From playoff fever to summer showdowns, it’s the season of coming together. This series dives into the bars across Canada where sports aren’t just watched – they’re felt, shared and celebrated with full hearts. In these unforgettable spaces, the screens glow, the drinks flow and every seat has a story.
Every time Ken Coolen visits Vancouver, he makes sure to stop in at Score on Davie. It was one of his go-to bars when he lived in the city’s West End, and though he lives in Halifax now he has fond memories of the place that was touted as Vancouver’s only gay sports bar.
“We never really kept that slogan going because we didn’t want to put labels on what we were or who we were,” says Jesse Ritchie, who has owned Score on Davie since 2007.
Yet sports are on every day. “It’s a great environment to be alongside true sports fans and be able to be comfortable as an out gay man,” says Coolen. “While the acceptance of the LGBTQ community has come a long way, it is important to have a place that members can go, enjoy sports – yes, many gays love their sports – and feel comfortable being their true authentic selves.”
Score on Davie has won Vancouver’s best gay bar multiple times. Jen McLean, a Surrey teacher-librarian who visits at least once a month, says it has always been inclusive. “They were one of the first restaurants I remember having gender-neutral restrooms. It wasn’t a big thing; it was just how it was.”
Ritchie says the inclusive vibe extends into what they play on the TVs. “Every day is busy with people requesting different hockey games. It’s fun to see because you’ll have a table full of Edmonton fans, sitting with Toronto fans, sitting with Jets fans. Then they all get to know each other and are laughing. And they’re making friends by the end of the night. And in the daytime, we get a lot of European soccer fans. We get a lot of requests for women’s soccer and women’s hockey too”
And if the game someone wants to watch isn’t the main event on the big screens? Staff will turn one of the TVs onto that game and put a Bluetooth speaker on their table for a personal audio system.
Beyond sports, Score on Davie is known for their weekend drag brunches and Internet-famous Caesars, where they top the classic Canadian cocktail with a full-on meal. There’s hot wings and onion rings – Ain’t No Thang for $14. The Caesar Grande – a nacho bowl, pickle, fried chicken sandwich, burger, corn dogs, mac and cheese balls and pie – will set you back $60. Coolen says the Caesars are one of the main reasons he keeps coming back. “Their creative Caesar concoctions are so fun and delicious.”The idea came in 2014 when Ritchie visited Seattle. At a dive bar, he ordered a Bloody Mary and wanted food as well. They didn’t have any, but the bartender went across the street to get McDonald’s cheeseburgers, and then just stuck it on top of his drinks. “Then I was like, ‘I wonder if we could do that.’”
When Ritchie started serving the concoctions at Score on Davie, it went viral and he says it’s now a big part of the bar’s identity and brings in a lot of food tourism.“There is nothing like this in Halifax,” says Coolen. “In my opinion, sports fans, gay and straight, should make this a destination to watch their favourite games.”