Restaurant Review: Cactus Club Cafe Bentall (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

 

Cactus Club Cafe Bentall

Cactus Club Cafe Bentall, a Vancouver institution, is part of a chain, founded in 1988 by Richard Jaffray anf now owned by the Fuller family (who also owns Earl’s Kitchen + Bar) that has grown to 32 locations (seven in Vancouver including a couple on the waterfront) all over Canada as of this writing. 

 

Outdoor dining area

It boasts award winning service and offers a menu that is crafted with fresh, local and sustainable ingredients, designed , since 2008, by Canada’s first Iron Chef America Champion Rob Feenie.

 

The vaulted glass wall at the interior

Cactus Club Cafe's culinary vision is led by the Test Kitchen, a team of world-class chefs. The chefs in the Test Kitchen are always looking for inspiration to make food people love, and they work relentlessly to create recipes that will be cherished by our guests, using fresh, local ingredients.

 

Mezzanine Level dining area

They proudly support Canadian farmers and partner with leading organizations such as Ocean Wise and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef to promote continuous improvement across the food supply chain.

 

View of dining area from mezzanine

The massive, two-storey restaurant at Bentall 5, with a great, upbeat atmosphere and a casual and sophisticated vibe, is located in a beautiful building, with vaulted glass walls at the front, at Vancouver’s Financial District.  The seating inside consists of a nice mix of square and round booths, a bar, a lounge and a heated patio. As we brought along our dog Luffy, we were seated at their outdoor patio, a perfect people watching spot.   

 

Wine rack

For starters, Grace ordered the Ravioli + Prawn Trio (CAD17¼), Chef Rob Feenie’s signature and fabulously luscious pasta recipe with butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli (Feenie is renowned for his ravioli), truffle butter, sautéed jumbo prawns, pine nuts and crispy sage. Kyle wanted the Chicken Tenders (CAD18¾), panko-breaded chicken with sea salted fries and honey mustard dip.

 

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Cheska ordered the vibrant and perfectly balanced Thai Curry Prawns whose spiced green coconut curry draws from traditional Thai ingredients such as lemongrass, ginger, shallot, kaffir lime, steamed bok choy, spinach, peppers, sprouts and fresh herbs, all sprinkled with crispy ricefor a little crunch.

 

Cheddar Bacon Burger

We also tried out the Cheddar Bacon Burger (smashed certified Angus beef, aged cheddar, smoked bacon, red relish, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sea salted fries, CAD22). For dessert, we tried out the Chocolate Lava Cake (CAD11¼), molten dark chocolate cake with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

 

Chicken Tenders

Although a bit pricey, the food was excellent and really delicious. The waitress serving was also kind, courteous, polite and professional, checking on us, from time to time, to make sure everything was okay. 

 

Thai Curry Prawns

Chocolate Lava Cake

Cactus Club Café Bentall 5: 588 Burrard St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 0A8 Canada.  Tel: +1 604-682-0933. Open daily, 11 AM – 12 AM.  Website: www.cactusclubcafe.com/location/bentall-5/.