Cactus Club Cafe is a foodie icon in Vancouver. Led by Chef Rob Feenie, Canada’s first Iron Chef, this is THE place to be on a sunny Friday afternoon for lunch.
Which my friend Tamara and I discovered when we got together for food downtown on Burrard Street. Crazy busy! Thankfully the wait was just 15 minutes before we got a table on their enclosed and heated patio.
If we were there for dinner I would have ordered the signature dish butternut squash ravioli with prawns which I had when I first came back to Vancouver. Unbelievably delicious.
For lunch though I wanted to get the short rib sandwich with caramelized onions, beef jus, Emmental cheese on toasted sourdough. I also got the sweet potato fries that were served with a lovely dill aioli.
Tamara got the grilled tuna club (hold the bacon) prepared with rare-seared albacore, tarragon tartar, bacon, cilantro and pickled ginger, served on a ciabatta bun.
Our food was astoundingly delicious! My sandwich melted in my mouth and Tamara was thrilled with her tuna club.
I had been to the restaurant’s Coal Harbour location but the one on Burrard was new to me. I made sure to use the facilities before I left so I could sneak some photographs. By then the restaurant was less busy (yes, that is LESS busy than when we arrived) and huge.
I had to climb quite the flight of stairs and then walk all the way back to the other end of the restaurant to use the washroom. I was happy to see that there is an elevator available for those with mobility issues.
This was a first for me, getting to use an “exotic foot flush” in the bathroom! And there was a TV screen showing sports.
Cactus Club Cafe always has good food and our service was great. In fact if you told me our server was Ryan Reynolds’ younger brother, I would believe you. He was training another server and everyone was quite lovely.
I am so glad I could introduce my friend Tamara to such an important and influential Vancouver restaurant during her quick stay in Vancouver. I think it ended up being the perfect choice.
Wow, Suzie, this sounds fantastic! I’m putting it on a list of places we could go when I finally get a chance to visit 🙂
Absolutely! We will go to The Cactus Club for sure Jamie. 🙂
Sweet! We have two Cactus Club restaurants now in Edmonton. My Rare One took me to one for my birthday last year. The food was indeed delicious! But the incredible noise level in the huge open-space concept restaurant really diminished the experience for me. I know that’s the style of all “hip” restaurants now because the noise makes young people feel “excited and alive,” but for us older folk who don’t hear that well and who just want a nice quiet dining experience — well, it just makes it a relief to finish the meal and go home (mumble, grumble).
I wondered if there were any locations outside of BC. I used to go to the one of Vancouver Island a lot. It’s true, it’s very loud. I hadn’t seen Tamara in over a decade and really wanted to listen but it was quite a challenge. Unfortunately every place was packed on a sunny Friday afternoon and I knew the food here would be good.
Looks like a super fun day, Suzie. Very cool.
Thanks! It was super fun. 🙂