owntown Vancouver is to Kits what Manhattan is to Brooklyn: a bridge too far away. Most of Van's club-life party spots are situated on the over-populated Granville Street or in the ghetto-populated Gastown. Kitsilano hasn't traditionally had many dance floors on offer, aside from one-too-many pub walkways and tables (don't judge me). Thank whomever you pray to for Lola’s, the poorly named but often packed dance hideaway located smack dab, um, well, just to the left of the heart of Kitsilanso.

Now that you've heard of it, good luck finding it. Formerly known as the Side Door (waaay better name), Lola’s local is just that: it’s a side door. Down an unadvertised walkway up and up some stairs is Lola's, and unless there’s a line up peeking out onto the sidewalk, finding the place could be harder than you think (I still can’t remember how I got there). Remember, it's not on the main street.

More Jetson's chic than Mexican Cantina, the Lola's moniker feels discordant. Perhaps it's the dance room's dome-shaped arched ceilings, the odd, swirling, faux-marble flooring, or the massive floor-to-ceiling off-white booths and their tiny round table tops, but this place does not feel like a Lola. Add an oddly shaped oval corner bar, more spaceship-friendly high top tables and an old school arcade game, and you have…Lola's, which must be the name of George J.'s mother-in-law, or something like that.

Lola's does a great job representing the dance hall dogma, especially in the sorely lacking Kits. There's always a deft hand behind the decks (think old school beats with a top 40 tinge), always a drink special ($3.50 highballs?!? Really?), and always an eclectic crowd of dance-craving, gorgeous Kits denizens (I can't stress this enough: hot people everywhere). Because guys don't dance (right?), there's also a pool table. Also, there's an omni-present lineup, so if you plan on hitting Lola's, call ahead and feign a friend's going away party or a bat mitzvah or something so you can get guest listed and avoid spending an hour in the line/smoking area. Though there's no cover before nine, who really wants to go to a club before nine?

Check out this space-tastic hideaway, tucked into a Kits corner so tightly that it's a neighbourhood secret (well, it was until now). -B.J.