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At Collective Goods, French food comes with a playful side

The neighbourhood spot embraces the traditional side of French cuisine, without forgetting it can be fun

When you say French restaurant, it conjures a specific ambiance and feeling. Dim candlelit interior. Soft music. Glasses of fine Burgundy. A cigarette or two. It’s imprinted onto people’s minds, like hotdogs at baseball. 

Collective Goods at 3532 Commercial St., or Cee Gee Bistro as they’re calling themselves now, is a quintessential French restaurant that will make you want to pick up your things, book a flight and spend a few weeks in France.

Owned by Collective Hospitality, the owners of the popular Say Mercy! and Mackenzie Room (both excellent), the restaurant used to be a place to buy groceries, as well as dining out, but has removed the store in favour of focusing on meals. 

Collective Goods

Collective Goods. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

It’s a French restaurant that screams “we are French”. Bright yellow painted outside walls, complete with an alternating orange top half, are framed by French cafe-style chairs, and hip-high green plants. Blink, and you’ll think you’ve arrived in Paris. 

Collective Goods inside

Collective Goods inside (wine wall to the left). Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

The vibrant restaurant colours hint at what’s inside, a more playful re-interpretation of the classic French decour. If you weren’t sure about the importance of wine, well, the walls upon walls of bottles leave nothing to the imagination. A tiny alcove offers a more intimate dining experience, but the place feels spacious. As in most restaurants, dining at the bar offers the best seats at the house. It’s comfy, cozy and has the energy you’d expect to see downtown. A perfect date night. 

The menu is French but playful. You’ve got the classics with some tweaks, like Chicken Liver Mousse but with brioche toast instead of the classic bread. It’s a tight menu, featuring 10 items, only two of which are vegetarian (this is French food, after all, what did you expect?).

Wine is a clear focus at Collective Goods. Wednesdays include $12 glasses, where wine providers will show off different bottles, and Sunday Sips, which offers a $20 burger ($9 off) and ½ off bottles of wine. As they told me, their wine director, Claudia Fandino, is building a wine list that is approachable. No wine snobbery here. 

If you want to explore wine further, they have a tasting option where you can try three of their wines in a tasting flight. On the day I visited, they had a Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris-Gewurztraminer, all three of which were exceptional and diverse. For a city with many wine options, it’s a standout. 

Anyone interested in food always has time for good French cuisine. There’s a timelessness to the cooking, dishes everyone knows, along with techniques that have wormed their way into every facet of professional cooking. Yet, sometimes you just want the classics.

And classics, with a little bit of fun, are what they offer.

Collective Goods beerts and boursin

Collective Goods beerts and boursin. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

Beets and Boursin ($20) offered perfectly cooked purple wedges, surrounding a light whipped chive and garlic goat cheese, charred scallion and mint vinaigrette, cara cara oranges, finished with watercress and lemon balm. This place knows how to make a beet.

Chicken Liver Mousse

Chicken Liver Mousse. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

The Chicken Liver Mousse ($23) epitomized the playful perception they seek to portray. Squeezed out like a sausage from a casing, the pink goo may look more like the pre-cooked inside of a McDonalds chicken nugget. But don’t let my disgusting description fool you, this mousse is delicate and approachable, with no metallic liver taste. It packs a noticeable maple flavour, pairing well with the accompanying red wine gelee and Saskatoon berry compote. A dish to remember.

Collective Goods steak and frites

Steak and frites. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

Steak and Frites, the classic of all classic French dishes, was, at times, a little underwhelming. At $48, there was a decent amount of food, but the steak itself was slightly warm, which I’m unsure was intentional. The sauce won me back, and a thick brown brandy peppercorn jus that packed extra richness into each bite.

A note on the fries. They’re good. Very good. Each batch appeared to be made freshly fried in the back. 

Duck. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

I admit duck ($46) holds no special place in my mind, but Collective Goods did their best to sway me. Crispy char on the outside coating a soft, deep red inside, it’s how you imagine duch should be cooked. Sadly, the faro which didn’t have much a taste, did nothing to endear the rest of the dish. The zucchini was surprisingly unflavourful, and cut in an odd, round fashion. The dish has potential, but I’d suggest to the team more could be done.

Collective Goods carrot cake

Collective Goods carrot cake. Vancity Lookout/Geoff Sharpe

Are there any better desserts than what the French have made? No. And Collective Goods was no different. Let me list off the Carrot Cake ($12) ingredients, you’ll want to read them: malbec carrot and date cake, brushed with muscovado and brandy syrup, hazelnut praline, lemon buttercream and salted coffee caramel.

It’s not a heavy carrot cake. There’s a lightness to the lemon buttercream and hazelnut praline, which complements the thin layers of cake. But all of that was forgotten as the salted coffee caramel hit my mouth. Dark, rich espresso and just the right level of sweetness with the cake, you could visit just for this dessert. And at $12? It’s a steal. 

But, while the dessert was decidedly affordable, the same cannot be said for the rest of the food. At $29 for a burger, $44 for halibut and $46 for duck, this is not an inexpensive meal. The portion sizes are by no means massive either, at least for the dishes we had. 

The quality is there, but at over $200 for five dishes and two wine flights, there are more affordable options around, which makes it a bit hard to imagine people coming by and eating often, a position they’ve expressly noted they are seeking to create.

I try not to begrudge restaurants for higher prices, especially with good food. Ingredients are expensive, and people need to be paid (hopefully well). But there is a sticker shock that’s unavoidable at the end of the meal. 

Collective Goods is trying to position itself as they say, “drop into any night of the week for comforting, familiar, decadent, and delicious food.” The pricing on Wednesday and Sunday certainly makes it more reasonable and approachable as a frequent place to visit.

Even with the higher price, I still left the meal with a jump in my step. It’s a reminder you don’t need to be downtown to get excellent food, that we need more neighbourhood restaurants offering exceptional food.

Immediately afterwards, I found myself searching for more French restaurants to visit. Inspiring exploration of more French food, now that’s the sign of a good restaurant.

Atmosphere: Dark, friendly, candle-lit room.  

Noise Level: Not quiet but not loud. 

Recommended: Carrot cake, chicken liver mousse. 

What I wish I had ordered: Bistro burger

Drinks: $15-$22, but this is a high-quality place serving unique flavours.

Price: $$$-$$$$, large dishes $40, small dishes $20.

Other details: Only two vegetarian options, and non-alcoholic drinks are available.

Even more details: The team was very attentive and interested in chatting. If you’re new to wine, it’s a great place to explore more.