Restaurants in Kelowna

For the kind of hearty cooking that fulfills gastronomic stereotypes, try Mamma Rosa Italian Restaurant, 561 Lawrence Ave. (tel. 250/763-4114; www.mammarosa.ca), a third-generation Italian family restaurant that serves up affordable house-made pastas and very good pizzas.

A number of Kelowna-area vineyards offer dining. Grapevine Restaurant, at Gray Monk Estate Winery, 1055 Camp Rd., Okanagan Centre (tel. 800/663-4205 or 250/766-3168; www.graymonk.com), creates ambitious Continental dishes in a lovely dining room with great lake views; the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, March to October. From its perch above vineyards and Okanagan Lake, the Old Vines Patio Restaurant, at Quail's Gate Estate, 3303 Boucherie Rd., West Kelowna (tel. 250/769-4451; www.quailsgate.com), serves notable regional cooking; it's open daily for lunch and dinner, save for a staff holiday the first 2 weeks in January.