Cactus Club Cafe
Boston's Back Bay neighborhood is known for beautiful brownstones, world-class shopping, and restaurants that know how to impress. But tucked right into the middle of all that energy is a place that takes dining to another level. Welcome to Cactus Club Cafe.
Step inside and you'll find a vibe that is anything but prickly.
The large space is filled with cozy booths, a happening bar, and modern art all over the walls.
And with its sleek style and creative cocktails, this is one of the hottest restaurants in Boston right now. Cactus Club has restaurants across Canada and in Miami, but the Back Bay location is their first in the Northeast, so the menu highlights their diverse locations.
The globally inspired dishes range from burgers to sushi, all thanks to executive chef Greg McCallum.
“Our food at Cactus Club is new North American cuisine, so our dishes draw inspiration from everything that inspires us — people, places, ingredients that get us excited about cooking. Quality, consistency, and value are kind of our pillars, so when we are seeking out to make these beautiful dishes, that's always at the forefront so that people can come in and enjoy every day, regardless of the occasion.”
“When you step inside into our dining room, it is a little bit more intimate and dark and luxurious, which kind of speaks to the evolution of our brand and where we are today in places like Back Bay and downtown Miami.”
The appetizers at Cactus Club are truly diverse and highly delicious.
Starting with the signature pull-apart bread, it's a warm brioche dough served with a pad of housemade truffle honey butter that can be enjoyed before, during, or after any meal.
You can then head down south and opt for the sticky garlic ribs. These are St. Louis-style pork ribs, glazed and slow-cooked in a ginger, garlic, and white wine sauce before being deep-fried, tossed in a caramel fish sauce, and baked until they're all sticky and fall off the bone.
Chef Greg's favorite shareable starter is the Creole crab and spinach dip.
“Local Jonah crab, fresh picked. It's very cheesy, very decadent, very hot. Watch out and you won't stop with one or two chips — you'll finish them. It's a perfect shareable. Everyone's gonna go for it and it'll disappear fast.”
From there, the menu travels over to Eastern Asia with an extensive sushi menu.
The hamachi sashimi features thin-sliced yellowtail served on a chilled plate with sea salt, crispy garlic, serrano chilies, and a drizzle of yuzu soy vinaigrette.
Or you can try out a little bit of everything by ordering the sushi set, a sampler platter of all the sushi they do at Cactus Club.
“Each one of our sushi is completely different. So you have crunchy and rich with the dynamite roll. You have really clean and fresh with the Jonah crab yuzu temaki. You have rich, smoky flavors with the salmon aburi. And then the tuna temaki is a punch of umami flavor.”
Getting back to some more comfortable favorites, Cactus Club's burger is what they call the perfect version of the backyard burger — stacking an Angus beef patty, sautéed mushrooms, aged cheddar, smoked bacon, and a homemade burger sauce piled atop a sesame brioche bun.
And for a dish that tastes truly homemade, Chef Greg recommends the classic rigatoni Bolognese.
“Our Rigatoni Bolognese is comfort food at its finest. Slow-cooked for 3.5 hours, then garnished with fennel, chili crumb, and truffle pecorino cheese. When you take a bite, the first thing you notice beyond that slow-cooked sauce is the quality of the pasta we use. So when you're eating pasta, that's the first thing you should notice and care about — the quality of the noodle. And ours is awesome.”
“When you take a bite, you can absolutely taste the difference.”
Also offering a seriously delicious bite is the Miso Caramel Sea Bass.
At Cactus Club, they marinate the fish for three days in a miso and sake marinade before they broil the filet, so it gets perfectly caramelized on the outside, and serve it over seasoned sushi rice with a rich butter sauce.
And for the ultimate ending to your meal, the number one dessert choice is definitely the key lime pie.
“We use about 40 key limes in every pie that we make, and it's definitely worth the effort. You can taste it when you take a bite. Once it's made, we pile an obscene amount of whipped cream on top because why wouldn't you? And it's a great way to finish your meal or to celebrate an occasion. You have to come and experience our elevated everyday dining for yourself.”
“We offer something for everyone, whether it's an occasion or not. We'll make it an occasion, and we're so excited to share our version of hospitality with our guests here in Back Bay. It's always going to be a great experience.”
