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, candle-lit dining room. The Yellow House Restaurant, housed inside the old Williams Inn 1906 heritage building, welcomes guests onto its historic grounds for meals of international flavours paired with wine from the Okanagan and other regions. Owners Robert Ahlgren and Darren Stanfield craft a menu with fresh local produce, meats, seafood, and other ingredients. Chefs 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. Yellow House also caters group functions held in a private dining room, and hosts local and touring musicians. The restaurant is open for dinner every night from 5 p.m. to close, with a three-course prix-fixe menu on Monday nights, and serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday?Friday.

The Okanagan Pizza pros sort their pizza creations into two categories: Ol’ Favourites and Somethin’ Different. But that doesn’t mean that traditional and adventurous pizza lovers can’t chow down on pies from both lists. The Favourites side tempts diners with double cheese, double pepperoni, or the canadian’s trio of pepperoni, mushrooms, and bacon. The chefs further flex their pairing skills on the Somethin’ Different list—for example, combining garlic butter, chicken, chili spices, alfredo sauce, noodles, red peppers, and mozzarella on the spicy alfredo-chicken-pasta pizza. They drop a half pound of meat onto the T-Rex pizza and pile bacon, cheddar, peppercorn ranch, onions, and potatoes onto the Spud pie. Patrons can pick up pies for carryout or order slices or whole pizzas online and have them delivered to their assigned judge for traffic court.

Crafted from ingredients fresh from local farms, paired with wines fresh from local wineries, and served by waiters fresh from local cloning facilities, the cuisine at 48 North is homegrown in every sense of the word. Under the soft light of chic spherical fixtures, diners dig into such entrees as wild salmon topped with bacon-corn relish, fresh halibut in a blonde beer batter, and chicken drumsticks stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. But although at first blush 48 North appears to be exclusively a gourmet restaurant, a closer inspection reveals the trappings of a sports bar with wide-screen televisions and an impressive lineup of beers on tap.

The Chopped Leaf’s staff quickly whips up healthy, hearty wraps, gourmet salads, and thick chowders, along with a kids' menu. Following recipes carefully curated by their chefs or the whims of each customer, they blend traditional and ethnic flavours such as pesto, chipotle, and cranberry into their signature and custom dishes, in addition to preparing gluten-free and vegan options. Diners also have the option to create their own salads and wraps using the more than 50 fresh ingredients available to them. They also cook up catered portions of these flavourful, nutritious eats to satisfy cravings at parties, offices, and long lines at the supermarket checkout.

Chefs man woks in the kitchen of Bluetail Sushi and Bistro to heat up entrees and flash-fry tempura to complement their fresh specialty maki rolls. Albacore tuna and Atlantic salmon nigiri crown bite-sized prisms of white rice, and sashimi platters forgo the grains with slivers of salmon, hamachi, and tuna. Sips of house green tea and imported Japanese sodas pair with Golden Dynasty rolls packed with real crab, real gold flakes, and real keys to Fort Knox or with black california rolls wrapped around crab, avocado, and bluetail black rice.

At Turtle Bay Pub, scenic views of Wood Lake enhance the experience of sipping cold brews and indulging in a diverse selection of pub fare. That cuisine ranges from hearty classics, such as racks of ribs or steak & Guinness pies, to lighter dishes, such as flatbreads topped with prosciutto, pear, and goat cheese. Live music sets the mood on Friday nights, and on others, it's set by the cheers and groans of patrons as they watch sports games. Sunday brunch, replete with omelettes and buttermilk pancakes, is also available.