Where to Eat, Stay and Sip – Savour the Good Life in Penticton!
We are often in the Okanagan, as my parents, sister and all her crew live in Kelowna and Michael would move to Osoyoos if he could, he loves it so much. So, we often find ourselves in the middle of the valley, traveling to and from destinations and stay a night in Penticton to enjoy some great food and their local craft beer!
Where to stay?
Barefoot Resort
The coolest spot to stay in Penticton is the Barefoot Resort in a Yurt! What’s a yurt you ask? “Most yurts are portable, tent-like structures. They have circular lattice walls (reminiscent of baby gates tied together) and cone-shaped roof, supported by rafters that meet in a center ring.” According to Yurts: Living in the Round. The yurts at Barefoot are high-end, they’ve got skylights, hardwood floor and French doors opening onto private decks with personal barbecues. The resort is right next to the beaches of Skaha Lake, but it’s also next to the highway and the air strip so can get a little noisy at times. There are different sizes and they range from about $250-$350 a night.
Penticton Wine Country Rentals
We’ve also stayed in a cozy condo with Penticton Wine Country Rentals; they have four condos available, all located right in town, near the beach and with full kitchens and plenty of room. Our condo was perfect, right near the breweries, and with a lovely balcony and super comfy bed. We didn’t want to leave!
Food
You won’t go hungry in Penticton. From casual eateries to fine dining and everything in between there’s lots of deliciousness here.
Let’s start with breakfast, and The Bench Market. Their breakfast wraps rule and you can grab some sandwiches for later or stock up on some locally-sourced groceries if you’ve got a kitchenette.
We also love Taste Brodo, for lunch, or an early dinner, they’ve got the best soups and make their own bone broth, which I’ve become a big fan of of late.
If you are wine tasting on the Naramata Bench, don’t miss The Vanilla Pod at Poplar Grove winery, and beer lovers should check out the pizzas and brews at Bad Tattoo Brewing.
We love our oysters, so never miss a chance to sample a few at Salty’s Beach House and have had some great dinners at The Hooded Merganser right on the lake, which also does a great Sunday brunch and has a lunch menu that looks excellent too.
For Mexican we checked out the Vallarta Grill and found a super festive mood happening along with some pretty authentic cuisine, and Burger 55 is insanely good.
Sip
This is wine country, they say, but there’s also no shortage of craft beer and even spirits in Penticton. We ventured up in April 2014 for the Okanagan Feast of Ale and it’s grown vastly since. Wine lovers will want to plan for the Naramata Tailgate Party in the beginning of September.
We make sure to stop in for a beer tasting at The Cannery and don’t miss their Blackberry Porter. You’ll also want to stop in at Tin Whistle and the above mentioned Bad Tattoo Brewing, as well as The Barley Mill Brewpub.
There are now three distilleries in the area too, Legend Distilling (don’t miss their smoked rosemary gin), Maple Leaf Spirits and Old Order.
Wineries are so plentiful in the area that I don’t really even know where to start. A drive along the Naramata Bench is a must and we’re awfully fond of Howling Bluff, Bench 1775, Pentage, Lake Breeze, La Frenz and Elephant Island, but you can’t go far wrong in these parts.
A couple summers ago we took a lake cruise on the Casabella Princess and loved it, if you have some time, it’s a must.
In the summer the Saturday Penticton Farmer’s Market is worthy of at least an hour of your time. So much goodness here!
We’ll be back in Penticton again in April, and we look forward to some new discoveries.
