North Vancouver guide
Liquor Stores and Bottle Shops on the North Shore
A North Vancouver guide to liquor stores, beer and wine shops, brewery stores, and tasting rooms for everyday bottles and local beer.
Written by Maren Holt
A good bottle run on the North Shore can mean a few different things. Sometimes it is a proper liquor store stop before dinner. Sometimes it is a cold beer pickup after a trail day. Sometimes it is a tasting room visit that turns into a small pack to take home. North Vancouver has all of those routines, spread across waterfront blocks, neighbourhood shopping areas, and brewery corners.
For full liquor-store convenience, the familiar names still matter. BC Liquor is a liquor store option for broad wine, beer, and spirits shopping, while Queens Cross Liquor Store is a liquor store serving the Upper Lonsdale and Queens Cross side of town. The Gull Liquor Store is another liquor store name locals know in the Lower Lonsdale area, useful when errands and dinner plans are clustered near the harbour.
East and north of the central corridor, the map changes. Dollarton Liquor Store is a liquor store for the Dollarton and Deep Cove side of North Vancouver. Seymour's Liquor Store is a liquor store serving the Seymour area, and Spirits of Mt Seymour is another liquor store option tied to that eastern neighbourhood pattern. These stores matter because crossing town for one bottle is rarely anyone's idea of a good evening.
Beer and wine stores fill in the practical middle. The Raven Beer and Wine Store is a beer and wine store, the kind of place that suits a neighbourhood pickup when the meal is already planned. Wildeye Beer Store is a beer store connected to the local beer scene, useful for people who want packaged beer without treating the stop like a big shopping trip. That middle ground is useful for weeknight dinners and casual hosting.
The brewery tasting room culture is one of North Vancouver's strengths. Beere Brewing Tasting Room is a tasting room, and Black Kettle Tasting Lounge is a tasting lounge. These are not substitutes for every liquor store need, but they are a big part of how locals and visitors experience beer on the North Shore.
Lower Lonsdale and the Shipyards area have become especially easy for casual tasting. La Cerveceria Astilleros is a brewery tasting room, North Point Tasting Room is a tasting room, and Shaketown Brewing is a brewery. Nearby choices let people make an afternoon of it without needing to drive between stops, which is part of the appeal of this compact waterfront district.
Bridge Brewing Tasting Room adds another brewery tasting room to the North Vancouver list, connecting the bottle-shop conversation to the broader craft beer network. The useful distinction is this: a tasting room is best when you want to sample and bring home something tied to that brewery, while a liquor store or beer and wine store is better when the shopping list includes wine, spirits, cider, mixers, or options from many producers.
When choosing where to go, start with the occasion. For a host gift, a larger dinner, or a mixed household, a liquor store gives you range. For a relaxed local beer pickup, a beer store or tasting room can be more interesting. For neighbourhood convenience, the closest good option often wins. North Vancouver's strength is that residents can choose by mood, route, and meal rather than treating every stop the same way, which is exactly what a good local shopping map should allow.
From the directory
Mentioned in this article
Every place named above has its own page here, with the address, the hours and the nearest station.
Who wrote this
Maren Holt
Maren Holt is the editor of North Vancouver Local. She has lived on the North Shore her whole life and keeps a running list of every business that has opened or closed since 2015.