Cascades Lounge

(Only 2 stars if you are paying full price.)
Just back from a Groupon dinner at the Café Pacifica. The Groupon offer comes on periodically and the menu may change, so what you get may be different next time. Tonight, our menu was:
First Course (choose one; those who opt for four courses get both)
–Thai-​curry-​infused Nova-​Scotia lobster chowder with vegetable confetti
–Seasonal mixed greens and marinated hearts of palm with lychee gel and herb vinaigrette
Second Course (choose one)
–Duo of beef: 48-​hour-​braised, horseradish-​dusted short ribs and butler steak with smoked potato purée, pearl onions, and spaghetti squash
–Seared arctic char on a bed of B.C. rock crab risotto with braised fennel and snap peas
–Roasted pumpkin and Salt Spring Island goat cheese raviolis, root vegetable fettuccini, and arugula and brown butter sauce
Third Course (choose one)
–Warm and moist sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, scotch-​infused crème anglaise, and candied ginger
–Piña colada cheesecake with fresh blueberry compot
Free bread.
–Yay! I sampled it only as the meal was filling enough with the carbs in the main. But it’s nice that it’s there in case you are a heavier eater.
–Bread otherwise sub-​par. Sorry — buns felt dry and therefore gave the impression they were too old.
Chowder
–Strong curry flavour flattened any chance of lobster flavour.
–Lobster chunks felt dry in the mouth and not flavourful — possibly frozen lobster. Seemed rather pointless, really.
Seasonal Mixed Greens
–Interesting and quite refreshing. Could have used more of the lychee gel, which was tasty but hard to get at. Vinaigrette on the salad was sour and mixing the salad into the gel didn’t work. It might have been interesting to use the lychee gel as the dressing instead.
–Otherwise OK, with chunks of lychee for some sweetness to offset the salad, breaking up the monotony.
Duo of Beef
–For me, felt like there was nothing special here no matter what the menu says. It’s short rib and a bit of steak.
Seared Arctic Char
–Get this for the rock crab risotto. Otherwise, fish is fish.
Cheese Raviolis
–Quite interesting and overall I felt it was the best option, despite being the vegetarian option.
–Pace yourself with the raviolis to break up the monotony of the root veggies (carrot and fennel?) cut into fettuccini.
–Some of the ravioli was not properly dusted with parmesan. The parmesan on top really helps make each ravioli tasty.
Pina Colada Cheesecake
–Bit on the crumbly and sweet side, with mild sugar burn at the back of the throat. You might want to pair it with the sour fruits on the plate (yeah, even the strawberry was sour).
–Presentation rather nice with two chocolate sticks and an interesting paper-​thin slice of pineapple with intense pineapple flavour.
Toffee Pudding
–This tasted rather blah to me. Vanilla ice cream definitely a good pairing. Presentation is very nice, including a flat sugar (?) disc.
Overall, the dinner was very nice and at $ 95 for two persons for the 4-​course, it works out to $ 47.50 per person — which as also a good price for what you get. The supposed value is $ 176 per two persons, or $ 88 per person.
Mocktails available at $ 9.50 each. A bit pricey for what you get but this is hotel dining.
The opera-​buffet side of the restaurant was completely dead on the Thursday evening. Dinner guests were seated at the Lounge side, which is actually really good because you are at the tall windows giving you waterfront views — enough for a bonus point. If you count also view and ambiance, as well as fairly dedicated service because staff isn’t scrambling around a full restaurant, then the price is very good and makes a great date or double-​date outing (maximum 2 Groupons per table).
Service was friendly, polite, and attentive.

The website and all reviews say this place is open until midnight or later. Saturday night and we were told by the bartender that he was closing — at 9:45 pm.
We walked several blocks in the dead of winter and were very disappointed.

Great view and great service. The food was good, I had the veggie flatbread but it was quite doughy. The salads were huge and tasty. The wine selection was really nice carrying local and foreign brands. I wish they had more local wines by the glass. Canadian wines were a real treat.

After a long day of walking and exploring downtown Vancouver, Cascades lounge is the place for you to relax and unwind. Also, it has an unparalleled coal harbor view while you enjoy your meal and drink. The service was attentive. I heard their brunch buffet was great with live music, too bad I’m not able to try it this trip. For sure this is a place I will visit again next time when I’m in Vancouver.

Came here on a Friday night with a date to have a beer and was very pleasantly surprised. It is everything you would expect from a venue inside a 5-​star hotel. The view of the waterfront is beautiful and there were plenty of table /​bar /​couch seating to choose from. The live piano music definitely made for a very laid-​back and classy vibe. The prices here are very reasonable and the noise levels are fine as you can have a conversation at normal volumes.
The only (minor) drawbacks to my experience was that no waiter came to take our drink order after 5 minutes so I had to go to the bar and order my own drinks which was not a big deal. Finally for couples although the lighting was soft it was definitely not dim and there were no corner booths or sofas to tuck cozily into if you are looking for a more intimate setting — it is a place to see and be seen.

Visited Cascades with my fiancée last night. We were looking to relax in a lounge with some good drinks and entertainment. Good selection of drinks, great staff, fun entertainer… as he sang and played the guitar amazingly. Prices are normal for a 5 star hotel. Unfortunately the view was hidden behind the thick fog that night.
Overall, a great experience! Looking forward to revisiting again.

