H2O Lounge

If you ever wanted to try a small local bar where you can kick back and watch a crack head try to steal your jacket, then this is the sketchy place for you.
It’s a dive, a drug infested hole. The police are there almost nightly it seems.

This homeless hangout is unfortunately around the corner from where I live. I walk by frequently past the patrons who try to bum money and cigarettes from any passers-​by. It’s like running a gauntlet going past this place. I’ve started crossing the street to walk down Whyte Ave just to avoid this place. I have never set foot inside considering I don’t fit in with the usual crowd. I have a job… and teeth.

Interesting people watching, terribly rude and condescending karaōke host who acts like a man baby and throws temper tantrums for every possible reason. He is literally the ’ soup nazi ’ of karaōke hosts. Most of the bartenders are alright except the one who wears a lay and draws her eyebrows on crooked. Accusatory, no respect for patrons and just plain rude.

Been here a few times and have not had fun once. It’s a slum and they treat their patrons poorly. One time when my boyfriend and a group of friends were there they refused the designated driver water. Told her they would have to charge her or she would have to buy bottles of water. The karaōke seems like it should be fun and that’s usually why we have gone there, but unless you know the dj/​host it whatever he is.. you never get to sing more than one song.
We will not be returning.

It can be sketchy, but what bar on Whyte can’t be at some point when alcohol is consumed. Karaōke is fun. Wait staff is super friendly and the food, yes food, is pretty good. New owners have made a lot of changes and the clientele reflects that.

Under New Ownership!
Family run business gets transferred to the younger generation, still cheap drinks– Halloween night seen its share of blood and gore-​and I don’t mean the costumes!
Dropped in and had a pitcher of Canadian it didn’t taste that great-​l left after 25 minutes.
I have seen they have limited food service like chicken wings, there is a Sunday 35 cent wing special which I haven’t tried. The usual gaming machines to take from you what little beer money you may have left. I guess that’s maybe not too bad of a thing after all.
Bathrooms seem cleaner but NO BOUNCER/​Doormen on Halloween! WHAT!- the new owners want to be friendly but it should also be safe for everyone. There is always lots of available tables, and tons of people smoking outside the doors. Not sure what would turn this place around-​maybe its just caters to a certain whyte ave crowd that no one else wants.
I dunno-​never seen drugs around except for the occasional pot heads smoking on the nearby side walk. Bar staff and servers are friendly and attentive enough.
Its the kinda place where you go to forget your problems, or see other people who have worse problems. Not fair to be too critical yet –but want to see what the new owners vision will be. Still a great place to play pool!

its not the cleanest place i have seen, it seems like a lot of the customers are regulars and all know each other so i felt like an intruder, it could use a good cleaning thats for sure… and is extremely rowdy as i witnessed a man punch a girl in the face while smoking outside, my suggestion, head on up the road to one of the meny other bars.

Wow, people seem scared of their own shadow in these reviews.
For Volya B., you are lost. Giving a review of a book just by its cover, you make me laugh.
The staff and ownership of the H20 are good people, not pretentious and lots of fun.
The H20 Lounge has a RICH history of Vegas, Super Vegas, Premier and Open Championships in Walmac rules billiards. There you will find on any given evening of the week 1 of the top 50 bar box players in northern Alberta.
The H20 lounge also has a great presence in the dart world, anybody trying to stop by for a drink during the weekday evenings will usually have slim pickings of seats as the place is full of live competition on the dart boards and pool tables.
The H20 Lounge just recently underwent renovations on the pool side to accommodate the overwhelming demand to play out of the H20 in the Walmac pool league. For those that choose to step inside and give the place an honest chance, have a peek at the roof above the pool tables.
Almost every ceiling tile has been replaced with a banner commemorating billiard accomplishments of teams playing for the H20.
Big Screen TVs for watching CFL, NFL, NHL, PGA etc, are always on and Karaōke runs at least 3 – 4 times a week for those that are into that. What can I say, I guess haters gonna hate and I think its been misplaced by some of these other reviews.

