Wishes and Luck

Outstanding food!
I went in for a casual dinner on a whim, and I was blindsided with the most delicious meal I’ve had on the Drive.
Excellent service as well!

Third time now that I’ve gone out of my way to go to wishes and luck for lunch only to find it closed. First time there was a sign on the door that said they’d reopen in a few days, the next week the sign had been changed to say they’d reopen on the 1^st. Today is the fourth, and the sign promising an August 1^st open is still there. Third strike… I even checked their Facebook page this time before I headed out. No indication that they weren’t open as usual.

Wishes and luck — the new brunch place on the block. Tried almost every brunch item on the menu and my favourite was Meatballs and Toast and the French toast. The meatballs and toast were done quite nicely — not dry, pretty flavourful. The French toast — the only good part was the caramelized bananas which really infiltrated the entire dish. The Egg Benny’s were all disappointing — the ingredients didn’t really go well in each of the egg benny dishes. I was quite disappointed with their brunch. It was inconsistent and the food was not all that great. The service was good but doesn’t mean that I would come back.

ON THE FENCE…
Sunday night, don’t feel like cooking or doing dishes, no kids around for a change. We surfed around for a new place to try and settle on Wishes and Luck. We frequent the Drive alot and this place looked interesting. We arrive with no reso’s around 8:00 pm. There aren’t a whole lot of seats (35?) and the tables were full (good sign) so we sat at the bar. We are happy bar stool dwellers so that was not a problem. Usually we find bar service to be more personable because you are so close to the action. Here we had 2 bartenders working in a not very large space, yet oddly they were both rather shy and reserved. We ordered wine and a Negroni, followed by beet salad, pork bites, tartare, and meatballs. Strangely even though we were practically sitting on top of them we had to initiate asking for everything from the (maybe they’re a couple?) barkeeps who were very busy slicing, dicing, mashing, swirling behind the bar and didn’t seem to have any time left over to serve us (only 2 guests) sitting at the bar. The beet salad was outstanding, tricolor beets, goats cheese, nicely dressed. The pork bites, we didn’t like, kind of dry and honestly can’t remember anything else about them except we wouldn’t order them again. They forgot to bring our meatballs and then when they did, they said it was on the house, but they appeared on the bill anyways. We paid and left without saying anything. Funny thing is that the owner (Dolly?) chased after us to apologize for not taking the meatballs off the bill, she seemed genuine when she said next time you come in we’ll do something special for you. The thing is to do something special for people the FIRST time they come in. We may or may or may not return but nice to know she actually cared enough to run down the street after us, we give her 10 points for that, no 15 points, she had heels on.

Been curious about Wishes+Luck since my friend J (who has a food blog called Vanbrosia) rated it highly earlier this year.
Place is small. Seating is tight. There is bar-​style seating just parallel to the entry ramp, and no shortage of hooks for purses and jackets. Small bit of patio seating. Tables for two are sort of tight on space. No cloth napkins, so don’t make a mess. One paper napkin is standard issue per seat, pre-​issued on the table. Depending on what you order, you may want more right away.
Sadly, they have an equally good and popular neighbour in Jamjar, so if you can’t get into one, you can’t count on the other as a backup plan. Fortunately Commercial Drive has no shortage of eateries.
Dropped in for a late-​ish lunch. They are apparently busy during the 11am-12.30pm lunch rush, then starting around 6pm again for the dinner rush through till closing for the late-​night crowd. Strangely not that busy Fridays and Saturdays (all this according to my server and memory) when they quiet down around 9-​ish pm.
Afternoon server was a friendly, smiling totally sexy guy with a honey voice. Ladies — the man’s working and not interested in giving you his number, okay?
Tuna XO ($ 13) wild-​caught albacore, shishito peppers, grains, XO sauce
— As usual I asked for what was interesting and weird. This was the first suggestion. Didn’t sound really wow but I went for it. Turned out really decent!
— Works out to a light meal. Looks like a salad, but slightly more filling with quinoa all over the place.
— Little dark-​golden-​coloured lumps here and there which are strangely not that flavourful are probably evidence of XO Sauce in the dish.
— TIP: There is something that looks like softened butter at the very bottom of your bowl, covered by everything. Dig for it and mix it into the quinoa. Adds a touch of sourness to everything. Don’t leave it for last. Caveat: They *may* have just forgotten to mix it into the quinoa on my order. Fluke?
— Soft slices of tuna like you might get in a sushi restaurant.
— Roasted shishito peppers barely have any heat to it, and has some slightly bitterness. Not exactly yucky to eat, but pointless. Eat it with something, like the quinoa maybe.
Apparently only 1 in 10 peppers have heat to them, so I guess it’s sort of a lucky (?) draw.
— TIP: Could totally have used either a small plate or another napkin because I didn’t feel like eating the long-​ish stems on the chillies. But I had nowhere to put them except right on the tabletop.
Sadly I went alone on this trip so I didn’t get to try too many items. Will obviously have to go back for some of the items recommended by J.

Came here prior to a Unilocal Elite event next door (JamJar) and was really disappointed. Took over 20 minutes to get a simple drink, and then another 15 minutes to get the bill. The company was amazing, the service, not so much. Won’t return.

Good food. Great cocktails. A little pricey.
The atmosphere is intimate, it doesn’t have the largest space but the food is very well thought out. We were a group of three and we had:
— Smoked salmon on toast: most excellent
— Salmon with the potato gnocchi: I really liked the balance of the dish. The salmon was really well cooked and the potato gnocchi really balanced out the meal
— Pork Belly: I did not eat this but the table felt it was well made.
Finally, a word about the cocktails — they were astonishing and Wishes and Luck has one of the best bartenders (or is the correct word mixologist) around. I had the «Hello Sailor» and I was floored.

