Photos: on the table at Wishes + Luck restaurant on Commercial Drive

UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2015: Wishes + Luck has closed permanently, according to the restaurant's Facebook page

In March, Lear Faye cafe at 2270 Commercial Drive underwent a makeover and re-opened as Wishes + Luck restaurant + bar. It's an unusual name, but one that suits the sunny personality of general manager Dolly Reno.

Wishes and luck are "what the restaurant is built on, really," she tells the Straight.

Reno runs the restaurant with her partner, Ciaran Chung, who is the executive chef.

Reno, whose heritage is part Mikmaq First Nations and part Greek, put a lot of herself into both the restaurant's ambiance and the spirit behind it. It's important to her to foster a sense of community there and to bring people together over family-style meals.

The decor is based on reclaimed wood with fir tables and oak stools. "We believe in natural materials: we wanted to value the land and honour it," she says. There's a living wall on one side, and a cedar patio that looks onto Commercial Drive.

So what kind of food does Wishes + Luck serve? As a guest at a recent media gathering, I had a chance to try some of the sharing plates on Chung's dinner menu.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the food was delicious; Chung has cooked for both Boneta and L'Abattoir in the past. His creations are driven by fresh, local, ingredients with a West Coast style.

Starters run $4 to $8 with main courses $12 to $22.

Here's what was on the table:

Marie-Ève Rousseau is the bar manager here, and she makes some creative drinks. You can convince yourself that the Grace Kelly cocktail is healthy: it's made from a ginger-beet puree with fresh basil, cucumber water, gin, and St. Germain. Very refreshing!

Yes, it's just bread and butter, but my is it ever scrumptious. The restaurant charges $4 for its house-made levain but it is absolutely worth the carb splurge slathered with super-creamy butter and crunchy salt.

The restaurant's pastry chef is Alessandra Percival, who came from Matchstick Cafe and also makes a beautiful pistachio almond cake.

This charred herring is a light dish with a nice balance of textures.

The salad is made with greens from Trout Lake Farmers Market and has some interesting touches. The fresh housemade cheese is creamy while the puffed sorghum adds crunch.

This is a gorgeous salmon dish, both in appearance and taste. The wild salmon is lightly cured, and it comes with ultra-smooth buttered potatoes and curls of garlic scape and marinated zucchini.

Dainty spring peas and chives add to the plate.

The meatballs with basil pasto and pecorino are comfort food all the way.

Here, chef Ciaran Chung serves the pistachio almond cake, which Percival made with rosewater, cardamom, vanilla buttercream, and lemon curd. Candied honeycomb adds a sweet crunch.

Wishes + Luck is also open for lunch and brunch. Find their hours and more menus on their website.