Tonight is the Semi-final Olympic Hockey night! Canada was playing Slovakia. Vancouver is a true hockey town and I've heard that during Turino Games, that the line ups at the bars in Vancouver on hockey nights started hours in advance. We were worried about getting into a place and having seats. Some of our friends offered us tickets to the Victory Celebration at BC Stadium with Great Big Sea but we'd been to a few and the sound was a bit off with all the echo so we wanted to be sure to catch the game energy, in case. I feel okay making that caveat given I know the outcome.
D and I brainstormed where we might be able to have a good chance to have a good view of big screens. We thought about the new place near his office but they were the one place that decided to take bookings for the night. All other places were first come first serve. I dashed after my last work call at 4h30 to get in line at Cactus Club Yaletown. D had called ahead and they had planned on clearing the restaurant at 5 and then let the hockey line up in. Well when I got there, the line was not so bad but the didn't really clear out the restaurant. The manager or owner had booked half the table for his mates. Booo! Anyhoo, while I stood in line, D walked to a few other places and they were the same or worse.
We had standing room only by the time we got in by 1 couple! Well and even they only had 1 stool but they were able to order food. I was incredibly unimpressed by the fact that the servers were VERY SHOVEY. It wasn't our choice to be allowed in to stand but if your boss lets customers in to stand and watch and DRINK and SPEND MONEY, for crying out loud, say excuse me before pushing me around like a pinball. Our friends looked ready to go after about 10 minutes. We ordered a few drinks and then decided to leave after a period. The Bellini was like an adult slushy all sugar and grenadine. The Caesar was bland and watery and I didn't get any green beans or celery which is why I ordered it to begin with. Since we couldn't order food standing, I thought I could sneak in some vegetables :-P. The food looked alright but not standing room friendly at all.
The atmosphere was great but not at all worth the experience and the rude staff. there was an exception. One server that was wearing a feather headpiece was nice enough to say excuse me. I exclude her from the assessment of the service.
Cost: $$$
Staff: Rude, doormen were nice.
Ambiance: Sleek but badly designed floor plan
Drinks: Poor taste and quality, wine list poor.
Cactus Club Yaletown
357 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1R2
(604) 685-8070
The friends we were with live around the corner so we bolted to theirs. We brought some wine and they had some ready. They baked some phyllo appetisers from Wholefoods that were just what we needed. It was a variety mix of: Roasted Veg, Mushroom, Spinach and Feta. As well, they were nice enough to bake Rocky Mountain Flatbread Vegetarian Pizza. They have a restaurant in Kits and D raves about it all the time but I've never been. We didn't know they had a line of take home pizza. You can buy them at Choices and Wholefoods. The one we had was a Sundried Tomato with Goatcheese. It was delicious.
We had a few wines:
Gray Monk Riesling - not too sweet, a dash of mineral, nice balance. Lovely but maybe even lovelier because I had a seat in which to enjoy it.
Craggy Range Pinot Noir - Light yet curvy body, full of fruit. Wonderful!!
Stephan opened one more he had picked up from Marquis Cellars but I don't know what happened to that photo. It was a burgundy. Really, big flavour. Darn, I'll have to ask him which it was. The Craggy Range was a real star. We buy it regularly but I will have to look for that Gray Monk S served us. It was very nice.
D and I brainstormed where we might be able to have a good chance to have a good view of big screens. We thought about the new place near his office but they were the one place that decided to take bookings for the night. All other places were first come first serve. I dashed after my last work call at 4h30 to get in line at Cactus Club Yaletown. D had called ahead and they had planned on clearing the restaurant at 5 and then let the hockey line up in. Well when I got there, the line was not so bad but the didn't really clear out the restaurant. The manager or owner had booked half the table for his mates. Booo! Anyhoo, while I stood in line, D walked to a few other places and they were the same or worse.
We had standing room only by the time we got in by 1 couple! Well and even they only had 1 stool but they were able to order food. I was incredibly unimpressed by the fact that the servers were VERY SHOVEY. It wasn't our choice to be allowed in to stand but if your boss lets customers in to stand and watch and DRINK and SPEND MONEY, for crying out loud, say excuse me before pushing me around like a pinball. Our friends looked ready to go after about 10 minutes. We ordered a few drinks and then decided to leave after a period. The Bellini was like an adult slushy all sugar and grenadine. The Caesar was bland and watery and I didn't get any green beans or celery which is why I ordered it to begin with. Since we couldn't order food standing, I thought I could sneak in some vegetables :-P. The food looked alright but not standing room friendly at all.
The atmosphere was great but not at all worth the experience and the rude staff. there was an exception. One server that was wearing a feather headpiece was nice enough to say excuse me. I exclude her from the assessment of the service.
Cost: $$$
Staff: Rude, doormen were nice.
Ambiance: Sleek but badly designed floor plan
Drinks: Poor taste and quality, wine list poor.
Cactus Club Yaletown
357 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1R2
(604) 685-8070
The friends we were with live around the corner so we bolted to theirs. We brought some wine and they had some ready. They baked some phyllo appetisers from Wholefoods that were just what we needed. It was a variety mix of: Roasted Veg, Mushroom, Spinach and Feta. As well, they were nice enough to bake Rocky Mountain Flatbread Vegetarian Pizza. They have a restaurant in Kits and D raves about it all the time but I've never been. We didn't know they had a line of take home pizza. You can buy them at Choices and Wholefoods. The one we had was a Sundried Tomato with Goatcheese. It was delicious.
We had a few wines:
Gray Monk Riesling - not too sweet, a dash of mineral, nice balance. Lovely but maybe even lovelier because I had a seat in which to enjoy it.
Craggy Range Pinot Noir - Light yet curvy body, full of fruit. Wonderful!!
Stephan opened one more he had picked up from Marquis Cellars but I don't know what happened to that photo. It was a burgundy. Really, big flavour. Darn, I'll have to ask him which it was. The Craggy Range was a real star. We buy it regularly but I will have to look for that Gray Monk S served us. It was very nice.
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