Cactus Club Cafe — Restaurant in Vancouver

Worst service we’ve ever had in our life. Both my boyfriend and I are servers, and it was BAD. Valentine’s dinner, we had called ahead to see how busy they were and we were told they are at a lull. So we arrive at 930pm, walk in, not that busy. Our server came to our table right away but was clearly unimpressed with our water order. We ordered an appy and two mains neither of which were quality checked. We had to flag her down to refill our waters, and to grab us some more dip for the calamari. Our mains came out and not ONE person came to ask how our food was or to top up our waters. I had a creole chicken (known to be a spicy dish) and I was out of water for my entire meal. Being a server I understand it sucks when you have a table drinking waters but that doesn’t mean you don’t give them service at all. After we’re done eating, it’s around 1015 and I wanted to box up my leftovers. At around 1030 I started commenting on how we had been sitting there a long time especially considering they had a lot of staff just chatting in the pass through. I then noticed our server was at the bar having a drink and talking to other servers. From there I gathered we must have been passed on to someone else. We didn’t know WHO since ALL the servers in that section just kept walking by us like we weren’t there table. Since the food runner at 945, nobody has been to our table. It’s 1045 when we flag down a manager and tell him we’re displeased. I DON’T complain ever about service but being so dissatisfied on our date and being an ex Cactus Club Server in Victoria the manager needs to become aware. Nick, who was running the show apologizes and tells us his strongest servers are supposed to be in the lounge and are supposed to work as a team. He took care of our appetizer, (which we said we aren’t looking for a deal) he brought back the bill, and then tended to the bar. Thinking that we can FINALLY leave we are waiting another 10 minutes with our credit card on the table. We’re looking at Nick to see if he’ll help us, but we catch a different server he’s chatting with shoot us glances as Nick laughs and rolls his eyes. Disgusted, we take our bill to the bar asking, “Can we pay here?” We finish our evening at 1115 with an AWEFUL taste in our mouths. The ONLY reason I am writing this letter is because our verbal complaint was CLEARLY a joke. We chose Cactus Club knowing they have high standards of service and great food. We left extremely disappointed and with a completely different respect level for the restaurant. My boyfriend and I both felt that because we didn’t’ buy drinks, the server(s) and managers didn’t feel that we were worth their time. I don’t think eating at Cactus is...

TL;DR: The staff at this location acted with complete negligence and I ended up in the hospital with an anaphylactic reaction. The server barely cared on top of that. I would avoid this location altogether if you have allergies.

I have been contemplating on writing this review for the last little while and decided I should so I can warn others with life-threatening allergies, and hopefully help reduce the chances of someone else going through what I did, or worse.

I have been dining at Cactus Club since I moved to BC and every experience was great up until this time. Normally when I go to a Cactus, I alert them that I have severe/life threatening allergies to all nuts and every single location has followed a strict protocol except for this one. Normally staff will ask how serious it is, then they tell me they will let the kitchen know and that everything will be clean/kept separate, etc etc. Then usually they’ll go check with the kitchen and let me know if something may contain or if something contains and can be swapped/removed.

The server at this location said “alright we’ll let the kitchen know!” And I assumed since they were busy, that they were just going to do all of that on their own. I ordered the rigatoni bolognese like I usually do.

When it was served, it was served with garlic bread which I never had before. I was under the impression that it was a newer addition since I told them how severe my allergies were. I was super hungry so I scarfed it down, and started reacting within seconds.

When we alerted the server, I asked what was in the bread and he had to go check because I was reacting. When he came back he said “oh yeah. That may contain tree nuts.” He seemed barely concerned and said “uh, you good?” And a few other words. Because the reaction ended up being delayed, I said “I think so?” And he never checked on my table for anything other than refills (which was twice) and he only said “you good?” Both times. I was never offered to speak to a manager. On top of that, he charged my friend pull price for a drink that was never delivered.

I had a delayed reaction where I ended up in the hospital, requiring three IV’s and two doses of epinephrine. I have never experienced this amount of negligence at a restaurant before, and the lack of concern for the situation is appalling. This is peoples lives that this Cactus Club is playing with and it is completely unacceptable. If you have anaphylaxis please dine elsewhere because while I got lucky, someone else might not.

I came back to add how I noticed you guys have responded to everyone’s reviews except for this one. Avoiding accountability for negligence is...

Our daughter, family & friends had an amazing time celebrating her "Sweet 16" on Saturday, November 16th for 50 people in the Atrium.

Truly, it was beautiful, memorable and elegant. Everything from the delicious food (cocktail party canapes), service and ambiance was professional and top notch. We are ever so thankful and grateful to the Cactus Club Restaurant.

What a GREAT experience from start to finish! We've celebrated many other occasions in the past at this location: My husband's birthday, our daughter's christening luncheon, my father's 80th birthday celebration and now a Sweet 16. We've had exceptional experiences each time.

A BIG THANK YOU to a wonderful team who were an absolute pleasure to work with! Alexandra (Group Bookings), & Cat (GM); who met with me initially to make my dreams a reality. To the incredible Kayla PDR Manager, who came on board and solidified all the details with professionalism, passion and enthusiasm (love her!), including another manager Dallas, who assisted with decoration setup (what a joy!). Servers Anna, Danika and Sophia and even Chef Charlie who made an appearance and introduced himself. All were so genuinely lovely, and attentive. They made a vision into a gorgeous reality. We have no complaints at all. Any technical issues we had with our sound and video were but a blip and were fixed immediately by a manager whose name I do not have...

From the bottom of our hearts...Our family thanks you. We hope this feedback letter gets to each one of you. We will indeed host another event at this location in the future and use the Atrium Dining Room space again. We highly recommend this space for an event!

Much appreciation, grace and affection everyone. Well done Cactus Club!

Thank...