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Cats Socialhouse is dedicated to the art of presenting exceptional cuisine in our own stylish and unique setting. We’d like to think we simplify the dining experience, integrating fresh food and cheerful service in a relaxed environment.
The creative menu is comfort food inspired, fusing west coast cuisine with our very Vancouver ethnic influences. We offer a great selection of appetizers, full sized main courses and fun desserts, we also serve a delicious brunch menu on the weekends and holidays.
Best burgers in Vancouver, hands down. The place has a reputation as kind of a bistro restaurant, and it is, but it isn't that expensive either. The bathrooms are that good, but the place itself is a typical scenic resto and I actually like the darkened quality the dark ceiling brings to the place.
They have a vast wine selection but I had a beer. Could be an exception, but watch out for it. The food was excellent and included our change requests. Regardless, I would consider the cute blonde waitress as worthy of a death row last sight.
I and my boyfriend recently went to Cat's Social House (entrance to Granville Island) with my boss and his wife to watch a game because they promised me there were a ton of veg*n options....and there are! Almost every meat dish can be substituted with tofu and they were incredibly accommodating when it came to adding things/removing items. They do a veggie burger and a beer for under $12 bucks on game nights, and it was one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had (and I've had a few). They also do house bottles of wine for $16, which is tough to find in ANY restaurant. Overall - very impressed and I'll DEFINITELY be back.
Also, considering it was a game night, the servers were ON THE BALL.
Cat's Social House is in a terrific setting near the pond on Granville Island, and has nice Cactus Club-type decor and ambiance. I've been there a couple of times recently with a Groupon-type coupon, so have had several experiences there.
They really need to step it up in the food department. Burger with bacon etc was very average, not a great meat taste at all (subbed yam fries were delish!). Dynamite rolls only had deep fried prawns as the filling - no veg of any kind. And the Cowgirl Salad sounded great, and at about $15 for an entree salad I was expecting great....but it was really quite small for an entree salad (especially at that price!), and the add-ins were skimpy.
I'll stick to Browns Social House, their parent company, as I've had much more enjoyable meals there.
To my surprise the menu has changed and noticed that it looked the same as the Brown's restaurant menu. Apparently they have bought it but don't know if they will change the name. Had one of their rice bowls which was very good. Service was very attentive with drinks re-ordered promptly and bill separated correctly.
Went here with some friends a few nights ago and ordered a pizza - think grease, with extra cheese, and some oil. The service is ok, the ambiance is about what you'd expect, but I'd say it has poor value. The rest of the dishes looked to be about the same value - cactus club or earls does a much better job.
Came here for a birthday dinner and it was through and through an exhaustive meal.
Reservations were made but we still had to loiter in the parking lot for a solid 40 minutes before our table cleared. It was packed that evening and we couldn't even maneuvre through people going sideways. Our table was horribly cramped and any space available to loosen the gap between us and the table was denied as we'd be bumped by people walking by. Need to step away from the table? Better play telephone with the diners in your row so they can clear a path for you to get out.
Our entire menu consisted of a mish mash of burgers, pastas, salads and a steak/fish entree or two. The food was good and of chain enterprise quality. Safe but nothing that screamed.
Service was especially slow. The completely bogged down kitchen slowed everything down the line but the servers themselves who seemed a stone's throw away took forever to fulfill requests. Their uniforms were more playboy bunny-like, with cute faces to match but that's about all the attraction. No service is no service, therefore no good.
The decor was, politely said, eclectic. It looked like a collage of castoffs from someone's attic, complete with dustmites.
Now with the merger to Browns, hopefully they'll clean up their act.
