Cactus Club Cafe — Restaurant in Toronto

I recently revisited Cactus Club Cafe in downtown Toronto, a spot that once held a special place in my heart before the pandemic. Sadly, my latest experience was a letdown, particularly with their Steak and Mushroom dish.

The plate, featuring a grilled steak accompanied by oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, red wine jus, buttered mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables, just didn’t hit the mark. The steak itself was surprisingly tough and lacked the rich flavor and tenderness one would expect from a well-prepared cut of meat. The mushrooms were a decent touch, but they couldn’t mask the fact that the meat quality was lacking. The red wine jus, which should have added depth and sophistication, was disappointingly flat. The mashed potatoes were creamy enough, but nothing about them stood out, and the seasonal vegetables were bland, lacking any real freshness or seasoning.

This is not what I remembered Cactus Club Cafe to be. Once a go-to for a reliable, satisfying meal, this experience felt more like something you’d find at a cheap breakfast diner than at a popular upscale spot. The dish as a whole seemed rushed and uninspired, leaving me questioning the quality of ingredients and preparation.

What was especially disappointing was how the quality of the meat has drastically declined. I chose this place because it was once a favorite, a reliable go-to for a good meal. But now, it seems like a shadow of its former self, much like an ex-boyfriend you remember fondly—but when you meet again, you realize it was never as good as you thought.

The restaurant is still a popular spot, and yes, it's crowded as usual, but the experience no longer justifies the hype. It’s clear that they need to reconsider their meat suppliers and pay closer attention to the overall quality of what they’re serving. I can only hope Cactus Club Cafe addresses these issues and reclaims its former glory, but until then, this visit will likely be my last. Some places, much like people, are better left in the past.

Thank you for your reply.

I appreciate the acknowledgment, but I must say I'm quite surprised and disappointed that after sharing my feedback, the next step involves me having to take further action to be heard.

Is this considered customer service now—expecting the customer to put in even more effort after already being let down by the quality of the experience? It’s not only frustrating but feels rather dismissive. When a customer shares concerns, especially thoughtfully and in detail, I would expect a more direct, proactive, and solution-oriented response—not a link to fill out yet another form or repeat the issue.

I believe in giving businesses the opportunity to make things right, but it shouldn't be this difficult. I hope your team will reflect on this process and consider making it more customer-centric...

Let me be clear: what happened at Cactus Club Café on the night of the Blue Jays final wasn’t just poor service, it was a case study in managerial incompetence wrapped in arrogance.

We arrived at 7:15 PM to watch the game, ordered respectfully, paid full price, and expected the bare minimum of transparency. At no point were we informed of a two-hour seating limit. Yet barely an hour in, we were told, “order more, this is your last call, leave by 9:00 PM.” Not only were we not given two hours, we were blindsided mid-meal. No one mentioned this beforehand. The timing conveniently aligned with the 9 PM happy hour, and if that’s the real reason, it makes the situation even more embarrassing for the management.

I’ve been to this restaurant numerous times, even on fully booked nights, and have never encountered this kind of entitled, tone-deaf behavior.

The explanation? “We want to make room for more people to watch the game.” Excuse me? You don’t market yourself as the place to watch the game, take customers’ money, and then eject them halfway through because someone else might spend more. That’s not hospitality, that’s greed, poorly disguised as policy.

The table beside us was equally stunned; they literally invited us to sit with them in disbelief. We were kicked out in the third inning, during the event that brought us there. And to add insult to injury, it happened to the table that ordered three mains, while those nursing one beer were left alone.

Sure, the food was decent and the Peach Bellini was good, but great cocktails can’t mask managerial rot. The issue here isn’t service, it’s leadership. No amount of polished branding or scripted smiles can cover up a culture that prioritizes turnover over trust.

If this is what “premium casual” means to Cactus Club, then it’s time to rewrite the definition. You can’t claim to offer elevated hospitality while treating customers like time slots on a spreadsheet. They call it ‘premium casual.’ I call it ‘profit over principle.’ You don’t build a brand by flipping tables, you build it by knowing class isn’t on the menu, it’s in the service.

Cactus Club, you didn’t just lose a table, you lost every person who watched that unfold. You can’t buy class, and you clearly haven’t learned hospitality. When arrogance runs the floor, the house always loses.

You don’t kick out paying clients mid-game, you just kicked out your credibility. That’s not management; that’s amateur hour. If you can’t handle a full house during the Game 7 of World Series, maybe you should stick to lemonade stands.

Money desperate? That’s cute. You just turned a loyal customer into your best marketing, for WHY NOT TO COME HERE. There’s a difference between running a restaurant and running people off. Learn it.

1 is your score only because 0...

I recently had the displeasure of visiting Cactus Club in downtown Toronto for the first time on Friday April 25th to celebrate my birthday which I had been looking forward to for the last 4+ years, only to unfortunately have the whole night completely ruined due to the restaurants poor lack of service.

Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years in the past, I am aware of busy nights and made sure to book a reservation for my small party a week in advance. But upon arrival of my 9:30pm reservation, I was informed there was no table available at the time, and I was to wait near the back. During that time, I watched multiple small and larger parties than mine get seated, that had arrived after me, to the point where it wasn't until 40 minutes after my reservation time (no exaggeration), where we were then told to move to the third floor. Upon arriving upstairs, the host only proceeded to give us attitude and have us wait another 10 minutes before finally getting seated at 10:20pm.

After finally getting seated it took our server almost 15 minutes to come to our table with water and take our drink orders. But during the wait one of my guests excused herself to use the washroom, only to come back 20 minutes later due to the lack of toilet paper and paper towel in all three upstairs washrooms. She explained how it took workers 20 minutes to come and replenish, and while during her wait a host snippily told her while waiting in line “there are other washrooms you know.” Thankfully our server was nice, but the bar must have been backed up because it took almost 30 minutes to receive our first round of drinks and finally place a food order. At that point I expected to be waiting for our food just as long...which we did, only for it to be subpar and nothing to rave home about.

When it came to cashing out, our server unfortunately had a mess up on three bills causing her to go back three times before having it processed. After waiting eagerly to be cashed out for over 30 minutes, we left as quickly as possible after paying our bills, but at that point it was 12:20am and we had missed our next reservation time.

I have typically always had about an hour to an hour, and a half turn around at other restaurants, and expected it to be no issue, even after having pre planned allotted time between reservations, but unfortunately, I was very wrong. I always try to be sympathetic towards restaurants having been in their position, but this was honestly unacceptable service. Overall, after being very excited for the night and creating a detailed itinerary, the whole experience and evening was a complete letdown that has me never wanting to...