Notebook and pencil open beside a coffee mug at a rain-streaked window looking onto a wet shopping street in Kelowna BC

The blog

Kelowna guides & local news

I started writing these because I was answering the same questions one text message at a time. Where to take a visiting parent for dim sum. Whether the night market is worth the parking. What is still open on a wet Sunday in February. The long answers live here, and they are written for people who are going this weekend, not for people planning a trip next year.

Written and checked by Rowan Ashby 3 guides published

Every guide comes from going. I rank places, I tell you what the ranking is based on, and when I have not been back since somewhere changed hands I put that in writing instead of hoping you do not notice. Some of it is logistics: parking, the hour the lineup starts, which places take cash only, how to feed eight people on a Saturday without a booking. Some of it is me being opinionated about lunch.

The one rule I hold to is that the guides cover the whole city, including the half that is harder to write about.

What's in here

Place guides I take one neighbourhood, or one plaza, at a time. Where to park, when to turn up, and what to walk past.
Best-of lists I put them in order and say out loud what the order is based on.
Seasonal and events These run on dates. What sells out, what to book, and where to leave the car.
Practical guides These answer the awkward ones. Nine days of rain, where the dog is welcome, feeding eight people without a booking.

Browse the business directory instead

Newest

Getting Around Kelowna: Shops, Services and the Corners That Matter

27 September 2026 4 min read By Rowan Ashby

<h2>Make Restaurant Decisions Practical</h2> <p>For food, keep the choice plain and the contact details close at hand. The directory lists <a href="/listing/savvios-family-restaurant">Savvios Family Restaurant</a> as a Kelowna restaurant with phone 250-498-4418, and <a href="/listing/the-old-spaghet...

Read the guide

A gravel bar on the Coquitlam River beside slow green water in Kelowna BC

Notes from the loop

A guide that likes everything is useless. So I rank things, I say why, and I tell you when I haven't been back since the owners changed.

Rowan Ashby, Editor, Kelowna

Everything else worth reading

The newest guide sits at the top. I go back and rewrite the older ones when something changes on the ground.

Add your business

27 Sep 2026 5 min read

A Saturday in Kelowna: What Real Locals Do

<h2>Start with coffee, not a queue</h2> <p>The first choice is a cafe, and <a href="/listing/dosa-crepe-cafe">Dosa Crepe Cafe</a> is a sensible Kelowna anchor because it offers a clearer destination than a chain chosen at random. Its Rutland location also makes a useful planning point: a day can be...

By Rowan Ashby Read

27 Sep 2026 4 min read

Where Locals Actually Eat in Kelowna

<h2>Start with the kind of place you want</h2> <p><a href="/listing/dosa-crepe-cafe">Dosa Crepe Cafe</a> is the most specific name on this shortlist. Its directory category is cafe and its location is Kelowna. The name points toward a particular kind of food, not a vague general menu. That makes it...

By Rowan Ashby Read

Tips and corrections

Somewhere I missed, or something I got wrong?

I read everything that comes in. If a place has closed, changed hands, or is simply better than I gave it credit for, tell me and I'll go back and eat there again.

Add your business Browse the directory