Yes, H2O is a dive bar. Yes, some people may consider some of the patrons «sketchy», Yes, I have seen fights happen here in the past, but I’ve also seen fights at «cool» bars further up Whyte and a few particulars on Jasper Ave, so…
I used to go here a fair amount when I was younger, in the 18 – 20 range. Don’t ask me why, it just kind of happened. In the years since then, I haven’t really gone, but I have known a few people that have birthday parties and the like there. I went again last night for the first time in years, for a birthday party. I can say that H2O does have room for big groups like that. The bar itself is pretty big, with about five (?) pool tables on one side and tables and the karaōke area (and darts!) on the other. Our waitress last night was actually one of the better servers I’ve had in a bar in a long time! Totally smiley, quick, friendly, never screwed anything up. Impressive, really.
Sure, this place is a little rough around the edges, and perhaps the quality of the singers isn’t as good as some other karaōke bars, but most of the people are just out to have a good time! If you feel like someone is sketchy or whatever, just avoid them like I have to do when I walk by Oil City at midnight…

Everything about this bar makes me sad. Though I have never been inside (and never will), even walking by it on the street frightens me. A place like H20 doesn’t belong on Whyte Ave any longer, especially on prime real estate. That little strip of stores could be great, if only someone cared about their community. Slum landlord maybe?
How about a little advice, for the sake of that poor (and wonderful) little post office/​natural health store caught right in the middle of that block.
1. Make the liquor stores and the mini mart take of of the crooked, sun faded posters down from their windows and get rid of the metal security bars.
2. Try not allowing 2 liquor stores in the same strip of commercial!
3. Clean the windows.
4. Shut down H20 and don’t rent to another run down pub.
5. Be a ethical commercial land lord and take responsibility for contributing to the violence your tennant choices allow.

I have to agree with the other users. This place is a big dump (in every way imaginable). The place has seen better days and so have the patrons… hmmm…perhaps. Honestly, the clientele (if you can refer to these savages that way) are straight from The Jerry Springer Show. It’s an odd mix of young and old that share the common denominator of either the misfortune of genetic inbreeding or a poor genetic cocktail that spawned them. You get the trashy young girls stumbling around drunk with their tattoos popping out of everyplace imaginable. The guys look like convicts or ex-​felons (or current ones). And did I mention they all love the sound of crappy karoake? Some girl got up and sang a crappy version of Freebird and a headbanger straight from the 70’s or early 80’s got on the floor and started dancing around her. It was a scene straight out of Deliverance. The older guys are the regular drunks that lurk around the bar tossing back a few brews while they scope out the younger girls and glare at anyone else.
As for the drinks on tap, the beer pints seem overpriced. The only deal was a pitcher of Canadian for $ 11.75. I also ordered a pint of Grasshopper and a shot of Jagger which came to over $ 12. A dump like this shouldn’t be charging these kind of prices.
In a nutshell, if you love dives with the potential to get slashed, maimed or murdered, then this is the bar for you.

Wow this place is sooooo freakin’ sketchy its amazing. I’m surprised someone didn’t invite me to check out some speakers he had for sale in a big, white van.
I was misled to to check this place out because the radio commercials made it sound like it’s a decent place. I was so wrong.
‘Robin S.’ mentions «fans of real dive bars»…do these people really exist. Who would want to come to a place like this? I guess maybe hipsters… so I’m glad I’m not a hipster by any means.
Sketchy place. Stay away from you’re own good.

When I first heard the name H20 Lounge I was a bit fooled. The name came off as being classy, urban and smooth. This place was the complete opposite.
It is a dive. I know many people that love grimy bars and enjoy hanging out at them. They will love this place. The bar is full of some shady characters that look at you like they want trouble. It is larger than most dive bars but I think that just made it look that much worse. Everything here is old and dirty, and unlike the name nothing screams sophistication. They have karaōke which is a great time right? Not exactly. You wouldn’t want to get on the mic here.
Just avoid this place.

I’m going to be honest here — this bar scares me. It really is a dive.
It’s sketchy and I felt unsafe the moment I walked in here. It’s a big bar but that’s not a good thing. There is just more room for the filth to be spread!
Karaōke is fun — it’s a good time. But here, it’s hard to enjoy just because of the sketchy atmosphere.
I hate to say it, but skip H2O. It’s in your best interest and your safety!!!

Fans of real dive bars who prefer a truly sketchy atmosphere to the dive-​packed-​with-​hipsters vibe of the nearby Strat should wander over to the wrong side of the tracks and check out the large, sparsely-​populated H2O. They’ve got it all: old, dirty carpet, pool tables, karaōke partial to certain members of the crowd and characters you wouldn’t wanna run into in a dark alley. Hell, even running into some of the patrons in front of the bar is bad enough. But to be honest, I’d rather take my chances with the weirdos at H2O than mingle with the wasted frat boys further down the Ave.