Cactus Club Cafe — Restaurant in Richmond

First off let me state my 1 star review is based on the service(lack of) received by on duty manager and the washroom facilities available(again lack of). The food, servers, and atmosphere are your typical Cactus Club fare, very adequate.

My party of two arrived approximately 520pm(12/21/17). We were seated in the solarium section. Ordered truffle fries to start, and a couple beverages. A few moments later I went to use the washroom, was pretty shocked to see only two urinals and ONE stall(yes, just one). The stall was occupied(no surprise). I exited the bathroom... No big deal I can use the family washroom as it was listed as "vacant" but wait it is locked. I return to my table, finish our appetizer and drink, still baffled that only one stall is available in the men's washroom. I go once more to the washroom and no surprise the lone stall is occupied. Upon exiting I try the family washroom once more - still vacant yet locked. I FYI'd staff about this. they are just standing around chatting. I return to my table extremely frustrated once again.

I asked the server(who was great btw) the next time she visited our table(which was frequent) if I could speak to a Manager, to which she said of course. A few moments later a Manager arrived, I do not recall her name but she was a tall, slender, blonde woman. I explained the situation to her and that I find it pretty absurd that they only have one stall in the men's washroom and that I tried to use the family washroom twice yet it was locked. She agreed with me that she has no idea why there is only one stall in the men's bathroom, and that the family bathroom is locked 24-7 and only a fob can open it - "so people don't use it". Should someone need to use they are to get a Manager to fob them into the washroom.... This is indicated nowhere on signage around the washrooms.

I did not understand why only one stall was in the men's bathroom, I now wondered why fob access is required for the family bathroom. It is rather inconvenient for a mother with child, a handicap individual, someone who likes privacy, or should the lone men's stall be out of order - have to ask staff to fob them in, like children; not to mention nobody knows this as this is not written anywhere in the building! The manager apologized and said she can fob me in should I like, or at a later time - I declined as my frustration trumped my need to go at this point. I indicated to the Manager this would likely be a determining factor in ever returning to this location. She merely apologized as per usual manager protocol and left.

I did at a later point finally use the bathroom, the lone stall in the men's room. It was already out of one roll of toilet paper. Some guy literally just walked out of it as I entered(lucky me), for hygienic reasons alone there should be two stalls minimum(byrne road at least has 2!). I asked my GF how many stalls the women's washroom had she replied several, I think 6 w/handicap. Even the two urinals is not sufficient in the men's, there was often a crowd and line-up, the bathroom is tiny, almost claustrophobic.

I saw the Manager I spoke with at least half-dozen times throughout the night, in my section, often at tables within feet from me. She made no contact, and did not follow up even once to see how the rest of our evening was. I get the impression she simply did not care, she did the bare minimum and that was it. We received no comp on our meal, not even a round of drinks, nothing! I didn't ask but considering my meal was constantly interrupted by having to use(try-to) their insufficient washroom facilities it was a waste of my time and money. Hard to enjoy a meal when you are getting up to win the bathroom lottery every so often.

Our bill was $100(before tip), yes we still tipped, it was not the servers/cooks fault. The way the Manager handled this was not ideal. I know she cannot physically renovate the washroom but she could have done a lot more... she did not even follow-up with us after her lone...

We wanted to try something different this weekend and we heard from our Daughter that Cactus Club had a dine-out menu. So we headed to Cactus Club in Richmond Centre.

We made a reservation, knowing they might be busy. We arrived 15 minutes early and boy was it busy! The hostess immediately let us know to step into the very cramped waiting area and another person would call our name once our table was available/ready. We were also warned of the two-hour maximum stay which would begin as soon as we were seated. We waited approximately 10 minutes in the very narrow and cramped waiting area which is situated in the middle of the seating areas.

There are some stand-up tables and there is some seating, but we were constantly getting pushed and lightly hit by others waiting, getting called in, picking up orders and hostesses trying to navigate the tight confines of the hallway. Those ten minutes felt like twenty but we were there and the food looked and smelled delicious so we stayed.

