Terroir Kitchen: The Okanagan’s Truest Farm-to-Table Restaurant

Tucked amongst the gentle slopes of the Naramata Bench, Terroir Kitchen transports you to a quaint little spot just like Tuscany. The Okanagan heat, stunning songbirds singing in the distance and gentle breeze passing through the valley all provide the perfect sensory backdrop for an incredible meal—and trust us, it will be incredible. 

Known colloquially as “Europe among the vines” thanks to stunning vineyard views and the contemporary stone-faced courtyard dining space, this restaurant is truly dedicated to a farm-to-table philosophy, sourcing almost 60 percent of its produce from local Naramatan farms. With a “fresh is best” mentality, owner and executive chef Tristan Bunkowski creates a menu entirely around unexpectedly delicious vegetable-forward cuisine. 

All this and more means that Terroir Kitchen deserves a top spot on your Okanagan bucket list.

Sequestered in his own little hut, Terroir Kitchen is a one-man show. Before service, catch Chef Bunkowski finishing up prep, stocking the ingredients he needs for another phenomenal meal and setting up shop within his small kitchen. Every dish passes straight from his hands to your table. 

It’s an intimate, relaxed approach to fine dining with only eight tables and a maximum of 45 to 50 guests, entirely open-air. Reservations are highly recommended, as space fills quickly throughout the season. While you can order for yourself, sharing is not only encouraged but a key focus at Terroir Kitchen as every plate arrives family-style. 

With a mix of stone, wood beams, dark iron and fresh light flowers on each table, settle in for a meal as warm as the atmosphere itself.

Born and raised in White Rock, just a few blocks from the beach, Bunkowski spent his childhood running alongside the ocean. From an early age, his family taught him to prioritize the whole animal, and commonly bought half a cow or whole fish only to later butcher it themselves. These lessons still guide him today, and his many years of experience in other restaurants and culinary settings have only strengthened his dedication to nose-to-tail cuts. 

While his education began with the culinary program in high school, teaching him the foundations and bolstering his love of cooking, Bunkowski later learned everything from washing dishes and cooking in Vancouver establishments like the Flying Pig, gaining his WSET level three certification while working at the Naramata Inn, all the way to interning internationally under Michelin star chefs Garima Arora at Gaa and Gaggan Anand at Gaggan in Thailand. 

Now, at just age 28, he owns and runs Terroir Kitchen with the hopes of providing Michelin-star service in a relaxed, approachable manner befitting the Okanagan’s wine country.

Terroir Kitchen follows a culinary philosophy that focuses on sustainability, showing guests vegetables and produce not commonly used elsewhere, presented with simplified techniques. The menu is unlike anything you’ve ever encountered and often rotates biweekly to match what is fresh and in season. 

“A lot of chefs create dishes around the protein, and that’s the way we were taught, the French way,” explains Bunkowski. “But me, when I look at my fresh sheets from my farmers each week, I pick vegetables and create the dish around that.”

Even if you choose a meat dish from their menu, the vegetable will shine through the most. “I think if a chef can finesse vegetables,” he says, “it shows a better skill.” 

Perhaps his most famous menu option is the carrots, also known as the restaurant’s signature dish. Roasted with local coffee then laid on a bed of cashew ajo blanco, topped with zhoug—a Turkish/Yemen Chimichurri—crispy and pickled shallots, and fresh dill, it’s simple but the perfect balance of texture, acidity and robust flavours. 

With the tagline “Local. Inspired. Dining.,” expect each dish to reflect the best of B.C.’s bounty, particularly those from the Okanagan. However, many guests come for that farm-to-table fare and find themselves blown away by the nose-to-tail philosophy, often encountering cuts they’d normally dismiss or never considered. 

For example, earlier this season Bunkowski featured sablefish with a twist, and cooked the collar rather than a more traditional cut. Similar in style to a chicken wing, it was lightly fried in rice flour and tossed with maple soy before being topped with green onions, crispy shallots and sesame seeds. The dish was a surprising hit. 

“I cook food that pushes people,” Bunkowski says, but in ways that elevate the experience. The Chef’s Tasting Menu is a popular option for diners because it features full table participation. It includes three dishes from the menu and three surprise off-menu dishes. 

It’s a nod to Michelin dining, where no one orders à la carte, but also provides him with an opportunity to discover new recipes. “The tasting menu is the most fun for me,” he explains. “It’s really where I get creative.”

Terroir Kitchen sits in Serendipity Winery and offers guests a sneak peek at their full wine list. Bunkowski himself loves to offer wine-paired cuisine, having worked within the Okanagan before as well as with sommeliers during his Michelin training. To him, it offers the best of both worlds.

Bunkowski has a long relationship with the Okanagan, having worked for the historic Naramata Inn back in 2017 before building a relationship with Serendipity’s owner Judy Kingston. Prior to opening his own restaurant, Bunkowski still cooked for the winery, often doing trials with any new dish by sitting down and seeing if it could pair with up to 10 of its wines. If the dish couldn’t pair with any of the varietals, it would get axed. Thanks to this approach, he is very familiar with working around Okanagan grapes. 

But his focus on locally-sourced, farm-to-table cuisine doesn’t stop at the plates—even his house made cocktails include fresh ingredients. Okanagan residents will also find familiar names on their beer and cider list, and bottled cocktails from Vancouver’s Please! Beverage Co.

Terroir Kitchen is an incredible Okanagan find, tucked into the rolling Naramata hills and offering true farm-to-table fare in exciting and unique ways. Bunkowski has managed to create an establishment true to its morals, introducing produce and cuts found nowhere else in the valley. 

With summer produce at its peak, August and September menus showcase the Okanagan at its freshest—making now the perfect time to visit. Experience intentional vegetable-forward cuisine before Bunkowski closes for the season after the last weekend of September.

Learn more about Terroir Kitchen and make a reservation at terroirkitchen.ca