Great Okanagan Winery Restaurants in British Columbia

By Laura Goldstein

A visit to a winery usually includes a requisite swirl and sip, but few destinations including those just south of the border are able to serve restaurant meals with your glass of Chardonnay. Okanagan Winery restaurants paired with local menus, stellar reds and whites and unique winery events are a feast for all the senses, right here in British Columbia. Here are five to try:

West Kelowna

Red Fox Club’s Chef de Cuisine, Andrea Callan, combines indigenous cuisine with respect for Aboriginal history. Photo: BC Agriculture

Making soup doesn’t usually entail foraging for watercress on Okanagan Lake’s shoreline or for wild mushrooms and horseradish in nearby forests but it’s all in a day’s work for Red Fox Club, chef de cuisine, Andrea Callan. “We emphasize indigenous food with respect for Aboriginal history,” she explains.

The Indigenous World Winery was established in 2012 by former Chief Robert Louie and his wife, Bernice Louie, both descendants of the Syilx First Nation. Hee-Hee-Tel-Kin White and Red Blend are paired with many dishes. “We do a modern take on pemmican, using ground beef jerky, forest berries, and herbs, and for desserts, a syrup made from wild violets,” says Callan.

Kelowna

The offerings at Mission Hill Family Estate’s Terrace Restaurant. Photo: Mission Hill Family Estate

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Mission Hill Family Estate Estate on their recent trip to British Columbia and there’s little wonder why.

Named one of the Top 5 winery restaurants in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine, the alfresco Terrace Restaurant is at the forefront of the local Cuisine de Terroir movement. Executive winery chef Bradley Floehlich and executive sous chef Patrick Gayler visit local farmers for the freshest produce and foraged ingredients, supplemented by the restaurant’s herb and vegetable garden.

Meats like ash-coated speck, cappicolo, and prosciutto are cured in house with ponderosa pine tips, and the estate’s five beehives produce 90 litres of fragrant wildflower honey that’s incorporated into desserts. And, of course, every dining experience is enhanced with Mission Hill’s award-winning wines.

Okanagan Falls

Mountain Dandelion by sculptors Mark Baltes and Ken McCall is one of many pieces on the grounds of Liquidity Winery. Photo: Liquidity Wines

Art, food, and wine mesh in BC’s Okanagan Falls. At Liquidity Bistro, executive chef Simon Bouchard cooks fresh, rustic fare, from albacore tuna confit to pan-seared coho salmon and braised lamb pappardelle in red wine jus.

Here, the restaurant’s patio overlooks Vaseux Lake alongside vineyards of many varietals including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Viognier. Modern sculptural installations are everywhere, including in the chef’s garden where a towering Mountain Dandelion by sculptors Mark Baltes and Ken McCall whirls in the wind.

Beginning in May, a curated art lecture series at the winery will mark Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. A highlight? Visitors can mingle with internationally acclaimed Canadian painters Jeff Burgess and Tim Okamura, photographer David Burdeny, and sculptor Marie Khouri. 

Penticton

The Vanilla Pod Restaurant at Poplar Grove Winery. Photo: Andrew Holler

Executive chef Bruno Terroso incorporates his native Portugal into all his Mediterranean style dishes at this Penticton restaurant. “We focus on big flavours with fresh herbs and spices,” says Terroso.

The Vanilla Pod Restaurant’s menu showcases local ingredients in its sharing plate offerings like potato cakes and flatbreads and main dishes that include paella with prawns, scallops, chicken, and chorizo. All pair perfectly with Poplar Grove Winery wines.

Oliver 

Miradoro Restaurant offers local menus alongside views of the Okanagan Valley. Photo: Christopher Pouget Photography

Miradoro’s executive chef, Jeff Van Geest, pays homage to fresh, locally sourced ingredients with a rustic-meets-elegant approach, complete with a Mediterranean twist. Expect plenty of options, from classic Neapolitan-style pizzas baked in the forno oven to Ras el Hanout Beef Crudo, a Moroccan-spiced raw beef with slow-cooked egg yolk, preserved lemon, cilantro, potato crisp, and yoghurt. (Tip: pair this with a 2013 Pinot Noir.)

Visitors to the winery’s 21st annual Canadian Concert Series that runs May to September in the amphitheatre can sample Miradoro’s fare in the restaurant or for better sound quality on the patio. For stargazers, Tinhorn Creek’s Starlit Supper on July, also set in the amphitheatre, features culinary and wine pairings from the restaurant followed by astronomer-guided tours of the night sky (telescopes provided).