Another nice hostess called our name and directed us to our table. Once seated, the space was comfortable and not nearly as loud or congested as the waiting area. We were given our menus (both a-la carte and Dine-out) and asked what we wanted to drink. We ordered our drinks and perused the menus, deciding on the Dine-out menu items. The Dine-out menu serves a three course meal, appetizer, main course and dessert.

After a couple of minutes, the server returned with our drinks and another 8-10 minutes later, the server returned to take our order.

For appetizers we ordered their Korean-style chicken spicy nuggets with honey and pickles as well as the it avocado dip (Guacamole-type dip with corn chips)

For our main course, my lovely wife asked for a rare Steak Frites, upgrading to the rib-eye, with a couple sauces. I asked for the Mediterranean chicken dish which had Falafel, rice, a beautifully flavoured chicken breast, a refreshing Mediterranean salad and Tzaziki sauce.

For dessert, we ordered both options; my wife opting for the Cheesecake and I the Peanut-Butter Chocolate bar with ice cream.

The place had a nice-enough ambiance, even though it was very busy. The booth table where sat provided enough privacy to be able to maintain a relatively quiet conversation.

Around ten minutes after ordering, our appetizers arrived. And what an appetizer! It was larger than it looked. We each received a small plate with 10 nuggets and a creamy sauce.

Let me tell you I love pickles and I love Korean-style chicken nuggets - well, I love almost all kinds of chicken nuggets but It never really occurred to me that Korean-style chicken would go well with pickles; surprisingly, it does. The mix of fresh honey drizzled over the briny pickle slices and spicy chicken was crazy good and addictive.

Soon after eating some nuggets, my wife started feeling full. So full, in fact that she almost could not finish.

The avocado dip was tasty and the portion was large.

After being nearly defeated by the Korean nuggets, our main courses arrived.

Both main-course dishes were large and very tasty.

In the end, we were so full we didn’t even eat our desserts. Had them to go. And ate them...

I have always been an advocate for Cactus Club because my experience there has always been positive. I enjoy the vibe, food, music, etc. A great place to hangout, especially with friends.

Unfortunately, when I had drinks and dessert there last night (Thurs, May 28th) with two of my friends at the patio area of the Richmond location, we received inadequate and poor service from a server named "BRANAGH J."

My friend (Friend A) ordered a drink and a side of yam fries to start, where they exchanged a fairly thorough conversation on the pricing (clarifying on happy hour pricing $10.93) and sizing of the yam fries order. Once the order was placed, we waited, and about 10 minutes later, our other friend (Friend B) arrived to the table. She then ordered a drink and a side of truffle fries. Minutes later, friend B's truffle fries arrived but we were wondering why Friend A's yam fries haven't arrived. After giving it some time, still no sign and so we asked Branagh for an update. He had the audacity to gaslight Friend A and cut her off quickly and said that he doesn't remember her ordering yam fries even after that conversation they had 20-30 minutes ago. He kept insisting that she didn't order anything and was rude about it, NO APOLOGY whatsoever. So friend A reordered her yam fries and clarified the pricing AGAIN with Branagh, wherein he said, "Good math!" to friend A. Not sure how that is good math, when she was simply stating a fact from their conversation earlier.

Fast forward to 11:00pm, we were probably the only table left at the patio and Branagh was standing by the cashier area of the patio, and proceeded to YAWN very loudly and audibly at least 4 separate times. Clearly, it seemed like he wanted to kick us out and end his shift already by making us feel bad that he was "tired" and wanted to go home. Shortly after, we asked for the bill and ordered a takeout order of truffle fries for friend A. Branagh again took the order, but come 15-20 minutes later, he was nowhere in sight. No server was attending to us either, that Friends A & B had to walk up to the bar, just to get somebody's attention and follow up on the truffle fries. A minute later, the takeout order appears from another server and didn't seem warm and fresh anymore.

So where did Branagh go? I went to the washroom before leaving and I saw him just hiding inside the kitchen, chit chatting with other staff. Not a care in the world for our table. Disappointing.

Normally, I would give a generous tip to Cactus Club, but honestly, after last night's experience, I don't think the restaurant was deserving, let alone, Branagh, of a generous tip with the terrible service we received. I hope the Richmond location manager talks to Branagh about this and reprimands him in some way to treat his customers with more respect, let...