Restaurants in Kelowna

Outside the bright-yellow Victorian house that stands amid a copse of trees, diners on the front patio sit underneath bright-yellow umbrellas in warm weather, tucking into seared fish, grilled steaks, and curries. Others do the same inside the house's intimate dining room. The Yellowhouse Restaurant, housed inside the old Williams Inn 1906 heritage building, welcomes guests onto its historic grounds for meals of international flavours paired with British Columbian wine.

Each day, chefs shop for fresh produce, meats, seafood, and other ingredients. They then assemble the meal components in-house, including soups, sauces, and dressings. Seasonal dishes that focus on regional North American recipes, such as steelhead trout, lamb, and pork, are garnished with rhubarb and blueberry compotes, wild mushrooms, and cream reductions. Some dishes focus on the culinary traditions of Europe, South America, and Asia—chicken tagliatelle escorts curry and mango chutney, and rib-eye steak arrives tableside drizzled in an argentine chimichurri sauce.

At all hours, the sound of a whisk against a bowl rings through Cafe Soleil as chefs scramble eggs for an all-day breakfast menu. Omelettes bursting with pepper jack cheeses, grilled chicken, and house-made salsas rest alongside eggs benedict prepared in several different fashions. As the morning sun fades and even roosters that know “Stairway to Heaven” pipe down, guests switch to grilled turkey burgers and pork-rib sandwiches. On the weekends, the café often hosts live bands, which add a lively aural backdrop to the happy chatter of guests.

A chain of restaurants founded in 1952, Fatburger’s team of skilled grillsmiths tirelessly bustles about kitchens across the continent whipping up platefuls of fresh, cooked-to-order diner fare. Upon receiving each patron’s order, chefs spring into action meticulously preparing feasts from the finest of ingredients including AAA Alberta beef, hand-picked produce, and cholesterol-free oil. Frozen treat specialists plunge scoops into ice cream containers, extracting creamy orbs to be transformed into milkshakes so old fashioned that they only enter the straw after donning a set of pearls. Fostering an authentic atmosphere, each Fatburger location features retro decor and enforces a strict poodle-skirt-only dress code for all diners.

The chefs at Itto Sushi arrange beautiful plates of freshly prepared rolls and sashimi as well as noodles, rice bowls, and other specialties. Diners diving into the menu can initiate incisors with a dragon roll, a sturdy cylinder of barbecued eel and avocado in unagi sauce with fish eggs ($9.95/eight pieces). The sunrise roll marries a California roll with smoked salmon and peanut sauce ($7.95/eight pieces) to commemorate the sun's breath when it gets up in the morning, and a tempura box gently pets palates with miso soup, prawns, a three-piece veggie tempura roll, a choice of rolls and teriyaki meat, and a salad or gommae greens ($13.95). Itto Sushi stylizes noodles in thin rice sunomono, stir-fried yakisoba, and thick flour udon varieties, along with meats and vegetables cut into modern purse-shapes. Complimentary green tea keeps palates cleansed and brain cells articulating the merits of pyjama jeans to fellow diners.

Cooks at Subcity Donair season top sirloin with their special blend of 23 herbs and spices and stack the slices on warm pitas. They top their signature donairs with seven different sauces including garlic tzatziki, sesame, and hot sweet. In addition to donairs they also build beef, chicken, and smoked turkey sub sandwiches and falafel pitas.

At Wasabi Izakaya, owner and chef Jyunya Nakamura oversees the creation of an innovative menu, which outfits traditional Japanese dishes with modern twists. Jyunya and his staff take a tapas-style approach to their cuisine, crafting artful, yet scaled-down portion sizes so diners can explore many different Japanese flavors during a single visit.

Michelle and Jason Troll's vision of Italian-fusion cuisine begins with their menu, which surprises diners with traditional dishes such as macaroni 'n' cheese reinterpreted with premium ingredients that range from Atlantic lobster to wild mushrooms. This fusion of traditional and modern continues into the dining room, where sumptuous red booths and curtains create a textural contrast with exposed-brick accents, ornate chandeliers, and slate floors. The Trolls expanded on that theme by creating a space that flexes seamlessly between upscale dining establishment and local gathering place. Bartenders pour guests a drink, and then encourage them to check out the 75-seat rooftop patio, which affords views of the cityscape and hungry hot air balloon captains who snatch at the eatery's come-hither bowls of fettuccini. The atmosphere livens up all the more on the weekend, when a DJ sates the music-hungry by spinning a live set.