Chez Céline — Restaurant in Vancouver

We are long-time regulars at sister restaurant St. Lawrence, and have been since it opened, many years before their Michelin Star accolades. We have spent thousands of dollars there over the years.

I would like to share my experience at Chez Celine:

The tall man with brown hair, who I presume was in a managerial position, was abrasive, brusque, arrogant, and so extremely rude, it left me speechless.

We had some friends visiting us from out of town, and we asked if our reservation for 2 could be changed to 4. I had tried calling the restaurant hours prior to the reservation time to see whether this was possible. Each time it went to voicemail.

At check-in, I made my request in person. Understandably, the restaurant was full. We were told there were 29 parties ahead of us for walk-ins, so there was no shortage of business. I let them know we would come back another day since they could not accommodate the extra guests.

I kindly requested they waive the cancellation fee since the table would not sit empty. This man walked up with his iPad and angrily tapped the screen. I mentioned we would come back another day. For clarity, a future visit would result in more revenue than a $20 no-show fee.

Arrogantly, he said I had cancelled one prior reservation (which I believed to be within their cancellation window), and the charge did not go through. So, he would have to charge me the fee for today. I said OK, and although slightly annoyed with his attitude, was prepared to pay the fee and come back another time.

THEN, in an authoritarian tone, he made the snide remark of “if you want to come back, we will have to charge you again for the first cancellation too because you’re costing our staff a lot of money”. To me, this was an unnecessary comment which did not sit well; both the content of the message and the way it had been communicated. He was purposefully disincentivizing us from dining with them in the future. It was no longer about the $20 fee.

He wanted to get into the revenue/expense side of the issue. Immediately, I recalled all the money we spent at St. Lawrence over the past 7 years, bringing our friends, family and clients. I truly hope he learns to weigh the value of the $20 fee against the lifetime value of a client.

A classic example of winning the battle and losing the war. Sure, we paid the $20 “no-show” fee; but the group has now lost all future...

A neighborhood destination and went for brunch. We were warmly greeted at the door and taken to a pleasant table. The space is cozy and inviting with clean lines and nice touches. The menu includes some nice drinks and a limited food options.

Since we were there at 9:15 we opted for a memosa. It was tasty but I had my eye on the cocktails. They were really interesting and I want to come back to try some.

We started with a flatbread w/ butter and the salad. Both were exceptional. The salad is particularly nice. It has a citrus forward focus and I am guessing shallots and a mustard emulsifier. But the greens really shone. Very well done. It was nicely complimented by the flatbread. The baking is on point.

For the mains, we had crepe suzette and "farmers sausage and good beans." The crepe was delightful. A perfect crepe, a beautiful filling, and the sauce was well executed. It's not diet food, but it is surprisingly light.

The farmers sausage was really tasty and the pallares beans (lima beans) with a light gravy were fantastic. Flavorful, balanced, and savory.

I decided to try the frits. They were fine but I made the mistake of choosing frit sauce with them instead of aoli. I have to give them another try as the sauce was overpowering. My first impression though is the fries don't match those at places like Homer Street Cafe, which are exceptiional. I must say I expected more from them and that is why I tried them. But I will give them another try.

If I have one complaint, it is we felt a bit pressed for time. We felt like we were on a clock. At one point we had the remaining salad, flatbread, and all our mains on the table at once. That was a bit dissapointing. But given pur rating, it didn't overshadow the morning.

Fraser Steet to Main Street is becoming a food destination. With Za Bite, Madam Dahn, Published On Main and other places near by, this is a foodie wonderland. It won't be long before Michelin recognizes Chez Céline as well, I'm sure. Do support it. It is worth the...

We had brunch here for a friend's birthday and loved the food and drinks. Ordered the Cavatelli pasta ($25) and trout ($19) as well as a couple of cocktails and the dishes were both the kind of comfort food that make you want to come back to this place time and time again. The prices were typical Vancouver prices (not their fault since I know rent here is outrageously expensive) but I do believe the ingredients and flavour can justify what they're charging!

Unfortunately, what felt short was the service. My friend brought a birthday cake which they kept in the fridge for us until after the meal. We had also made a note on the reservation that it was for a friend's birthday. Unfortunately, when they brought it out (still in the box) and when we asked for plates and for the candle to be lit, our server came over and said "we don't serve outside food here. The reason we don't serve outside food is because we want you to eat our restaurant food". Okay, was mansplaining part of the job criteria because there were definitely other ways to communicate that having a birthday cake was not allowed at the restaurant. Furthermore, we noticed that another table was also enjoying a birthday celebration and the (same) server had brought out a decorative bottle with lights inside to celebrate. In terms of the timing of service, our server had asked us twice within the span of 5 minutes when the other two people in our party were coming but when it came time to ask for plates and for the bill, he was nowhere to be seen for a good 10 minutes. This sour ending to our meal fell short of the resturant's claim to be "an elegant marriage of classic French & Québécois cuisine". There was nothing elegant or classic about...