Best Okanagan 2012

GOLD: WATERFRONT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR

Silver: RauDZ Regional Table |  Bronze: Local  |  Honourable Mentions: Bouchons Bistro & Theo’s

Chef/sommelier Mark Filatow’s bistro Waterfront (Gold) is the best kind of experiment: unexpected, hard to replicate. With the Okanagan’s best wine list by a country mile, it’s now twice the size through an ambitious renovation that, among other features, presents plan-ahead diners with a chef’s table kitchenside. A must-stop on the Okanagan trail. Three years in, RauDZ (Silver) has earned enduring fondness for the diverse menu, from terrific burger-beer deals to the classic three-course meals of yore. Unpretentious Local (Bronze) puts neighbourhood wines first (as it should) in a humble setting with killer summer views from the outstanding patio. Honourable Mentions went to Bouchons Bistro (all the bistro bells and whistles: well-executed timbales, terrines, cassoulet) and Theo’s, home to hall-of-fame lamb shoulder.