Just beyond the cascading waterfall on the 3^rd floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel, this corner lounge offers stunning views of Coal Harbour and Stanley Park, set against the background of the coastal mountains. Turning your gaze towards your left, you’ll spy the Vancouver Convention Center just one «pier» over, and on your right is a fine view of the Canada Place sails.
We happened to stop by on a Saturday evening, and it was simply lovely. Really, really lovely. I was with a great group of people and we were chatting the eve away, completely engrossed in conversation. No doubt, the setting certainly helped — comfortable chairs and sofas, tasty appetizers and drinks. A short while later, the entertainment for the evening started off with a gentleman at the piano, and later by opera singers in the adjacent café! The ambience exuded an upscale ‘mellow’ feel. Definitely a relaxing place to unwind in the presence of pleasant company.

I won a gift certificate for here last summer and just used it. Sat down to a nice view of the harbor in cushy chairs. We ordered two beers, hubs had the beef burger and I had the clubhouse and salad. All the food was tasty, and the tea/​coffee at the end was nice too. The service here was really good! Probably the best I’ve had in years, including expensive restaurants. Overall I liked the view, service, atmosphere and food.

Was supposed to be getting a Travelzoo dinner deal here (a 3 course prix fixe for $ 45, for two), but in a turn of events… didn’t make it on time (yeah yeah. I had a few months… so chalk it up to me being lazy or disorganized… or both) ;) so we ended up with a $ 45 voucher towards a meal.
It was the night before the night before xmas… and all through the hotel… hardly any one was stirring… but that suited the bill. ;)
We had just eaten a while ago… so we weren’t super hungry… so we just ordered a main, and a shared desert… and some tea at the end… it was enough.
I had a Korean kalbi-​style flat iron steak, and Junko had the «Treasures of the Sea» tempura plate. My steak was done perfectly… and was quite tasty with the notes of korean spices. The side of rice with kimchi was nice too. Junko’s seafood platter was a little heavy… she was hoping for a more Japanese presentation of it with a dipping broth… but it was more a plate of fried fish and shrimp with fries on the side. Was heavy… but not overly so… but didn’t fit her expectations. The desert was reasonably priced, but upon getting it (and the server did let us know it wasn’t all that big) we saw why it had the price it did… still, it was a good size for the end of the meal… it was a chocolate and grand marinier treat.
The tea was pretty good (we had a green tea). It was from «T», but as with most teas in bags… it tasted a little like the paper of the bag, and definitely wasn’t whole leaf tea.
Still… a very good meal, with great service, and great presentation.

The most gorgeous and relaxing views of the city. Everything is incredibly tasty but with a super high price point. The one time I was here was with my parents who paid and it’s definitely more of a 40 year old and above kind of hang out but wow, if I had the cash I would be there all the time. Such a nice relaxing spot.

Easy lounge music, great selection of tasty cocktails and beer, hotel-​grade service (not to be unexpected), and a GREAT view of the new Convention Centre and Burrard Inlet. The pianist is actually quite good for a lounge player, covering classics such as the Beatles and Roy Orbison.
Great place to bring a date or a business partner, but don’t take my word for it.
Prices within reason for a 5-​star hotel (about $ 8 for a beer, and $ 10.50 for a cocktail). They do serve food as well but I’ve never tried. When you come for drinks, they give you a little dish of munchies.
I’ve always gone here wearing casual, but if you were to wear semi-​formal, you’d fit right in without a problem.
I’ve probably had 8 different cocktails here. Some people may not like this, but the martinis here are STRONG, at 2.5 oz. They don’t skimp here. It’s good for getting people drunk. oh wait, did I say that out loud?
This is the place to be if you want to impress.

Food: 4*
I had a small side of Seafood Chowder & the Soya Marinated Queen Charlotte Sablefish. The sablefish came with shiso infused quinoa. The soup was alright but the fish was dee-​licious. And, during the holidays they have themed cocktails with names such as Holly Berry, Peppermint Patti & my favorite — Dirty Snowball :) I had the Holly Berry which pretty much just tasted like a cosmo but it was fairly strong so I can’t complain.
Ambiance: 4*
Bright sweeping windows & you get a beautiful view of Coal Harbour & the new convention centre!
Service: 4.5*
Excellent! As can be expected at such a hotel. Our waitress was very attentive and made very good suggestions. She was the one who convinced us to get the drinks which we are all thankful for!
Price: 3*
Holiday cocktails — $ 9.95; Sablefish — $ 27. Yea it’s expensive. But worth it.

I never knew about the lounge inside the pan pacific until last week! Incredible live background music, incredible view of the new convention center, lions gate bridge, mountains, and all things beautiful in Vancouver. Great place to take a date or visitors. The drinks are good — on the pricey side but you get what you pay for. Big selection of tea!
Did I mention I really enjoyed the music? Whenever someone sings coldplay songs, I’m forever happy :)
Not five star because we waited a while before anybody came to take our order. However with good company, conversations and views, it wasn’t a bad thing.

A gorgeous lounge with incredible live piano music. Nice tea menu and breathtaking views of the mountains
I come here to woo the boys. And it works everytime. Just ask K.

This spot is located inside the Pan Pacific Hotel on the waterfront. I’ve stayed at the hotel before and it was a great experience, but nobody has reviewed the lounge here
A friend and I went to Cascades on a Saturday night — grabbed a couple comfy chairs overlooking the waterfront and near the piano player.
We stayed for an hour and some and the experience was fantastic. I need to go back for another round and this time with food.
Why was it so great?
1. Comfortable Chairs
2. Very quick courteous service
3. Amazing views
4. Stellar music — the piano player was asking for requests from us really often which was fantastic
5. Stronger drinks (1.25oz of liquor vs. normal 1oz), at a minimal premium
6. Really laid back atmosphere
Worth a trip for sure.