Chez Michel is under new ownership. Michel has sold the restaurant. We were there for dinner last…read moreevening. We had reservations and Linda one of the waitresses acknowledged our presence as she was taking care of customers at a table. An Oriental lady came, seated us at a table and gave us menus and water. We asked if they had any specials that evening and she said that we would have to get that information from our server. Chez Michel used to have a very extensive list of specials but that has been cut back considerably. They also used to give complimentary soup or salad if you were seated before 6:00 but apparently this is no longer offered. Our server Linda is absolutely exemplary. She was the hardest working of the servers and had such a pleasant personality. I'm so glad that she was our server. She offered us extra bread and she allowed us to substitute pomme frites for the mashed potatoes on our entrees. She topped up our wine, chatted with us and made our whole evening so much more enjoyable with her attitude and effort to ensure that we were well served during our meal. We shared the escargot as an appetizer and we were given time to digest our appetizer, as requested before our entrees were served. For our entrees my husband had New York steak with pepper sauce and I had veal tenderloin with mushroom sauce. I recall the food as being much better. My husband said that his steak was rather bland and my thin slices of veal tenderloin were on the dry side. It was a good evening mainly because of Linda. It is not as good as it used to be and we'll have to wait and see if the new owners can maintain the high standards and good value that used to be the hallmark when Michel owned the restaurant. I hope that our experience last evening was just growing pains.

Over the years, I've come to really appreciate good French restaurants more and more. So when we…read morefound ourselves on the North Shore in early November, we decided to pop into Chez Michel. Located on the 2nd floor, this cozy eatery didn't disappoint. Our meals began with the requisite complimentary bread and butter. There's just something about fresh, crusty bread that really speaks to me. Plus, they refilled our bread without even asking. We weren't sure how hungry we would be so they offered to prepare a side Caesar Salad ($4.50) instead of a full order. French Onion Soup ($10) is something that I always make a point of trying at a French restaurant and this one didn't disappoint. Lots of tender onions in the bowl and a super cheesy pull with each spoonful. Last up was their Special Moules Frites ($27) - they had a number of ways that this could be prepared but we opted for the saffron, pernod, garlic, butter, and fennel. The mussels comes with a big serving of addictive fries (with a mayo dipping sauce). Speaking of large.... this bowl of mussels was overflowing. The 1lb of mussels were really good (no closed shells) and the mussels were nice and plump. Overall, really good food here and service to match. We're definitely planning on returning in the future.

Truly fantastic and authentic French cuisine. Lovely waiters from France. Very charming. Cozy…read moreplace. The food is outstanding. Portions a plenty. Rich. Very creatively plated. The bread basket was refilled. The bread was delicious. In NYC the bill would be twice as much. Highly recommend.

One of the better French restaurant in town. We came for brunch as my wife has never been here…read morebefore. We got the confit de canard en salade and fletan benedicte. I also got a cafe creme ( latte ). The food was delicious as it was so flavorful and rich. The latte was perfect. The service can be a little slow as I did have to wait for my latte.

What a wonderful Michelin one-star dining experience! The restaurant has such a cozy and intimate…read moreatmosphere, and I was lucky enough to sit right in front of the chefs. I could watch them prepare each dish from start to finish and then have it served directly in front of me. Honestly, watching the chefs cook made me even more excited--and somehow even more hungry--for every course! The service was excellent throughout the meal. They also offered a house-made herbal tea, which was incredibly soothing and a perfect complement to the tasting menu. My favorite dish was definitely the salmon--it was excellent! But I also found myself watching the chefs prepare dishes for other guests and thinking, "I wish I could try that too!" Even with the tasting menu, there are options and additions available, including foie gras, caviar, and truffle, so you can personalize the experience depending on what you want to try. I only wish I lived in Vancouver because I would love to come back and explore more of the menu. For those who live here, this is definitely a place worth returning to and trying different dishes. And if I'm back in Vancouver, I would absolutely come again. An excellent, cozy, and very memorable French dining experience!