The DOV menu for $25 was extremely good value. Four of us shared the Yam fries (huge portion), baked brie with french bread and crab cakes. All were tasty. The mains were not quite as good, the chicken breast with mediterranean stuffing was ordinary and the rare sesame crusted ahi tuna was spoilt by a thick terriyaki sauce. The desserts were better, a light chocolate mouse or mango cheesecake that was smooth and satisfying. The portions were much better than some DOV menus that are like sampling menus. We went before the theatre and they let us return after the show to eat our desserts as we were running late. The waitress even gave us a complimentary coffee/tea which was a nice touch. My only real criticism is why the heck can't you have a meal out these days without the distraction of TVs on every corner. If I want to watch sports I'll go to a sports bar!
Hello! When did this restaurant go upscale? Not sure but absed on our alst visit this is a great choice here on the island or anywhere in the city. First, they are five minutes walk from the big parking lot. Second the satff look hot. Very impressive. i dont mind saying that when the staff are so confident and so hand picked I come back more, tip more and drink more. Speaking of which, good drinks menu with a reasonable price list. Speaking of which the food is rather inexpensive. Granville or not the steak is great and well done and cheaper than the competitors. Very cool.
We ate at Cats Socialhouse during the weekend. I am new here but I am really digging it already. Way better than anything back in Australia. Service was quick and friendly. Our waitress was cute and perky, with a short black dress (this establishment seems like a place where businessmen hang out for dinner and might appreciate an attractive staff). We asked to see the menu, which we had viewed on the web. This was not given to us along with the wine menu, and the waitress was happy to bring it over and explain it. We started with the noodles. I had the steak and my girl had Shrimp. For dessert, pie. We were quite pleased with our selections, and the price ($69 for two, including starter and dessert) made our dining experience even more enjoyable. Great staff. Worth it.
Once in awhile a bunch of us from work will head here for Friday night drinks. Since my review last year, things have really improved.
I like the new drink menu--shots can be ordered in 4's, mojitos by the pitcher, and the wine list is much better than it used to be. The beer is still overpriced by the pitcher, but it just tastes so darned good.
The interior is much more chic but still has the eclecticism of the original Cats, so hats off to Browns for not making this place too generic.
Appy menu isn't bad--I like the salt and pepper ribs. Meal-wise, the pizza offerings are exceptional and I love their linguine.
Servers are the same, minus some of the attitude. Sometimes it's hard to get someone's attention, but I've found this varies quite a bit from server to server.
Will be heading back soon.
I've eaten here a half dozen times and have a fairly well rounded impression of the Cat's Meow. The first thing that strikes me everytime I go there is the beautiful wait staff. Not just the waitresses, but they have pretty boys for the ladies too. The food I've eaten here has been consistently good and, like the staff, with lots of eye appeal, Location is great i.e. on Granville Island, but away from the madness. Kind of a local restaurant in the midst of tourist Hell. Good consistent performance here.
I've been to this restaurant a couple of times and have been pleased with my experiences overall.
Food - Okay. The seafood pasta I ordered was fairly tasty, but pretty greasy and heavy. I could only finish about 2/3 of my meal before the thickness got to me. Also previously tried their burgers which were pretty good, but then again, its hard to mess up a burger and fries meal.
Service - Decent. Our server was friendly, though unattentive at times. It bugs me when I have to ask for a 2nd round of beers/drinks or water refills. As noted in other reviews, the staff is very young and attractive.
Ambiance - Great location on Granville Island, but that's about it. Not a fan of the wood tables and chairs. Made me feel like I was kid back at summer camp.
This place used to be hip and a great hangout during the weekdays for drinks. For some reason I find the staff quite snobby and arrogant. All around this place aint what it used to be like. Very dissapointing experience pre-Arts Club Theater. Should've went with the Keg which Im sure would've been more reliable. Thumbs Down.
Decided to drop by for lunch with a friend.
The restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived....but there was apparently going to be a party served here soon. We were seated, and it took a bit for us to order. I ordered the blackened salmon sandwich with fries and my friend ordered the cat's meow burger. the fries were very crisp and hot!!! impressive. the sandwich was flavourful, a bit salty, but not too bad. the main problem was that the sandwich was very messy to eat. my friend told me the burger was good as well.
the dessert was what blew me away. simple yet delicious. i had the bacio blanco, which was the white chocolate ice cream with raspberry filling with white chocolate shell, and my friend having the opposite; bacio nero..a chocolate ice cream with espresso filling covered with dark chocolate shell. If you like a lighter taste, go with the blanco. if you like a richer taste, nero is for you. the dessert was very affordable as well, all under 6 dollars.
i think i'd like to check this place out at night, where there would be more people and a nicer atmosphere to order drinks =) i liked it overall.
I like the Cat's Meow. The staff and crab cakes are great. It's one of the few places in town where the servers are attractive and nice. It's a great place for lunch, dinner or a late night snack or dessert. Summer on the patio is popular.
Had a great time here about 2-3 weeks ago. Service was approachable and friendly. I had their "Martha Stewart Living" martini (it was martini night on Friday) and it went down pretty my throat pretty well. Crab cakes there were big and had the right amount of sauce...however I have yet to find a crabcake that truly showed off the delicate flavor of crab. Highlight was the Quesadilla...damn, this thing was huge. Bigger than the ones you get in Earl's or Cactus club - it was packed with all the yummy tex-mex fillings and fixins. A solid experience. Will return again!
Disappointed with our first (and last) visit. Eager to eat near the Fringe activity, but Cats delivered no value in portion size or effort. The $10 specialty salad had so few ingredients and limited quantity it might as well have been a side green salad. Yam fry order was a sampler, not an order. One charge on our bill did not match the menu -- more of course. Too bad such a great location is wasted with this mediocre kitchen.
I went to the restaurant last night in a party of 25 or so people. Hockey was on so the place was REALLY packed. For being so busy, the food was good still - not over or undercooked so kudos to them for serving good food at busy times.
My only negative comment is the unfriendly and almost rude waitresses. Sure they may be attractive but with (nearly) bossy waitresses I didn't want to tip them as high as I normally do. Also, they didn't refill our water when clearly the water jugs were empty.
They got things done, but they should have kept a smile on their faces and they should be able to handle a full restaurant with a smile on their face and a polite attitude.
Went to the Browns Test Kitchen Restaurant(Cats Socialhouse) for lunch. The service was decent and the waitress seemed fairly new to the trade but I give her points for trying. The food was typical of the overpriced plate of art that you get these days(I have a few places that I can go where the $16.00 lunch plate I had would give me 3 filling meals) and what I really thought was a ripoff was the $4 extra I paid for 4 triangles of cooked tofu on the salad. The meal was tasty enough until I took a bite of the flatbread(pita) on the side. It was so salty it totally killed what I had just eaten. I literally scraped off 1/4 teaspoon of salt on the pieces that were left. Now being a test kitchen I would give them marks if they are trying to get people to drink more, but seriously do these so-called chefs read about health and what society really needs and wants in their diet.
One other small point when I asked for a refill of my non-alcoholic drink which I came with a lime first time, another plate carrier(could not call her a waitress) brought a ungarnished drink and plunked it down like I was insulting the place by not ordering an alcoholic drink.
When are some of these places going to stop hiring these attitude girls who are too high on themselves.
Had lunch at this Granville Island restaurant and were pleasantly surprised. The food was ok, nothing spectacular but no disappointments either. We were a party of 3 and enjoyed the Won Ton soup, Crispy Chicken burger and one of the house pizzas. Not rocket science. The service was good, our server was very nice, helpful with the menu and was always smiling. We'd go back.
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| 2. | Agro Cafe (85 m) | |
| 3. | Whet Kitchen Bar Patio (89 m) | |
| 4. | Keg Steakhouse & Bar, The (94 m) | |
| 5. | Granville Island Brewery (96 m) | |
| 6. | Beanstalk Bistro (97 m) | |
| 7. | Kharma Kitchen (101 m) | |
| 8. | Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe (109 m) | |
| 9. | WhoopieDeeDoo Sweet Shop (110 m) | |
| 10. | Omi of Japan (111 m) |