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The Cascade Room


canucklehead

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Went to The Cascade Room last night and thought it was terrific.

The room is warm and evokes an old school bar without tipping towards irony. And finally - a room where we could sit and talk in normal speaking voices without yelling over the din. With a full house - there was a pleasantly happy buzz with an undercurrent of well chosen music.

I know that Evoke design is everywhere - but I think that they have really hit the mark here. Cascade feels well designed rather than over designed and this is reflected in the low key mix of people that were there last night.

Travis William's cooking similiarly well executed and self contained. Really really well done comfort foods. Standout dishes include trap caught prawns with linguine brightened with preserved lemons and a lamb sirloin sandwich that was perfectly pink. We had just missed out on the Pemberton Beef Steak special. I am looking forward to trying the red curry braised lamb shank next time.

Pricing was extremely reasonable - 2 appetizers, 3 entrees, 4 drinks - just below $100 before tips.

Edited by canucklehead (log)
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Wow - did I miss a fresh sheet or something for the food?

I too thought it was a great bar - v stylish, but the menu was sad. I just had a look at the menu again to be sure it was the ramos gin fizz remembering... and no. They clearly havent had a chance to do something interesting, surprising given the roots.

I understand that the drinks are the main feature, nothing wrong with that, but is it too much to ask for a little imagination with the food? Geez, maybe I'm being a tad harsh, just looked at the menu again, and unfairly we didnt even order anything and ended up going to Soma for food. (which wasnt the best idea actually, but after we added salt, it was quite palatable)

It's those first impressions for me I guess, and if there isnt anything on a menu that draws me in and wants me to spend my hard earned $$$ ordering it, then I move on.

My apologies for the negative remarks. I read so many positive reviews on places, and then too many times I find that it's not that way at all, (like Jules) and I suppose that I'm in a bit of a ranting mood.

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You should give the food a chance. I agree that the menu reads simply - but the execution was exemplary with all the little things done well. Personally, I was thankful for a menu that was not over-reaching with extraneous bells and whistles. Given Travis' cooking pedigree - it will be intersting to see how the menu develops.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mia Stainsby reviewed The Cascade Room in yesterday's Vancouver Sun:

  ... Instant party! The no-reservations policy adds to (or does it create?) the pile-up.

It must be an ineffable je ne sais quoi underlying its success because quite honestly, the food was erratic -- some dishes were very good, others were downright disappointing. But most of what I tried over two visits was quite unremarkable.

...

Servers are super friendly and quite honestly, I think it's a great spot for a drink and a nibble but it's not somewhere I'd go with a great big hunger for great food.

Cheers,

Anne

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I've had my head in the sand clearly since I live not 5 blocks from this place and I just drove by it last night remarking "hey! Cascade Room is open!"

Looking forward to giving it a shake.

"There are two things every chef needs in the kitchen: fish sauce and duck fat" - Tony Minichiello

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we went last weekend while in town and just loved the space and the cocktails. the drink menu is very thoughtfully put together and I really liked the whole vibe of the place. we didn't eat there as were having dinner elsewhere.

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