This was my Nth visit to St. Lawrence, and I've always enjoyed the restaurant enough that I even…read morebought their receipt book. On every previous visit, I sat in the dining room, so this time I booked the chef's counter specifically because I was curious whether the experience would offer something different. Unfortunately, this visit was quite disappointing. When we were first seated, our seats were directly beside the entrance to the bathroom, which I wasn't comfortable with, so we asked to move and were accommodated on the right side instead. The "chef's counter" itself was also quite different from what I've experienced at other restaurants with a chef's counter. Most of the preparation was happening with the chefs facing away from us, and there wasn't particularly much interaction or activity to observe. Since there is no additional charge for the counter, I wouldn't consider that a major issue on its own, but it was certainly not the experience I had expected. More importantly, the food didn't resonate with me the way it has on previous visits. I've always appreciated St. Lawrence's cooking, which made the contrast particularly noticeable this time. The cheese course was especially underwhelming for the price: a very small brioche accompanied by two very thin slices of cheese. The Hiromasa dish lacked the depth and balance I remembered from previous meals, and one of the garnishes on the snail dish had actually fallen off before the plate even reached our table. The salmon was just, it's not good at all. I have no words for it. The rice pudding was probably my favorite bite of the evening. I actually really enjoyed that it wasn't overly sweet and that it was quite restrained. The nuts are amazing addition. But when the dessert ends up being the highlight of the entire meal, it says something about how different this visit felt compared with my previous experiences. The most concerning issue, however, was the seating itself. There is an extremely sharp metal shelf directly beside one of the seats, with glassware stored on top. After we had finished paying, my partner simply stood up from the seat and hit his head on the sharp corner. He sustained a minor concussion. There was no protective covering or other apparent safeguard around the corner. I understand that restaurants have to work within limited spaces, and I'm not expecting every seating arrangement to be perfect. But having a sharp metal corner positioned immediately beside a chair where a guest naturally needs to stand up is a genuine safety concern, particularly when the corner is at head height and there is no protection around it. I strongly hope the restaurant addresses this before another guest gets hurt more seriously. I'm disappointed to write this because I've genuinely enjoyed St. Lawrence over the years and have returned many times. But between the seating arrangement, the chef's counter experience, the food itself, and most importantly the safety issue, this visit fell considerably short of the standard I had come to associate with the restaurant. Unfortunately, I don't see myself returning.

Delightful French Comfort Food at Chez Celine…read more Our routine team dinner quickly turned into another delightful food tasting session! Chez Celine features a warm, relaxed, and bistro-style ambiance that creates an inviting atmosphere perfect for settling in and sharing great conversation. The service was top notch, friendly, prompt, and attentive to everything our group needed throughout the evening. The food offers fantastic comfort with classic French flair. The Lobster Bisque was rich, smooth, and deeply flavorful, while the Pappardelle was perfectly cooked and hearty. The Celine Burger was juicy and flavorful, and the Farmer Sausage delivered a savory, delicious bite that rounded out our table's spread. With comforting dishes, attentive service, and a cozy atmosphere, Chez Celine is a wonderful dining choice. Highly recommended!

The name sounds catchy and sophisticated, but the experience did not live up to the image. Chez…read moreCéline serves very ordinary, home-style cooking at a distinctly high-end price point. If you are expecting luxury, polished presentation, or an elevated dining experience, you may be disappointed. The dining room was particularly unpleasant. Hard surfaces created constant noise--around 80-90 decibels during my visit--and the tables were packed so closely together that it was difficult to avoid overhearing neighbouring conversations and shrill laughter. The interior was also unattractive and lacked the atmosphere expected from a restaurant charging these prices. The food was underwhelming in both quality and presentation. For example, the poutine was served in a paper cup despite costing approximately $30, yet it was no better than ordinary mall food-court poutine. The pricing felt completely disconnected from what was being served. The wait staff provided timely service, which accounts for the two stars. However, their street/casual clothing looked unprofessional and did not match the restaurant's pricing or branding. Overall, I found Chez Céline extremely overrated: middle- to lower-tier cuisine presented at a high-class price point, with uncomfortable seating, excessive noise, and disappointing presentation. It seems to attract people influenced more by the restaurant's reputation and fear of missing out than by the actual quality of the experience. I will not be returning.

Neighbourhood wine bar tucked in the heart of south granville - I love everything about the…read moreaesthetic of this restaurant. I used to live in the area and have been a few times. Recently I went for brunch with my family for Father's Day and we had a great time. We all ordered different brunches. My brother and dad got the French omelettes, my mom the quiche Lorraine, my sister the carbonara and myself the mushroom egg tart. We all really enjoyed our dishes. Mine was light, fluffy, flakey and bright with a perfectly cooked soft poached egg. It's a clean feeling breakfast. My sister's carbonara was a proper carbonara (made with egg yolks) it was really savoury and a touch too salty for me but I enjoyed a taste of it. We also ordered the basque cheesecake. I've noticed more and more basque cheesecakes on menus but very rarely do restos do it right. I was looking for a gooy-er lighter but full cheese flavoured basque and unfortunately this just doesn't hit the mark - it's a bit dense and lacks that rich cheese flavour. It was a miss but everything else was great including the service. We had many attentive waitresses from the bar staff to the floor staff and had some great convos with them. This is a staple for the neighborhood and I wish we had more places like this!

