Cactus Club: Happy hour
Cactus Club is a casual western dining chain originally from North Vancouver. Now it has locations throughout BC, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Toronto.
Cactus Club has always been one of those “basic white” restaurants (I mean this in the most non-racist way). But in Edmonton, Cactus Club is an actual club – like a real bumpin’ one with a dance floor and a DJ. I don’t think there’s a single location in Vancouver that is like that, so maybe Cactus Club is just way cooler in other parts of Canada.
This review is of the North Burnaby location’s happy hour menu, which runs from 3-6pm or 9pm-close every day.
Drinks
Frose ($7)
The frose is a play of two different words: rose (wine) and frozen. The drink is a slush version of rosé wine, strawberries, elderflower, smirnoff vodka and lemon.
It’s very pretty and I feel like a lady sipping it. Taste is fun and fruity but not strong.
Frose sunset soda ($4.50)
So I really enjoy the frose, which is why I try the frose sunset soda. When it arrives, I do have to say I am disappointed. I’m not really sure what I was expecting, but this drink is essentially your classic soda highball with a spoon of the pretty frose from before dropped inside it. It includes smirnoff vodka, soda, frosé, and a lemon wedge.
Aesthetically not the best and the amount of frose doesn’t taste like anything once it melts or is mixed in with the soda. I recommend to just go for the frose if you are considering this drink.
Food
Truffle fries ($4)
Cactus club’s truffle fries come with truffle, herbs, grana padano, and garlic aioli. Portion size is a little small if I compare it to Joe Forte’s happy hour truffle fries, but it tastes great with lots of truffle flavour. A nice add-on to other food items.
Rob’s flatbread ($8.50)
I love flatbread and Rob’s flatbread is a good example of a well-balanced one. It is topped with caramelized onions, grape tomatoes, feta, goat cheese, basil pesto, arugula, and balsamic glaze. In general, it tastes and looks fresh and (almost) healthy. Good to share with 2 people.
Pesto chicken quesadilla ($8.50)
Visual-wise, not as appetizing as I want it to look. Inside the quesadilla, they have blended cheeses, basil pesto, sundried cranberries,and a honey lime dip.
The quesadillas are yummy, although a little thinly stuffed. At least it doesn’t fall apart. Not sure why they put just a few chips there for, didn’t taste right with the honey lime dip.
Mini crispy chicken sandwich duo ($8.50)
This tastes just as good as it looks. They are basically two sliders with spicy panko-crusted chicken, swiss cheese, sambal mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion.
I usually am very adamant about serving 3 sliders instead of 2, but the sandwiches themselves are not too small so this time I will let it slide.
Final thoughts
Cactus Club is a very popular place to eat and drink. Servers are attractive, interiors are sleek and patios are comfortable.
The variety of the happy hour menu is quite good with some signature entrees listed on it. One recommendation is to never ever order the ravioli. The reason is because they literally only give you 2 raviolis for $8.
In terms of value, I have to say Cactus Club is too pricey for the actual food offerings. In total, we spent around $41 before tax and tip for 2 people. We were not hungry when we left, but we originally weren’t here for a full meal (just some small bites).
Most of the items we ordered lacked visual appeal or too small of a portion size. Taste is there, but for a happy hour menu that is more expensive than the average competitor, we expected to have both presentation and taste.