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Here’s the thing, I hate eating alone. One, I only get to order one thing; and two, there’s a certain degree of sadness and loneliness to it. Because of work, I had to spend two days by myself at the Delta Okanagan Grand Resort. And yes, you guessed it, I was eating alone. (I guess I could’ve looked for a dining partner, but I don’t think Mr. would’ve approved.)

The Grand Bay Cafe, Kelowna

Food

I ended up having 3 meals at the hotel’s Grand Bay Cafe: 2 dinners and 1 lunch. For my first dinner, I ordered a soup and an entree. The Smoked Salmon Chowder was creamy and had a generous amount of smoked fish on top. the salmon was not fishy and  it can almost pass for smoked sablefish. I ordered the Butter Chicken Curry as entree, which is rare because I tend not to order any Asian dishes at non-Asian restaurants. The flavour of the curry was pretty good, quite tomatoey, but  it wasn’t spicy enough. I also would’ve preferred to have a few more pieces of chicken – I got mostly diced tomatoes on my plate. It’s a big portion, though, I ate all the naan bread but only managed a few bites of the rice bowl. The cucumber slaw (they call it chucumber slaw) was supposed to be seasoned with 5 spice seasoning. I couldn’t quite taste it; in fact, it was a bit bland, just like eating cucumber on its own. The deep fried eggplant garnish was light and crispy.

The next day I visited the restaurant again for lunch. The lunch menu offers mostly sandwiches. I ordered a Chicken Caesar Wrap, which came with soup, salad or fries. I picked soup of the day, which was Carrot, Apple and Brie Puree Soup. It wasn’t as smooth and creamy as I had hoped for; I still saw little bits and pieces of Brie in the soup. However I did like the strips of crispy carrot. They were added as garnish but also added extra texture to the soup. The wrap was, well, a chicken caesar wrap. It had all you expect in a chicken caesar wrap, but I want to point out that it’s served warm (places I’ve been to tend to serve it cold) and the bacon was crispy which was nice.

Chicken Caesar Wrap & Carrot+Apple Soup

No matter how interesting a menu is, you will eventually get bored looking at it. By the second evening, I already found its dinner menu boring. Don’t misunderstand. The menu has a decent amount of offering; it’s just that I already evaluated my options the night before so there’s nothing new (they don’t have “tonight’s special”). I felt like whatever I ordered on the second day would be a consolation prize.

This time around, I only ordered an entree, which was the Ling Cod. I actually wanted to order it on the first night, but had a change of heart when the server came to take my order. I decided to give it another shot. Now I totally regretted not getting it the first night. The fish was done crispy on the outside and moist inside. The squash bisque was tasty, so was the stirfry of root vegetables. I only wish the bacon foam could have a more intense flavour.

Final Thoughts

Because it’s a hotel restaurant, and it’s out in Kelowna, I understand the difficulty of keeping it busy and ingredients fresh. Therefore, overall I was quite happy with the quality of food and service I received at the restaurant. The staff was very attentive and friendly. Lastly, I want to make a note about its Lake Okanagan Rhum Punch. It became my favourite drink and I ordered it at both dinners. It’s a fruity drink, perfect for the ladies!

The Grand Bay Cafe at Delta Okanagan Grand Resort
1310 Water Street, Kelowna
250-763-4500