For the longest time I have been contemplating between Buckstop on Denman street or Devil's Elbow Ale and Smoke House in Gastown, and decided to go with Buckstop because they have been on my list ever since the restaurant opened their doors. Buckstop is a small and cozy barbecue restaurant that focuses on locally sourced food and made from scratch ingredients, such as making their own ketchup! So after polishing off a medium size bag of chips at Whole Foods because my friend was running AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE, we finally entered the restaurant. To be fair though, she did suggest for me to order some appetizers first... but knowing myself I would have ordered everything and have her finish what was left LOL.
When we arrived, the restaurant was almost full and we were offered a six person table after the staff discussed where to seat us for a while. We were also warned that those coming in later would be squeezed next to us and I really appreciate the staff giving us a chance to have an actual table rather than shoving us at the bar (which many restaurants surprisingly do not do). The atmosphere at Buckstop is very casual, loud and non-rushed, making it ideal for a great hang out place. Many of the tables were finished their dinner and just kicked back to relax.