Well decorated brunch spot with not a lot of seats. Staff were friendly. We tried their Quiche…read moreLorraine and Truffle Mac & Cheese from their brunch menu. The Quiche was firm and smooth. The Mac & Cheese was surprisingly light while still cheesy. I would go again!

Excellent brunch place kind of hidden away on a side road. Can't believe haven't been here…read morebefore. I ordered the Cassoulet. It is a skillet with melted cheese and beans, two poached eggs, potatoes and many kinds of meat : - weisswurst - love it, very German and very soft - Lardon bacon. Fatty striped - the texture is amazing - other soft fatty pork - traditional American style bacon The mix of everything is great. Everyone else loved their meal as well. Would definitely come back.

I came here for lunch after a nice hike in North Vancouver. They have a nice patio with a few…read moreseats. I was seated inside which is decorated plainly, but nicely. There plenty of parking in the area. The food was delicious and the service was good. I particularly liked their ice coffee.

Came here for a romantic anniversary dinner and it was amazing! Cocktails are tasty and I loved…read moretheir comments to them. We had a good laugh at The Kinky's comment: "so dirty that you might seek god afterwards." All the food was great, and the oeuf mayonnaise was the best tasting deviled egg I ever had in my life! Would also recommend the beef tartar, escargot, oysters, and steak frites. We sat at the bar (via reservations), but our bartender Troy was still very attentive and great at recommending the food! I was also impressed they wished us happy anniversary and gave us some complimentary stuff because I usually feel no one reads those comments, but they did!!

birthday dinner with the parents at this cozy, french bistro that's semi-tucked away. it can get a…read morelittle tight inside the restaurant but i think that's what adds to the homeyness vibe. my parents arrived early and were seated RIGHT by the window so i couldn't miss them when i got to the place. there's 2 entrances so make sure you enter in the right one - nbd if you didn't tho. our server was wonderful and attentive - there was a little hiccup with my wine order, and he was able to fix it right away (i wanted the bottle not the glass). this was also my parents' first time trying french cuisine and safe to say - they enjoyed it! we started with the classic french onion soup - the gooey cheese made it a little hard to share but the soup was one of the best ones that i've had. the onions were caramelized to perfection to the point where they were essentially pureed in the bowl. that was devoured rather quickly. we also had escargots - the parsley garlic butter that they were sitting in, i wanted to drink it - and tarte flambe alsacienne (flakiest tart base ever). then we're onto the mains! the standouts were the clams and mussels (daily feature - the sauce/soup that was on the bottom, my parents drank that up!), and the canard confit (the meat fell off the bone). steak frites were a little too well-done but not bad - the other two dishes just shone too much! finally dessert - my mother HAD to get the creme brulee as that's her fav and i snuck a bite - the vanilla shone right through! the chocolate terrine was great as well - i loved the salted, candied pecans that added a nice crunch to the dish. my mother has already said that we need to go back again LOL

Was taken to Absinthe Bistro for a surprised dinner and loved every minute of it. The last time I…read morevisited Absinthe Bistro was years ago at their old location also on Commercial Drive. Been wanting to go back (guessed I mentioned it too many times so got taken!). Absinthe Bistro is my favourite French Restaurant in Vancouver. Love this family-run restaurant and the chef has no qualms coming out from the kitchen to serve, checking on his guests or clearing plates. Down-to-earth, home like vibes here which is so reflective of small Bistros in France. Food is amazingly delicious, portion size is excellent, and offers fixed price menu which I recommend. As there were three of us, we ordered 3 fixed price menus. We got to sample three dishes in each section of the starters, mains and desserts. Loved it all but my favourites are chestnut mushroom soup, escargots, pork cheeks, AAA steak, lemon tart and chocolate lava cake (it's their classic and been on the menu forever!). Reservation recommended, pay street parking out front but there is free side street parking if you come early to look.

Don't let the nondescript exterior fool you...this bistro's interior decor, food and service will…read moredelight you at every turn. Based on prior Yelp reviews, my companion and I had high expectations...and they were exceeded with every course. The food was elegant and incredibly delicious without being fussy. We both proclaimed our starter to be "the best seafood chowder ever"...and we are in our mid-60s! Our choices of French wines (by the glass) paired perfectly with our entrees (halibut and lamb shank). The lemon tart and creme brulee provided a sweet ending to an extraordinary meal. All of this goodness served with casual elegance by our very attentive, gracious and graceful waitress. Might we suggest a simple and easy transition from paper to cloth napkins to elevate this dining experience from a 9.9 to a full 10. Thank you for a lovely and memorable evening!