never went in. Last night though it was my housemates memorial there and so I took a friend and off we went.. Cheap drinks, friendly bartenders. No pretention. Good bar feel... I'm that kind of girl read more

This place is super super fun! The Cariboo beer (best cheap beer, don't fight me on this!) is 3.50$ and so being here ensures being drunk and stumbling about. Which is good! Because it is a metal bar and there's great music, live local bands and people dancing by the stage. The seating arrangement is good with lots of space. It's narrow but everyone kind of congregates near the back where the stage is so if you're more interested in sitting and looking pretty (me, totally!) than there will always be a seat for you. It costs 5-10$ to get in and the bouncers are friendly, good looking and come with good humor. This seems rare in Vancouver but I've come to expect the friendliest staff at the most 'hardcore' places. When the staff is fast, kind and can spare a smile I never mind paying a premium. Best thing about Funky's is that there is no premium! Unless you think 3.50$ for a beer is too swish. read more

I rocked this place. I've never had such a great Mariah Carey experience ever. Highly recommended!

Teletoon retro on the tube someone with an acoustic guitar wailing, acceptable pineapple juice. A lot of people who figured it was not worth putting there false teeth in on a Sunday after noon. All the previous reviews mentioned bed bugs so I had to get off the comfortable couch and sit in an uncomfortable chair. God let me win the meat draw. 7 out of 10... Would black out here in another universe read more

So underground it's not even funny. Best spot in the city for a birthday celebration.

It is the type of bar like Funky's that is going to help bring this area back to the people that like working for a living. There is a good line up of promoters working on bringing live music to this little diamond in the rough which should not only be a lot of fun but also a good thing for the live music scene in Vancouver. If you looking for cheap drinks and live music you defiantly have to check out Funky's. There is a new web site being designed that will have a list of all the drink specials as well as future line ups for bands and prizes for draws that can be entered. read more