Date Night in Kelowna

Dinner worth dressing up for

For an anniversary, a birthday or a night you want to feel a little special. Book ahead at all of these.

• HUMO Kelowna (Kelowna): an intimate tasting menu where nothing feels rushed, and a good pick for a first date or a special occasion. Mention any dietary needs when you book.
• Wildling (Kelowna): an elevated tasting-menu restaurant, and a strong choice if one of you eats vegetarian. The vegetarian tasting menu is treated with real respect.
• Bouchons Bistro (Kelowna): the owner greets guests in French, and the evening feels lifted from a Parisian side street. Reviewers rave about the escargot and the duck confit. Take your time.
• Waterfront Wines Restaurant (Kelowna): an award-winning wine bar and fine-dining room. Let the staff guide your pairings. It's a small, lively room that can get loud when busy, so it suits a chatty date more than a quiet one.
• Erica Jane Restaurant (Kelowna): steak and seafood with lively energy and none of the stuffy steakhouse formula. Order the steak with one of the strong cocktails.

Easygoing date spots

No dress code needed. Good for a weeknight, an early date, or when you'd rather share plates than order courses.

• Habibi Tapas Grill (Kelowna): a small, cozy Lebanese kitchen. Order a mezze spread to share, and see if it's one of the Saturday nights with live saxophone or oud.
• Casa de Frida (Kelowna): Mexican food in an elegant, warm dining room, with a cozy patio for good weather and live music on the second floor.
• Ask Pablo Cocktail Bar + Kitchen (Kelowna): Mexican and Japanese small plates in a cozy, design-forward room. Order a few to share and let the kitchen surprise you.
• Chutney Cuisine of India (Kelowna): Indian dining with warm ambiance and classical Indian music in the Pandosy area. On a first visit, order the dinner sampler.

Drinks before or after

A drink before dinner, or one more after. For more warm rooms to settle into, see our cozy spots guide.

• Micro Bar + Bites (Kelowna): a small, intimate bar with a pared-down cocktail list and seasonal small plates.
• BTS Cocktail Bar + Kitchen (Kelowna): a mixology-forward bar that also teaches. Book one of its cocktail-making classes for a date with something to do, or just pull up a seat.
• Tutt Street Tapas + Wine (Kelowna): a tiny tapas and wine bar tucked into a strip mall, with a locally sourced menu. If you have allergies, the chef-owner is helpful when you reach out ahead.
• Grate Cheesery (Kelowna): a wine-and-cheese bar run by a passionate cheesemonger. Book a fondue night or trust the curated pairings, with an intimate patio on a quiet street.

Dates that aren't dinner

Something to do together, before a meal or instead of one. Most of these work year-round.

• Bernie's Supper Club & Cinema (Kelowna): a speakeasy-style supper club with an oyster bar and an upstairs theatre, with new films every month and full food service in the theatre. Book cinema tickets and your table separately.
• Tality Wellness Kelowna (Kelowna): a downtown social bathhouse with a cedar sauna, four cold plunges and a lounge around a vapour firepit. Robes, towels, kombucha and hot tea are included. Book a community session or a private slot. Our saunas and spas guide has more.
• Twice The Dice Board Game Cafe and bar (Kelowna): more than 1,000 games on the walls, and a Hyderabadi biryani reviewers rave about. Order it between games, then try a boozy milkshake.
• Work of Art Pottery Studio (Kelowna): paint your own pottery, no experience needed. Look for the adult Sip & Paint evenings.
• BNA Brewing Kelowna (Kelowna): a brewery, a six-lane bowling alley and a cocktail bar under one roof, suited to a first date. Book a lane ahead, bowl, order a flight, then stay for cocktails.
• Exit Kelowna Escape Games (Kelowna): five themed rooms, and teams can be as small as two. Book about a week ahead and arrive 15 minutes early.
• Kelowna Community Theatre (Kelowna): home stage of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, plus touring comedy and music, with a smaller Black Box space for cabaret and intimate shows. For more nights out, see our comedy and live shows guide.

Lake views

For sunset, or a drink while the light changes over the water. Patios here are best from spring to fall, so check hours in the cooler months.

• Perch Sky Lounge (Kelowna): a rooftop that regulars say has the best patio view in the city. It isn't just drinks: book a rooftop table and order off the full dinner menu.
• Earls Kitchen + Bar (Kelowna): a rooftop patio with lake and sunset views. Blankets are provided if it cools off, so you can stay outside a little longer.
• 19 Okanagan Grill + Bar (West Kelowna): a patio above the golf course where twinkle lights come on as the sun drops over Okanagan Lake. Come for sunset; it suits a first date.
• Old Vines Restaurant (West Kelowna): the fine-dining room at Quails' Gate Winery, with lake and mountain views. Order the haskap-cured salmon or the 63 Acres beef tenderloin.
• Dilworth Mountain Park (Kelowna): a short, easy walk to a lookout over downtown and Okanagan Lake, and an easy sunset stop between dinner downtown and home. Parking is free. The lookout can close in extreme wildfire risk.

Dessert

Finish the night with something sweet, or bring a cake home.

• Karat Chocolate (Kelowna): a downtown pastry boutique with chocolate sourced directly from a partner farm in Brazil. Order the viral fruit pastry, or a showstopping cake for a celebration.
• Sandrine French Pastry and Chocolate (Kelowna): a French patisserie where regulars call the beignets and macarons the best they've had.
• Ice Cream Lab (Kelowna): ice cream made in front of you with liquid nitrogen, as much a show as a dessert. It's run by a couple who love to chat.
• D Spot Dessert Cafe (Kelowna): a long menu of sweets, crepes and waffles on Bernard Avenue, open late, and a fun after-dinner stop downtown.

Quick picks

See more: Kelowna restaurants, Best patios in Kelowna, Weekend in Kelowna

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