Author Archives: steve

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery

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Our best experience in Okanagan Valley for both food and wine! The estate is gorgeous, on a hill overlooking Lake Okanagan. We dined with some great views on this trip, but this one beat them all. The food was also, complex, delicate, and thoughtful, accompanied by flexible wine pairings, which gave us an opportunity to test five of their wines, all terrific. 

The server here was also terrific, and saved us a trip to the tasting room by letting us sign up for the wine club right there. It’s very flexible, just asking for three purchases a year, so we made the first right then, and I selected wines for a case that she even carried to our car.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mission-hill-family-estate-west-kelowna-6

Bouchons Bistro

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This delightful bistro was very near out hotel, and right next to Waterfront Wines. This was my favorite dinner of our trip: classic French fare, lovely outdoor seating, and excellent service from a very funny waitress:

Me: “Do you have Armagnac?”

Her: “Yes!”

Me: “Which ones?”

Her: “Um, I dunno. There’s a cheap one and an expensive one.”

Me:” How expensive?”

Her: “Um, I dunno. What’s your limit?”

Turned out to be a Laubade 2003 for $26 Cdn. Very nice.

Also great were the traditional Escargot served in crisply little edible cups, and the Seafood Vol au Vent. Very French.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/bouchons-bistro-kelowna

A Taste of Kelowna Food Tour

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This was a great three hour walking tour of the Cultural Distract around our hotel. Andrew Deans, the owner and guide, grew up in the Okanagan and worked at his Grandparent’s Orchard in Lake Country until he started this business 5 years ago.

The tour started at the historic Laurel Packinghouse. We had:

  • Tea at Chaibaba
  • Avocado Toast at Sprout Bakery
  • Fried Tofu with Gochujang at Gather (where we were recognized from Sunday)
  • Tacos and Margaritas at Tacos & Tequila
  • Pizza and wine at The Curious Cafe
  • Visited the Japanese Garden
  • Gelato at The Kelowna Yacht Club

Everything was terrific, and Andrew seems to know everyone in town. As a result you feel like a real insider wandering around town with him, saying hi to everyone he meets.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-taste-of-kelowna-food-tours-kelowna

Waterfront Wines Restaurant

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Waterfront Wines was right around the corner from our hotel. Voted Kelowna’s best restaurant, the food was quite good. We started with a foie gras pate and some cheese, and then shared pea soup, and had steak and falafel entrees. The wine list focuses on regional wines, and I actually had the Le Vieux Pin Syrah Cuvée Violette we had in the afternoon, but this time the 2022 vintage.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/waterfront-restaurant-and-wine-bar-kelowna

Sonora Room Restaurant at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery

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The restaurant is huge, and beautiful, with lovely patio dining overlooking the valley. This was by far the best meal we’ve had on the trip. The Ahi tuna had a fennel and cumin crust that was stellar, and was served with a smoked wine reduction. The grilled cheese on their fresh baked and toasted focaccia was also wonderful. It’s cherry season, and having passed a hundred cherry fruit stands I had to try the cherry salad with radicchio and goat cheese. It did not disappoint.

With lunch I had a flight of their library wines.The winery has been around since the 1990s, making it among the oldest in the area, so they have a very deep library. The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was very memorable. at $145 Cdn on the very extensive wine list (which has exclusively Burrowing Owl Wines) I would be tempted to order a bottle of this next time.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/sonora-room-oliver

OAK + CRU Social Kitchen & Wine Bar

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Dinner was at Oak+Cru in the Delta Hotel right next to ours. It’s a bustling place off the lobby with a good menu if you don’t know what you want. We had chips and salsa and guacamole, and then a seafood tower, although since they were out of oysters we ended up with two jars of black lumpfish caviar, which was not a bad thing, although the only time I’ve eaten caviar with a dinner fork.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/oak-cru-social-kitchen-and-wine-bar-kelowna

Block One Restaurant at 50th Parallel Winery

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This might be the most expensive winery we visited on our trip. It’s gorgeous. But it’s in the cold weather region of North Okanagan, and we really didn’t like the wines, even their flagship pinot noir. Let’s just say we had cocktails during lunch. Their restaurant, though was great. We especially loved the Aguachile Negro, a ceviche with fish and a VERY generous add-on of prawns. The entire staff of the outfit (who all looked like they came from central casting) were fantastic.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/block-one-lake-country-2

Home Block Restaurant at CedarCreek Winery

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A lot of money went into this beautiful facility a couple of miles south of Kelowna. We had a late lunch at the restaurant, which is dramatically positioned overlooking the valley. It was very popular with the “in” crowd. We were definitely outnumbered by YSL purses. I’d like to say that the food was good, but it wasn’t. The “Crispy Mushrooms” were particularly ghastly: a mushy mushroom with mushy batter around it, topped with flavorless lentils, and on top of a good horseradish sauce that couldn’t fix it.

With lunch we had glasses of the chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, and cabernet franc. The wine was okay, but nothing we would purchase. Despite the receipt saying “estate” most of these grapes were brought in from elsewhere because of the freeze damage. The sauvignon blanc came all the way from New Zealand. They’re definitely trying to deal with a cold climate here, which tends to favor austere whites, not really our style.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/home-block-at-cedarcreek-estate-winery-kelowna-2

Tavola

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Charming Italian restaurant just off of Denman and Robson. Despite the bustling neighborhood, the outdoor dining is surprisingly serene, nestled in a quiet residential respite from the traffic.

We went for Saturday brunch and ate outside. The “Toast” we chose was sautéed mushroom, and it was delicious, and plenty for two to share. We also had the day’s frittata, which was filled with an assortment of fresh vegetables and came with a tasty side salad.

The wine list offers mainly Italian wines, with about 1/3 of them by the glass.

Service was friendly and the atmosphere is great.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tavola-vancouver