Cactus Bar & Grill

Doesn't Recommend

Corey123

Joined 2 years ago

You get what you pay for?. I manage a team of people in a call center. A bunch of us (reps, other managers, and myself) all went out to get drinks after work to Cactus Bar and Grill on Wells and Van Buren. I had never been there before. I arrived about 30 minutes after the first 3 people. When arriving, I gave my debit card to the server (we had 3 tables and I was standing and walking between all of them throughout the time there) and told her not to put anything on my tab unless I authorize it. Of course, I bought drinks for people and what not. I then asked to close my tab as I was planning on leaving soon. The server brought me my tab of around $64, and I signed off on it with a $12 tip bringing my total to $76. As I was getting ready to walk out the door, approximately 5 minutes after paying, there were still about 10 people from my party there. The manager came up to me and told me a couple people had not paid and had left. I asked who they were and he described them to me. I said I thought I knew who one of them was. He told me I would have to pay for them. I said that I would not. He told me that police were already there and I said I would gladly speak to them, as my bill was already paid. I walked outside and the manager went straight up to a short female officer and started speaking to her. I then told her I had just paid and I was not responsible for anyone else, which is why I opened a tab. My story with her took about 2 minutes. At this point, she stopped me and said, "Are you finished?". She started screaming at the top of her lungs calling me "fing stupid" and physically pushed me back 3 times with her hands. I was later told that she had pushed other people I was there with when they had asked her if they could just pay to end this. I immediately put my hands up in the air to show that I was not being physical at all. At this point, her partner, I assume, came into my face and said, "You're either gonna pay or go to jail". While thinking about my two options (about 10 seconds), he pushed me against his car and said, "I guess you choose jail". I told him at this point, "Whoa! I'll pay, I'll pay! This isn't worth $70!" All of the other 10 or so people I was with, started saying that they would pay too, and this wasn't worth it. The officer looked at the restaurant manager who said, "Arrest him!", and that was all she wrote. I was arrested for theft of service 10 minutes after paying my tab. The report also said that I intended to steal services when going in there. Here's the questions;

1. If I am responsible to pay for other people at "my table", then when didn't everyone that was still there get arrested? I wasn't the first to arrive, and was not the leader. Everyone had separate tabs, so if one of us was arrested, all of us should be.

2. Not only did they not ask anyone else to pay the tab, but they wouldn't accept payment from anyone else. When someone says, "Don't arrest him, we'll pay! We're part of the same party!", shouldn't they take payment and it will all be over?

PROOF - I have loads of proof. I have written statements from plenty of people, at least 3 of which would be happy to talk to the media about how the police/bar handled the situation.

I also have a recording that someone took with their cell phone. I'm not sure how great of evidence it is, but you can clearly hear the female cop refuse payment from people who are trying to pay and her escalated voice.

Most importantly, I have my bank statement, which shows that Cactus Bar and Grill took payment from me and my tab.

I have spent approximately $1500 trying to clean this up (my record still shows an arrest and a dropped case).

Doesn't Recommend

Grrrlacher

Joined 5 years ago

Worst service EVER!. If you want to go to a place where the bartenders are rude, the waitresses even ruder, and the managers could care less, then this is the place for you. We went on $5 pitcher night, thinking wow, what a great deal. And what do you know, it was busy...who would have guessed that such a hot spot would be busy on $5 pitcher night? Apparently, not the people who work there. There were maybe 2 waitresses and one bartender, and since we had to wait over an hour for 2 orders of chicken fingers, I'm assuming the kitchen was understaffed as well, Instead of apologizing or even pretending to be the least bit nice to our group, the waitress refused to even discuss it with us saying, whenever we managed to track her down, "you can talk to my manager" with as much attitude as she could possibly muster. Needless to say, it wasn't until we started getting really upset that a manager ever decided to grace us with his presence. In the end, our food was comped...I would rather have paid full price and been treated with a little respect.

Doesn't Recommend

Mckensiesmith

Joined 5 years ago

WOSRT BAR EVER. I have one word, cockroaches...and not to mention their manager was completely inappropriate when we went to talk to him and then proceeded to try and make a pass at me and my girlfriends after we told him about their problem, despicable

Recommends

myopic

Joined 7 years ago

After Work Utopia. Well...I know this place very well, we usually book our company outings at Cactus twice a month.

Wow...The margaritas are extremly strong and delicious while the appetizers are cheap and tasty, be sure to try the Death Valley Chicken Tenders. Recently, we have been stopping by after work on Tuesday for their $3.00 Miller Lite Pitchers. What a DEAL!!!

Doesn't Recommend

kkappel

Joined 7 years ago

Worst service ever!. We went on a Tuesday night for $3 pitchers. As a group of 4 women, we were completely ignored by the barely dressed waitresses more focused on the tables of men surrounding us. In the 2 hours we sat at our table, we went up every time to get our own drinks and could never get anyone to take our food order. I asked the door man to send over a waitress and he informed me they were very busy. I told him how long we had waited and he said I could take my money elsewhere if I wasn't happy. Well, we weren't so we followed his advice and went somewhere that cares about its customers. The food looked awful anyway so I'm glad we left. Don't waste your time or money at this place - the drink specials may be good, but apparently only men can get service here. RUDE. And, the beer tasted like watered down frat party keg beer - disgusting.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Rowdy South Loop hot spot with a south-of-the-border spirit and spicy after-work crowds.. The Scene
Mounted fish vie with mounted cacti for prominence in the blazing color scheme. Downtown white-collars who appreciate hearty partying head here by the droves after work; throbbing music is inescapable throughout the two rooms, leaving patrons to shout or get very close to communicate. Middle-managers shed the work day by playing pool, watching one of several TVs, or taking advantage of good food and drink specials.

The Draw
Cactus' full bar serves two dozen local, domestic and imported, plus near-legendary margaritas, popular martinis and fruity specialty drinks. Regarding food, flautas, quesadillas and nachos reinforce the bar's Southwest theme, but classic American favorites and eclectic options dominate the large menu. The chicken wings have been proclaimed some of Chicago's best, and sandwiches may be ordered straight from the menu, or custom-built from a long, inventive list of toppings. This spot also draws a good lunch crowd.

Doesn't Recommend

toni1972

Joined 8 years ago

I was very disappointed by this place. For the most part, this bar is fine if you need a place to go and sit outside and drink. But, I had such a horrible experience there that I will never go back and I've passed the word along to every person I know. It all came down to the food. We were told on 3 different occassions there was food. Turns out there was a problem with the kitchen and when the manager didn't comp our drinks (which we would have never ordered had we known the kitchen was shut down) we were very disappointed. The best part was the manager's response when I told him that his doorman assured me that the kitchen was open and serving food all night, which was "Oh, the guy who's been working here for 4 days?" Guess I didn't see that on his t-shirt/name tag/forehead.

Recommends

chiguy7600

Joined 8 years ago

User review by chiguy7600. Pretty off the hook for a weekday afterwork spot. Fairly priced drinks..not your typical downtown prices. Good food as well. Very nice place to eat drink and and "take a load off" after a long workday.

Recommends

BIGRIO32

Joined 11 years ago

OH YEAH. DEFINITLY A PLACE TO GET YO PARTY ON. NOT TO EXPENSIVE AND A MIXED CROWD. BLACK,WHITE, MEXICAN, PUERTO RICAN, RICH, POOR ETC..........

Recommends

LAMaxon9

Joined 11 years ago

Fun hangout. I love being outdoors and Cactus reminds me of the bars I used to go to in college--everyone is friendly and the frozen rum runners are awsome!