Restaurants in Penticton

Though the Local Lounge • Grille’s 120-seat patio hovers over Lake Okanagan, the cuisine is close to the soil. Chef Paul Cecconi draws on locally grown ingredients for his menu of burgers, steaks, pastas, and seafood, which helped crown him the winner of the 2011 Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown. Complex flourishes elevate classic dishes; Chef Cecconi adds a lavender glaze to beets and forms crispy falafel with chickpeas and Dungeness crab. Additionally, the eatery offers local craft beers and cocktails infused with Okanagan-made spirits.

As pastry chef Gwyn Roberts and chef Dylan Sexton concoct sweet and savoury eats, respectively, teapots whistle merrily to declare their readiness for an infusion of traditional or organic teas. The duo craft everything from sugary petits fours to blazingly spicy chorizo sausage, served for lunch, dinner, and at a traditional British afternoon tea service, complete with crustless sandwiches and three-tiered trays.

Breezes waft into the dining room through the vast windows embedded into the curved facade, and tiny potted plants dotting the sills soak up the sunlight. On walls hang the works of local artists, providing them with a venue for self-expression and a free meal for the paintings after their decoration shift.

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. They also cook up catered portions of these flavourful, nutritious eats to satisfy cravings at parties, offices, and long lines at the supermarket checkout.