Bouchons Bistro - Kelowna

My wife and I went out for a nice dinner to celebrate our anniversary, friends recommended this restaurant to us and we were not disappointed. The service was very good from the moment we walked in the door until we left. We weren't rushed and the dinner was well paced. Our waiter was attentive and very professional.

From the time we parked our car on a Sunday evening in the big lot next door until we left after dining and walking through the park it was an excellent experience. The owner (at least he played the part) met us at the front door and escorted us to our quiet table. Service was prompt and the food was excellent. And it was reasonably priced. As soon as one group left a table it was quickly reset and filled by another group; we had reserved a month in advance and suggest you do the same. After dinner, take a walk toward the lake. The water feature with intertwined dolphins is really nice and the flower beds are very picturesque.

I ate dinner here with a friend on a Sunday evening. The interior of the bistro is quite lovely. Lively but not noisy if one wanted a romantic meal. Our server did come somewhat promptly after we were seated and asked if we wanted to order drinks. He definitely wanted us to order cocktails. We did not have menus or wine lists in front of us, and so we asked for those. We should have asked for water because that is clearly not an automatic here. And it is August, in the Okanagan! After a few stops at our table asking us about wine, we finally decided on a bottle. The wine list is massive. Probably the biggest I have ever seen. I think it would overwhelm most people. Because there are so many French wines on the menu, I think it would be helpful if some sort of categories (light, medium-bodied, full etc) or descriptions accompanied the wines. Like if you have 25 French red wines in front of you, how are you going to choose? Thankfully, our server offered some direction and our bottle was nice. Not incredible for $70, but nice. We did order salads and entrees. Salads were presented well, but aside from good freshness and colour, flavour was really lacking. There was not enough vinaigrette to cover the leaves. So we felt like we were eating huge pieces of lettuce with nothing on them. Healthy, to be sure. But not memorable or delicious. Our beef entrees were cooked as we ordered, but no local veggies on the plate! Fennel, bok choy and asparagus are not in season in August in our valley. I would have wanted to see local produce on my plate. Even the 2 grape tomato garnishes were the boxed grocery store variety, when there are local tomatoes everywhere right now. There is no excuse in the Okanagan to not have local vegetables in August. We did not order dessert but our server graciously served us a taste of some French cognac, which was actually a total delight. So while our meals were cooked well, and eventually we got our water, I would not feel compelled to return. The prices are really high, and that could be okay if one's meal was spectacular. But spectacular is not even close to our experience. There are better plates in town. And for less.

We enjoyed a nice dinner there with my family. This restaurant is very baby friendly. We had a great service there as well. According to the food, everything was well prepared and seasonned, but nothing overwhelming. You go there to enjoy classic french food.

Love the food and atmosphere! Always great service! It's nice to have a wonderful French restaurant in the Okanagan! The bouillabaisse is to die for!