Kenny Tai has been photographing food and posting his delicious findings to his Instagram account, @HeyHangryHippo, for many years now and this week he turns his focus to West Kelowna. Read on to find out more about some of the delicious offerings, who knows you may find a new favourite!
With current provincial health orders prohibiting indoor dining, restaurants have adjusted their operations focusing on outdoor patio dining, take out, and delivery. Please note: people should only be outdoor dining at restaurants with their household or core bubble and restaurants only accommodate tables of six or less.
The Modest Butcher
Chef Dan at The Modest Butcher has a major passion for food. He is so excited and interested in every element that goes into putting a dish together including the history of ingredients and understanding how to put flavours together into amazing meals, he could be on a TV show talking all things food and would capture the audience in an instant. Now, imagine eating the food prepared by someone so passionate and enjoying it with a perfectly paired Mt. Boucherie Winery wine! My friend and I enjoyed everything we had, but my favourite was Things On Toast. The day we visited a grilled country loaf was covered in whipped feta with candied trout, with this menu option changing regularly, I can't wait to go back and try another.
Visit the patio at The Modest Butcher for views overlooking Okanagan Lake, or order take out.
19 Okanagan Grill & Bar
The team of Red Seal Chefs at 19 Okanagan Grill & Bar are ready to serve you up meals that pair perfectly with the amazing views from their two patios. Make sure to book a reservation for your meal, as it's a popular spot with West Kelowna locals and golfers finishing a round at Two Eagles Golf Course. Their menu has a lot on offer, with dishes that are gluten friendly, as well as vegan options, so everyone is bound to find a mouth-watering meal to suit them. Out of everything we ordered, my favourite was the Peppercorn Burger with fresh AAA Alberta beef patty, blue cheese cream, firecracker onions and all the fixings. It's also a favourite of regulars and has been on the menu for 15 years - you can't go wrong ordering it!
19 Okanagan is open for patio dining, plus they are currently offering take out and delivery.
Bamboo Chopsticks
When you're in the mood for authentic Vietnamese cuisine, look no further. Bamboo Chopsticks serves up delicious, fresh, and most importantly made-from-scratch dishes. Family matriarch, Bach, came to Canada from Vietnam and the family wanted to honour her and her life by sharing her recipes with those in the community. Don't miss out on the 4 Colour Combo, this is a vermicelli noodle bowl with spring roll, prawn skewer, BBQ pork, marinated pork, and finished off with Bach's homemade fish sauce. As an added bonus, all meals are as beautiful as they are delicious, so they make for great social media posts. ;)
I visited Bamboo Chopsticks in West Kelowna, but they have a location downtown Kelowna, and on Springfield Ave., across from Orchard Park. West Kelowna and Downtown are both open for take out, delivery, and patio service. Springfield location is take out only at this time.
Pizzamoreh
If you're looking for unique or classic pizzas using local and organic ingredients, then look no further. I've found that Pizzamoreh has some of the most exciting flavours on a pizza, and my favourite is the Little Chicklet. This pizza is slathered with barbecue sauce, topped with the special Moreh cheese mix, chicken, roasted red pepper pepperonata, caramelized onions, spicy jalapenos, and finished with the house-made adobo crema drizzle. Check their website for their full menu and order to pick up at their drive thru, or even take home a frozen pizza to bake at home. One other, off menu secret, is to order their GIANT slice of pizza. That's right, they use two pizzas worth of dough, top it with your favourite flavours, then bake it to perfection - good luck finishing it in one sitting!
Right now, delivery and pick up are available, as well as patio seating.
Kojo Sushi & Catering
I'm a huge fan of ramen, so when I was told that the best ramen place around was in West Kelowna at Kojo Sushi, I had to check it out. I was NOT disappointed. Their Red Spicy Ramen is the best. It's made with chicken, spicy miso broth, Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken), green onions, topped with an egg - seriously, so good. But that's not all they offer, they also do great sushi and poke, including vegan options. If you want to go all out, order some of everything and share with your household, everyone will be satisfied!
Kojo is open for patio dining, as well as takeaway options.
