EBar | Guelph, Ontario

Located in downtown Guelph, The eBar is a part of a unique outfit, Bookshelf. With the tagline “Books.Film.Music.Food.”, it strives to fill all the needs of the University socialite. Aside from the bookstore, cinema and cafe, this quirky little area is also home to The eBar. Although a little tricky to find the right door, once you’ve found it, head up a fight of stairs and you’re there.

Once upstairs, the stage is directly to your left. On a super busy night, this could be a congested area. The room itself is a narrow, but deep room, with pool tables and merch areas at the back of the room. There’s also a large side room with seating that I had to walk through to find the washrooms, and walked past every band member who was to grace the stage. The eBar has a capacity of 131, though it got no where near those numbers allowing us to find seating and move around.

They have an assortment of microbrewery beers on tap including Wellington Brewery, Mill Street, Steamwhistle and F & M beer, all available at about $6-$7. The long bar has bar-stools for seating, as well as a few booths along the other wall, leaving a narrow walkway in between the two. We’re used to ordering our drinks at the bar, though I think this may be your only option at eBar. Staff rarely left the area behind the bar and when I tried to approach a server I got the hint that I was interrupting a very serious conversation. Overall, not the friendliest of staff that I’ve encountered at a venue.

The place was extremely clean and have a very cool vibe. From the domino-ceiling, the locally-painted artwork hanging on the walls, to the band members playing pool mere feet from us, it was a neat experience. Even despite being on the second floor, I noticed a little patio/balcony off of the back of the room where fans were chatting up their idols. The intimacy of the space translated to the stage as well. We were able to cozy up to the stage and get a great view of the bands that we’ve otherwise seen from the back of packed rooms. The downfall of the ample-seating, was that not everyone was so quick to jump up and rush the stage. It would have been nice to have a more engaged crowd for the talent that was on stage.

The sound was consistently good throughout the night, until the last act. The powerful vocals of The Balconies’ Jacqui O didn’t come through the mics as clearly as deserved and adjustments should have been made.

Located at 41 Quebec St Guelph, The eBar is an easy to find spot, with ample free parking. With the large graphic signage out front it’s hard to miss!

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It would definitely be worth the trip back to The eBar. I absolutely loved the artsy atmosphere and would live to see a livelier crowd fill the place up.

Check it out yourself! Find eBar’s event listings online, on Facebook and on Twitter. 

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