When an fancy concept restaurant opens in Vancouver, it's needs to do something special in order to stand out and distinguish itself from the plethora of fine dining options. Thankfully, that's exactly what Collective Hospitality has executed with the opening of their third restaurant. In this review, I am biased. I have already spent time in The Mackenzie Room and Say Mercy! Both had their unique twists, and "French-ish" is the parallel twist at Collective Good Bistro. You can deliberate between a tasting menu or order a la carte, which I love about dining in this family of restaurants, and tonight's meal was another satisfying victory for the local Vancouver scene.

Food:

Team Tastic came for an early Sunday dinner and I had a great taste of the following:

1. Salmon "Meunière" ($20)
2. Gnocchi Parisienne ($41)
3. Duck ($46)

The salmon "meunière" was a succulent and tender starter. The king salmon had a ton of fattiness, and when mixed in with fried caper berries, lemon caper vinaigrette, and candied black pepper lemon, was a playful appetizer that left me with a tart finish and a feeling of great anticipation for the rest of the meal.

Moving on to the means, the gnocchi parisienne was gnocchi at a level I've never experienced before. The gnocchi had a distinct charcoal tone which was complemented in both taste and colour with the chanterelle mushroom, mushroom soil, gruyere leek ash parmesan, and truffle oil. In traditional gnocchi, you would expect to see some ridges pressed into the pieces of gnocchi, but not here. That being said, because there was so much umami from the mushroom, and because of this dish's beauty, each spoonful led to another and made me wish I didn't have to share the dish. Who knew that some of the best gnocchi in Vancouver would be at a French-ish spot?

Last but not least, the duck offered a steak-like experience with it served in a medium-like state. Paired with peaches, summer squash, carrot puree, duck jus, and garlic oil, this duck dish was classy in all the right places, and crunchy in all the rest. The duck was plenty tender and fatty, but I didn't know I wanted peaches paired with my duck until I had the Collective Goods' version of it!

Features:

For all the hype of this elevated experience, Collective Goods takes up residence in an farmhouse-style interior that replaces the old Casa Verde (Portuguese) restaurant, and they have done some work to make it look extra homey, and perhaps even more importantly, as dimly lit as possible in the evenings. The interior is a simple, but spacious design, with a couple window 2-seaters, central tables that can be brought together, and a little nook by their provisions store to fit a few more. The vibe is cozy and almost makes you wish you could curl up in a blanket while you wait for your gnocchi. I think they could seat about 60 guests here.

Service:

Just like the service at The Mackenzie Room and Say Mercy!, the staff are extremely accommodating and talk to you as if you are their family. The water top-ups were plentiful, the plate changes constant, and our server made us feel very welcome despite us ordering what I consider is a below-average receipt with only 3 dishes on it.

The food took about 15 minutes to start flowing out but the timing was impeccable. These staff knew to wait for everyone to show to the table, finish their photos, and put their water glasses down before slinking out of the shadows to make the experience as comfortable as possible.

While there weren't many guests in the restaurant at 5pm on a Sunday, there also weren't many reservation slots. If you walk up and there's no space left, there really aren't many other options in the immediate vicinity, so it is best to reserve and avoid disappointment.

Final Thoughts:

One-liner: Quite possibly the best gnocchi in Vancouver and it's not even at an Italian restaurant
Highlight: Gnocchi Parisienne
Price per person: $80-$120
Would I go back? Yes.