The Vanilla Pod Restaurant at Poplar Grove Winery

Reviews

• ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  We tried not staring at the wedding couple as they strode by us on their journey to ritualized legal kinship. We were enjoying our meal when kilt-clad men and their respective glowing fairer companions approached the marriage commissioner on a distant hill. We were further shocked when they returned only five minutes later. That was it? A lifetime commitment over coffee. No reception, they borrowed a mound for a spell and left. It certainly was an interesting distraction, and I was left curious as to how ones goes about securing such a location. Their website lists many options but not a drop-in for five minutes rate. Perhaps it was dinner theater, or rather, in this case, lunch theater. Poplar Grove’s greatest strength lies not with its winery but with The Vanilla Pod restaurant it sits beside. And that speaks volumes given how impressive the winery is. Generally, you’ll have to cut through the tasting room, potentially sampling wines to pair with your meal. For us, we stopped at Poplar Grove in the morning, returning later for lunch before traveling onto to Kelowna for the next leg of our wine journey (one week, 60 wineries, 120 bottles bought). To review the décor of The Vanilla Pod would be difficult given most of it sits outside. So, if rating it consequently, The Vanilla Pod would be one of the best-looking restaurants in the world. A massive canvas covers much of the serving area, though built in such a way as to not impede one’s view. While other places cheaply throw up a handful of umbrellas, this single canopy only requires four posts to cover nearly a dozen tables. Said sunshade is fringed with string lights for the evening service (which must look amazing). Cut grass spreads beyond the square of pavement the tables sit on until reaching the vineyards; past that, sporadic marks population and further fields until one takes sight of the lake. A view nearly unrivaled unless you visit Bench 1775 up the hill. Further away, near where the wedding party would eventually take perch, is another dining area without cover but avoiding any annoying intrusions from the rest of the winery. So yes, you can’t really get much better than this…unless it rains. Or it’s winter. Hell, I’d pay for a dish just to waste a half-hour staring at the view. As for the food, offerings at lunch are limited and not on the inexpensive side. Even the most basic salad is $10. Not everyone wants to drop down $27 for lunch (not including drinks), but there are dishes that expensive. My girlfriend ordered the chickpea salad (which they oddly spelled “chick pea”), with tomatoes, red onion, spinach, cilantro, a white balsamic vinaigrette, and a heaping portion of chickpeas. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, with peach BBQ sauce, pickled fennel and cabbage slaw, spicy mayo, which was complemented by a salad. I won’t make any claims that these two meals together warrant $30, but they were amazing. My girlfriend discovered a newfound appreciation for chickpeas. The dinner service can intimidate some, with prices starting at $29 for a main, but I can’t speak to that quality; the lunch was very satisfying. Add to that the picturesque view, and you can’t really go wrong dining at The Vanilla Pod…I just have one question: Why is it called The Vanilla Pod? There’s no mention of desserts being offered, and none of the dishes boast it as an ingrediant. I don’t see any orchids anywhere, and you certainly can’t grow them in the wild at this latitude. The winery is called Poplar Grove, which you can understand given how common poplar trees are, but do vanilla orchids grow around them? It’s all very confusing. With that out of the way, I did enjoy the Vanilla Pod restaurant through the wine offered at Poplar Grove winery was nothing to write home about. The Naramata Bench thankfully boasts several above-average restaurants end to end, including Hillside and Lake Breeze, and The Vanilla Pod can be counted among them. Food: 5/5 Service: 4/5 Presentation: 5/5 Value: 3.5/5 Recommendation: 4/5
  By Chris Dias, June 20, 2017
• ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
  Awesome winery. Love the interior design. Had a wine tasting. Had lunch outside with great views of the lake. The meat spread was quite nice and included some smoked salmon as well. Had the pulled pork grilled cheese which was really good.
  By Edmund Wong, November 04, 2016

Photo gallery of The Vanilla Pod Restaurant at Poplar Grove Winery

About The Vanilla Pod Restaurant at Poplar Grove Winery in Penticton