There is nothing better than spending a summer afternoon in the Okanagan wine touring. While the wine brings the crowds, The Okanagan Valley wineries have some incredible restaurants that feature locally sourced, sustainable, and seasonal ingredients.
I felt obligated to put in the research and curate a list of the best wineries with restaurants in the Okanagan, focusing on Penticton, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, and Oliver. It was a tough task, but I managed to pull through.
I have broken the list up by location, starting with the best wineries with restaurants in the Penticton area. These wineries are all located on the way to Naramata Bench. They are the perfect place to fuel up before an afternoon of wine touring.
The Best Winery restaurants in Penticton
The Restaurant at Poplar Grove Winery
Once home to Vanilla Pod, the Restaurant at Poplar Grove is curated by Chef Rob Ratcliffe offering both lunch and dinner service utilizing local and seasonal ingredients. Menu features include beet salad, potato laktes, curries, burgers, rice bowls, and pasta. The dinner menu features seafood and hearty meat dishes. Pair the meal with their famous whites or if you’re more of a red wine drinker, The Legacy is always a good idea.
The Kitchen at Da Silva Winery Restaurant
With Covid-19 making it impossible to travel to Portugal right now, Da Silva offers the next best thing, a traditional tapas-style dining experience famous in the Iberian Peninsula. Selections include meat, seafood, vegetarian tapas, and their signature dish, a share-style paella with 100% Spanish saffron rice, chorizo, mussels, clams, roasted chicken, and prawns.
My favorite tapas include the patatas bravas, toasted walnut roasted garlic chickpea spread, and fire-grilled prawns. I went when I was pregnant, so couldn’t indulge in the cebiche peruano (or the wine. Devastating), but I hear both are delicious.
Dining with 4 or more? Opt for the Chef’s choice, a way to experience a variety of tapas and unexpected dishes curated by Abul Adame.
Upper Bench Winery and Creamery
Who doesn’t love a good wine and cheese moment? It’s like the adult version of discovering your mom packed you a lunchable paired with a strawberry kiwi capri sun for lunch in grade 3. The dream.
Upper Bench cheese is hand-crafted on-site from 100% pasteurized Canadian cow’s milk from D Dutchmen Dairy in Sicamous, British Columbia. Five different kinds of cheese are available including washed-rind, brie, and blue cheeses. Purchase a few kinds of cheese that pair nicely with your favorite vino and create your own winery picnic.
The Upper Bench usually offers services from “The Oven”, a wood-fired pizza experience on-site, but that is currently closed due to Covid-19.
Another winery with a restaurant on the other side of Penticton near Skaha Lake..
Play Estate Winery
On the other side of Penticton overlooking Skaha Lake is Play Estate Winery. They recently overhauled their service offering, bringing in a new farm-to-table dining experience from chef Dominic DiBartolomeo. Dominic has a great track record, having been the Senior Sous Chef at the famous Hawksworth restaurant in Vancouver. PLAY also hired a new winemaker and updated their branding, providing a fresh take on the restaurant winery experience.
Their restaurant is currently under construction, reopening June 2021.
Wineries with Restaurants in Naramata
The best wineries with restaurants in Naramata, starting with my favourite.
The Patio at Lakebreeze Winery Restaurant
Lakebreeze has one of the most beautiful views in Naramata. The winery restaurant is situated on their patio overlooking the Okanagan Lake, adjacent to the MacIntyre family home that resembles an Italian villa straight out of Tuscany.
The food is always fresh and utilizes local ingredients, including a farmstead salad harvested each morning from their garden. Due to Covid-19, they are only offering service by reservation, so plan ahead. One of my top recommendations for those looking for wineries with a restaurant in the Okanagan.
Tratto at Joie Winery
Tratto Pizza, a new and already beloved pizza restaurant in Penticton, has set up a shop offering pizza to winery visitors at Joie. The restaurant frequently runs out of dough it is so popular, so this is a nice way to try one of the best restaurants in Penticton while wine touring. Neopolitan pizzas are wood-fired on site. Favorites include the ricotta and the salsiccia.
Hillside Bistro
A traditional bistro with a plethora of menu options including light bites, pasta, soup and salad, tacos, and traditional meat and seafood entrees. A nice stop if you are with a big group as there is something for everyone on the menu.
Want a little break from the wineries for food in Naramata? Try Real Things Pizza, opt for a boxed lunch or charcuterie at Legend Distilling or dine at the Naramata Inn restaurant led by celebrity chef Ned Bell.
Wineries with Restaurants in Okanagan Falls
Liquidity Bistro
One of my favourite winery restaurants in the Okanagan, Liquidity Bistro has exceptional food to match the picturesque views of the Okanagan Falls wine region. Fresh, sustainable, locally sourced ingredients are featured in their menu with elevated soups, sandwiches and flatbreads. I always order their feature pizza/flatbread and the seasonal vegetable plate while my husband loves the sandwiches. I prefer going for lunch to enjoy the stunning landscape and sunshine on their patio.
Wild Goose Bistro
Love a good smoked BBQ? The Bistro at Wild Goose offers platters of smoked meats with lemon dill corn bread, house-made pickles, grilled pineapple, and a choice of two sides. Meat selections include St Louis Prok ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sides are traditionally southern, mac and cheese, coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad. A seriously hearty winery restaurant to soak up all the delicious Okanagan wine you’ve been tasting throughout the day.
Vegetarian? Might want to skip this one 😉
Best Wineries with Restaurants in Oliver, BC
Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek in Oliver, BC
Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver is one of the best winery dining experiences in the Okanagan. I’m not sure what it is about pizza and wine, but it just works. Their wood-fired pizzas bring in locals and visitors alike to dine while wine touring.
My favorite is the Funghi with white sauce, wild and cultivated mushrooms, and caramelized onions. Ask for chili oil on the side featuring their in-house ghost pepper flakes and olive oil.
The menu is robust with options for every occasion. Lunch features more casual fare including open fire Neapolitan style pizzas, summery pastas and guilty-pleasure sandwiches like their massive grilled cheese sandwich. For dinner, you’ll find a more refined selection of entrees including blue goose beef dry-aged ribeye and chilled albacore tuna salad.
The Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl
One of the most famous wineries in the Okanagan also happens to have one of the best dining experiences. The Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl has a lunch and dinner service. The lunch menu offers soups, salads, charcuteries, pasta, sandwiches, and burgers while the dinner menu features entrees like arctic char, chicken, lamb, ribeye, duck confit, and a vegan vegetable tart. I highly recommend making a reservation!
Last-minute type? Burrowing Owl introduced a patio picnic this year. For $50 for two, you’re provided a picnic lunch with charcuterie and cheese, focaccia, dips, salads, and a brownie for dessert.
Terrafina at Hester Creek
A Tuscan-style winery restaurant located on the 105-acre Mediterranean-inspired grounds of Hester Creek. The restaurant serves light bites, pizzas, pasta, and sandwiches. Share a few dishes with friends on the patio. Terrafina is one of the only wineries with restaurants in the Okanagan that serves brunch, a selection of eggs benedict, french toast, or frittata, complete with bubbles of course.
I love having lunch here on Saturdays as there is almost always live music on the patio from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm. Check the event schedule for details.
Kismet Estate Winery
Kismet Estate Winery has an Indian restaurant on-site, serving up popular dishes like pakoras, samosa platters, curries masala, and tandoori. Almost all the menu items are vegetarian. A great restaurant to go to on a chillier day wine touring in the Okanagan.
That wraps up my round-up of best wineries with restaurants in the Okanagan area in Penticton, Naramata and Oliver. Let me know if you visit any of these winery restaurants and share your experience below.
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