Wishes + Luck Vancouver is newly opened on Commercial Drive beside Jam Jar. The space formally Lear Faye Espresso Kitchen faded without much memories. However the launch of Wishes and Luck seems promising with a nice cedar patio and a new partnership with Chef Ciaran Chung (formerly of Boneta and L’Abbatoir) and Dolly Reno.
I love the wooden theme interior with reclaimed fir wood tables and oak stools. They are actually pretty comfy too!
«I Got Lucky in East Van»
The name «Wishes and Luck» has bit of a romantic story behind it. You will have to ask Dolly herself next time you are in the restaurant!
Boozy Bowl: Pretty pond of Bourbon Bitter Sangria and campari and fresh cranberry purée. The perfect summer booze.
Bread and Butter service: My first thoughts were, it’s just bread and butter. I could pass. But this to my surprise was quite delicious. The bread is moist; buttery with a salty crunch.
Lucky Fish Taco: non-​GMO soft shell corn tortilla, Ocean Wise fish and house fixings. A softer take on fish tacos. Pretty tasty of fresh fish with a hint of Asian flare.
White Sangria citrus focused with BC Blueberries.
Asparagus Salad: smoked egg cooked perfectly ajitama with a soft boiled center. Tender asparagus, peewee potatoes and taleggio cheese. A nice summer salad that isn’t too normcore with arugula and lettuces.
Meatballs and Cheesy Toast: basil pesto with pecorino cheese. Who doesn’t like meatballs? Who doesn’t like meatballs when done right? There is a nice season and savoriness to these meatballs. And the cheese? Just brings out the kid in our soul!
Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Tart: This tart is just beautiful to look at. It brings out that fat kid out! Fun jujubes colors with raspberries, lemon curd and meringue.

Fantastic service and phenomenal food! Cute vibe to the décor as well.

I was here for lunch a few weeks ago and had the seared tuna and quinoa salad. The salad had these small roasted peppers that added a nice hit of smoke flavour to the dish. The tuna was seared perfectly, and there were four generous pieces in the salad. For the price ($ 11.99) it was a satisfying and tasty lunch. I will be back for more than just lunch.

There’s a good vibe to this place. We tried the desserts that night and they were carefully made and worth it. I think their patio is the best on the drive. Had a conversation with one of the managers about old school receivers. nice guy.

What a fantastic addition to the drive, and the Vancouver restaurant scene in general. The owner and his sister are gems. Brunch is simple and delicious, the meatball and toast to DIE FOR and original. Patio and entire layout of this place is beautifully done. Really liked this place for brunch, next up, the dinner menu.

Our thanks to Dolly and her amazing staff; We had a fantastic evening, all the dinners were superb, the salmon is absolutely the best and the deserts are delicious! We highly recommended Wishes and Luck.

Had such a great night here on the patio a couple weeks back.
The sunny patio is perfect. Everything we ordered was delicious. We started with a pitcher of sangria. Both the meat and cheese plates were generous in size. Great service. The owner is so sweet and took great care of us.
I think the thing we appreciated most was the service, we never felt rushed in anyway. Everyone was very friendly. Definitely a fun spot!

We went for brunch today after the change from Lear Faye. Brunch was good before but it just became phenomenal! Our party had the Avocado Benny, the Crab Benny and the Meatball on Toast. All our dishes were not only delicious but extremely well balanced in flavor. This is no doubt the Drive’s best brunch and probably a big contender in the city!

What a fantastic experience! I was a big fan of Lear Faye and was sad to hear they were closing, but when I heard Wishes + Luck was taking its place I was pretty stoked!
Run by one of the same people as Lear Faye, the ever bubbly and super sweet Dolly, and her partner (formerly of L’abbatoir), this place was always destined to be rad — and it definitely lived up to my expectations!
Bestie and I stopped by at 6.30pm tonight, and the place was already almost full. In the hour or so we were there it became jammed! We had dinner plans but wanted to grab a quick drink, as we anticipated the cocktails would be great — and they were! Mine had calvados, elderflower, and pinot gris and was served with cinnamon dusted apple slices — the effect was something like a delicious summery apple pie! A very refreshing drink, not too sweet, and definitely something I could have drunk many, many of. Bestie’s drink had spiced rum, cardamom, and another delicious ingredient I can’t remember — it had a very unique taste that was very appealing, almost an aniseed quality to it.
Seeing some very tantalising plates go by we decided to get a pre-​dinner snack and ordered the salmon toast. At $ 5 we anticipated a couple of fancy small toast points with a smattering of ingredients on top to give us an idea of the yummy flavours we could expect when we came back for a full dinner, but boy were we surprised! When our plate arrived there were two nice sized slices of perfectly crisped bread (not too crunchy, but definitely toasted) absolutely heaped with deliciousness. Beautifully seasoned avocado was thickly spread on the bottom, with small pieces of lightly pickled veggies next, then large chunks of the most gorgeous, tender, sweet, fresh salmon you’ve ever had, topped with pea shoots. Seriously, we were both blown away — the flavours melded perfectly and it was a wonderful treat!
If we hadn’t had prior plans we would have definitely tried a few more things! The guy next to us ordered meatballs and at one point I think he became worried I was going to try and steal one… I totally would have. They looked AMAZING!
The drinks are great, the food is wonderful, and the service is sunny and friendly — I Wish them Luck (har har) and will definitely be back soon to sample more of their tasty treats!