At The: Study Public House

By: Winona Young, Head Staff Writer

It’s 9 p.m. on a Thursday when my friends and I walk into the pub. With finals looming, we strut inside with every intention to get lit on a weekday. It’s The Study Public House’s first annual Thursday night party, and expectations are high.

ACCESSIBILITY: C-

Even looking at the entrance of The Study Public House, it’s clear that wheelchair accessibility will be difficult. While the floors are sturdy and the pub is fairly spacious, a lot of it is divided by staircases big and small.

The bathrooms, though ridiculously well lit and clean, are gendered. The nearest gender-neutral bathrooms at your disposal would be the ones in Maggie Benston.

AMBIANCE: A

The first thing I noticed when I walked into The Study was how cool it looks. The place is hip, modern, and adorned with neon lighting — it is clearly made for people’s Insta feeds. That Thursday night, the place was packed to the brim with people, so a table was virtually impossible to find. The place was upbeat, but not rowdy, and the bar was teeming with energy. God, it was infectious.

Depending on where you are, however (take for instance the makeshift houses on the main), the space can be a tad overstimulating. The constant noise of basketball and skee-ball machines, being right behind the DJ, can definitely make conversation difficult.  

Finally, to answer the big question: yes, you can definitely study at The Study. Just try to get here a bit earlier.

FOOD: C+

Food was by far not my favourite aspect of The Study. Our food took roughly 30–40 minutes to arrive, which definitely delayed my friends in joining us on the dance floor.

The chicken tenders, nachos, tomato soup, fish and chips, and shepherd’s pie were well liked, while items like the bangers and mash, and beef dip weren’t praised well. At the very least, the borderline-overwhelming menu does have a few vegetarian and vegan options available.

In addition,The Study’s portion sizes vary a lot. On other visits, a friend of mine was given six fries with her burger, while another received three-quarters of a waffle for their chicken and waffles.

Despite most meals averaging $16, the food was subpar. As far as restaurant food goes on SFU’s campus, Club Ilia still reigns supreme.

DRINKS AND THE BAR: B

The Study’s drinks are fine as can be and well priced, especially for happy hour deals. They have a wide beer selection and a large variety of shots (a friend ordered “The Hank,” which was Jack Daniels with a bacon strip). I noticed that there was a lot of Peach Schnapps on the cocktail menu, even for my drink, the Little Boy Blue. My choice of cocktail was absolutely delicious, and I would definitely recommend it.

The main bar on the top floor was definitely packed, so students should definitely venture to the lower floor if they want quicker bar service. Overall, their service was very accommodating, even if it took a tad too long.

PARTYING: B+

Armed with several drunk pals and an urgent need to drop it low on a school night, my friends and I ventured to the dance floor. Half of the upper-floor seating was cleared out for a dance floor, and my friends and I were those people getting down at around 9 p.m., when the dance floor was virtually empty. Dancing didn’t pick up until around 10 p.m.

The Study’s dance floor is sizable, and they had a wide selection of bops, bangers, and jams playing throughout the night. But if dancing isn’t your vibe, I found that there’s more than enough room to go sit at a table to chat with your friends (which many people were doing). If you feel like playing games, you can play ping-pong, billiards, or shuffleboard (in my opinion, the best game there), or else you can spend a few loonies and toonies on pinball, basketball, and skee-ball.

RATING: B+ A step up from the former Highland Pub, I can say with certainty that The Study finally brings some cool campus life to SFU. While the service had taken a while and the menu will most likely remain lacklustre, the Study Public House is a hip pub that will guarantee you a good time.