When it comes to restaurants, the Okanagan Valley is chock-full of eateries offering fantastic food and vibrant views.

This week, though, eight Okanagan restaurants were singled out in a new online list of the top 100 most scenic restaurants in Canada.

The list was created by OpenTable and posted on Thursday.

OpenTable said its list was generated solely from diner reviews collected between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. The online restaurant reservation service didn’t rank the restaurants, instead listing them alphabetically.

“From breathtaking mountain gorges to seaports of the east coast and everything in between, the restaurants featured on the list offer the perfect backdrop for any occasion,” OpenTable said.

The eight Okanagan restaurants are:

Kelowna

• Earls Kitchen and Bar
• Oak + Cru Social Kitchen and Wine Bar

Oliver

• Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek Winery
• Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery

Penticton

• Hooded Merganser at Penticton Lakeside Resort

Vernon

• Range Lounge and Grill at Predator Ridge Resort

West Kelowna

• Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery
• Terrace Restaurant at Mission Hill Family Estate

“It’s wonderful,” Burrowing Owl Estate Winery proprietor Midge Wyse said of being on the list.

“I think [the list] really speaks volumes for the Okanagan Valley, with so many restaurants in our area having been named. I think a lot of tourists are coming to the Okanagan Valley for the scenery, for the beauty, and it’s reflected in these comments that then make up these awards.”

Of the eight restaurants, three have lake views and four are situated on wineries. Only one — the Range Lounge and Grill at Predator Ridge Resort — is on a golf course.

“We like to be known for more than just our view,” said Chris Woodburn, director of food and beverage at Predator Ridge. “And I think we’ve managed to establish that market so this is just the icing on the cake for us.”

Asked what it’s like competing against wineries and lake views, Woodburn said: “It can be very different, but there’s a lot of similarities. We all sell food, we all created an environment, we rely on staff and a resource pool.

“So we have our challenges. [Predator Ridge] is remote, to a large degree, from the populations of Vernon and Kelowna. We are a destination, for sure, for golfers. But as a result of that, I think we’ve managed to establish ourselves in the restaurant industry, that we’re more than just a golf-course restaurant.”

The OpenTable list was dominated by restaurants in Ontario (42) and B.C. (35). The remaining restaurants came from Alberta (12), Quebec (six), Manitoba (five), Saskatchewan (one) and Newfoundland (one).

In terms of cities, Vancouver had the most, with 10 restaurants among the honourees, followed by Victoria and Toronto with nine restaurants each.

Related

OpenTable names Hamilton restaurant among top 10 outdoor dining spots in Canada

Canada’s 100 best restaurants for a night out according to OpenTable

Winnipeg ranked eighth most romantic city in Canada: OpenTable

Source: Read Full Article