The Bottom Line
Dark, urban and lounge-like, the Cascade Room bar and restaurant brings a downtown ambiance to the heart of Mount Pleasant's SoMa (South Main) district.
The Cascade Room
2616 Main St.
Vancouver, BC
604-709-8650
Pros
- Lounge-like bar and restaurant in the heart of SoMa (South Main)
- Great selection of beers and cocktails
- Vegetarian options
Cons
- Can be crowded; wait times may be long
- Street parking may be difficult to find
Description
- Open Monday - Friday 4pm - 12am
Saturday - Sunday 12pm - 12am - Most entrées $15 - $20
- Most cocktails $8 - $9
- Not a place for meeting singles; more appropriate for small groups and couples
Guide Review - The Cascade Room
Harbinger of the gentrification (or burgeoning affluent-but-still-hipster-ification) of Mount Pleasant's SoMa (South Main) district, the Cascade Room is a trendy, $10-a-drink bar-slash-restaurant (that's slightly more bar) with a "downtown" ambiance.
If there is a scene at Cascade, it's a mild one. The patrons are mostly late-twenty-to-forty-somethings, generally there in twos and fours (it's not a singles scene at all), who come for drinks and shared food, rather than a traditional dinner out.
They do serve dinner, and the food--if not amazing--is tasty. The Crisp Calamari starter ($11) is particularly good, and the Tagliatelle Amatriciana ($15), smoked then braised pork with tagliatelle pasta, is popular. The menu includes several seafood standards, including mussels and smoked tuna, as well as burgers and a few higher-end items like the venison sirloin ($19).
But don't go to the Cascade Room for the food. The stand-outs here, aside from a downtown atmosphere on Main St., are the beers--a stellar selection of drafts and bottles--and the cocktails. Their cocktails include everything imaginable (even a Champagne Flip), and if you don't find what you want and can tell them how to make it, they'll do it.
Cascade also has a very popular bar-quiz night, Mondays from 7pm - 8:30pm. It's $2 a person to play, with proceeds going to different charities; the event draws a big crowd, so be ready to wait for a table if you don't get there early.
