cascade room

bottom line: the last time i was at cascade was maybe 10 years ago, before that, probably 15 years. so it's generally a good sign that a restaurant is still here for that long on main st. when everything else is closing. i ordered the cascade burger and a beer. the burger was a bit flat from where i was sitting but the first impression was... this burger is gamey. not in a horrendous way but just different. thefrieswere good and the beer was nice (it was a porter if i recall or port).

just meh. really don't know why this place is so popular. service is slow and food is just meh. had a burger last week and it tasted like a meatloaf with tons of filler. thefriesare excellent but the salad was again just meh.

sunday night dinner - james bond theme. i was invited to a bday dinner on sunday night at cascade room. my initial reaction was that it was a cool social setting in a hip area like main and 12th. i did find the place quite loud but maybe it was because we were seated at the back of the restaurant close to the speakers. in any case i went through the menu and thought it was quite small but did notice they change it seasonally. this is quite nice to see but i would have preferred more option. reading past reviews it looked like hand cutfrieswere quite popular but while perusing the menu what peaked my interest was the polenta fries. for $7 i thought this was a great deal due to the rosemary savory taste, the delicious yet mild curry aioli sauce that accompanied the dish and of course the quantity that was offered to me. i also decided to order the roasted beef dip (more because i was craving beef but also because i wanted to try the hand cut fries). personally i didn't care for the beef dip. even though the sandwich had a few slices of thick beef i thought the meat was quite dry and the au jus was thinned out. my friend ordered the veggie burger with an upsell from the server to have it with cheese. well the cheese didn't help with the veggie burger and it did not look that appealing and based on her comments and how she left part of the burger on her plate she was not happy with the item. all in all other then the polentafriesand friendly staff members i don't have much else to say about this restaurant. i wish they put at least another 3-4 more items on the menu if it is going to keep changing seasonally.

good food, fun atmosphere. went here for the first time on a busy friday night. we were seated right away, surprisingly. i ordered one of the specials, the lamb shepherd's pie with salad, my partner ordered the chicken and goat cheese pot pie withfriesand salad. delicious! tons of flavours, reasonable prices, large portions and great selection of beer and wine.

a few complaints: the music is a little too loud for a restaurant; the regular menu is quite small.

terrible experience. one of the worst restaurant experiences i have ever had in vancouver. the service was ridiculously slow despite it not being very busy. ordered a drink and 30 minutes later i asked the waitress again for it and she rolled her eyes and said it was coming soon. no apology or explanation. eventually someone took our order, but it was not worth the wait. the food was cold, bland and mushy. i had a veggie burger, which had very little flavour. the bun was stale and the patty and chips were cold. my husband had a roast beef sandwich, the beef, chips and dip were stone cold. none of our friends like their meals either, except the polentafrieswhich were the only dish that came out hot. my husband sent his sandwich back, the waitress brought it back a couple of minutes later. it had clearly been microwaved because it was now mushy and unevenly hot. the waitress said, if he didn't like it this time he probably didn't know what a roast beef sandwich was meant to be like. she then snatched the plate away and said "we are done here". no offer to order another entrée. my friends were then triple charged for one item and the waitress and manager said "it was too complicated" to determine if we had been over charged until they cashed out at the end of the night. they offered to call if they determined we had been over charged, however they never asked for a phone number. avoid this place, there are way too many other places in the same city that offer the same food & drinks but have better quality food and service.

great selection of drinks. this is my go to place for when i don't want to go far for food or drinks.

with a great selection of drinks, i never find it hard to pick a drink that suits my mood.

i've only ever ordered 2 items for food here though, the pizza and the polenta fries. the pizza is a thin crust, with fresh toppings. the polentafriesi was hesitant to order the first time, but i am glad i did. they were crisp on the outside, and a wonderful soft texture inside. also love the curry mayo dip that accompanies them. i heard that this is similar to a curry mayo that many folks from ireland enjoy. does anyone know of the curry mayo (sauce) in ireland?

the atmosphere in the place is relaxed, even when its packed. i never have felt rushed to hurry my visit. service has always been attentive enough, answered and recommended things.

all in all, i like this place, which is why i keep going back.

polenta fries..... love coming here for the appies. the polentafriesare magic! service at times can be a little shotty (inexperience servers, poor management of them or too large of sections, who knows?) but the atmosphere and friendliness of the servers helps make up for their constant mia status.