Visiting Salmon Arm: Where to Eat, Sip Local Wine & Explore the Waterfront

By Lisa Butler, The Shuswap Loop · Updated October 2026

Visiting Salmon Arm is easy to turn into a weekend of good food, local wine and time beside Shuswap Lake. The city has a compact downtown, independent cafés and restaurants, a long waterfront wharf, and several wineries within a scenic drive. This guide brings the pieces together so you can plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and a relaxed two-day visit without rushing.

Menus, seasonal hours, tasting availability and event schedules can change. Check each business’s current website or directory profile before heading out, and book winery visits where requested. If you plan to taste wine, arrange a designated driver or another safe ride.

Start your morning with breakfast in Salmon Arm

Westgate Café is a friendly first stop for breakfast and a fresh doughnut. It is inside Westgate Public Market on 10th Avenue SW and serves breakfast daily, with coffee, espresso drinks and specialty teas to go with the morning menu. It’s a good choice if you want to eat before browsing the market or setting out for the lake.

For breakfast with a waterfront setting, Nineteen05 Kitchen & Raw Bar is inside the Prestige Harbourfront Resort. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it works for an easy hotel breakfast or a longer meal after a walk along the water. Check its current breakfast menu and service times before visiting.

If you’re curious about a different brunch menu, Fork Seasons, inside Hotel Hilltop Inn, brings Asian and Southeast Asian flavours to Salmon Arm. Its menu spans breakfast favourites, salads, soups, noodles, curries, mains and desserts. It’s a nice option when your group wants something beyond the usual eggs-and-toast routine; check the current menu and schedule first.

Where to go for lunch

For a relaxed downtown lunch, Pink Cherry serves coffee and tea alongside paninis, sandwiches, wraps, salads and house-made gelato. Its central location makes it easy to pair lunch with a browse through downtown shops or a visit to the art gallery.

Shuswap Pie Company is worth a stop for a savoury pie, a changing lunch special or a slice of something sweet. The bakery makes pies and other food in small batches, and its monthly lunch feature changes, so call or check its menu if you’re choosing your day around a particular dish. You can also take a whole pie along for a picnic or later in your stay.

Another downtown choice is Cahoots. Its Salmon Arm restaurant brings together barbecue, coffee, bakery items and brunch, with food from its kitchen and Little Red Hen Artisan Bakery. Check the current menu and hours to see what is on during your visit.

Dinner: choose the mood for the evening

For dinner by the harbour, book at Nineteen05 Kitchen & Raw Bar. Its menu includes fresh sushi and seafood as well as pasta, vegetarian options, steak and other mains. The lakeside location makes it a natural choice for a sunset meal; look at the current menu and make a reservation if you have a particular time in mind.

For a more casual downtown evening, Cahoots offers a different mix of barbecue, bakery and coffee-house flavours. Fork Seasons is another dinner option if you’re in the mood for Southeast Asian-inspired dishes. These are useful choices for a second night when you want to try another side of Salmon Arm’s food scene.

Explore Salmon Arm’s local wineries

Larch Hills Winery sits in the hills south of Salmon Arm, where the vineyard setting is part of the visit. The winery highlights its cool-climate wines and its signature Ortega. Check its visitor information before driving out, since tasting-room service and seasonal arrangements can change.

In Salmon Arm’s North Broadview area, Marionette Winery offers another way to spend an afternoon: guided tastings and vineyard tours, with a garden, lounge and patio that host food, wine and live-music events at different times of year. Visit Marionette Winery’s website for current tasting and event details.

For a short countryside drive, Recline Ridge Vineyards & Winery is in Tappen, outside Salmon Arm. Its setting and patio make it a pleasant addition to a wider Shuswap wine outing. Check Recline Ridge’s website for current visitor arrangements before you go.

For a safe and enjoyable tasting day, choose one or two stops, have a meal beforehand, bring water and decide on transportation before your first tasting. Winery appointments, opening hours and tasting options can vary by season.

See the wineries in photos and video

For current vineyard, wine and event photos, visit Marionette Winery on Instagram.

For a look at the vineyard landscape, watch this visitor-made tour of Larch Hills Winery, filmed in June 2024:

Make time for the Salmon Arm waterfront

After a meal, head to Marine Peace Park and walk out along the curved wooden wharf over Shuswap Lake. The view changes with the light: mountains across the water, boats in the harbour and the shoreline stretching back toward town. The wharf is an easy, memorable place for a stroll, photos or a quiet pause between plans.

If you want to keep walking, follow the Foreshore Raven Trail along the bay. For a higher view over the city and lake, drive to Little Mountain Park. On a warm day, continue to Canoe Beach for a swim, picnic or time on the water; check seasonal services and conditions before setting out. Salmon Arm Tourism has current ideas for trails, beaches and visitor stops.

A relaxed two-day Salmon Arm itinerary

Day one: downtown and the lake

• Morning: Have breakfast at Westgate Café or Nineteen05. If you want a less familiar brunch menu, try Fork Seasons.
• Late morning: Browse downtown and choose a casual lunch at Pink Cherry, Shuswap Pie Company or Cahoots.
• Afternoon: Walk Marine Peace Park’s wharf and continue along the foreshore. Add Canoe Beach if the weather is right.
• Evening: Have dinner at Nineteen05 for a waterfront setting, or pick Cahoots or Fork Seasons for a different menu.

Day two: wine country and a slow finish

• Morning: Start with breakfast or brunch in town, then check the wineries’ visitor information and reservations.
• Midday: Visit Larch Hills Winery and choose one other winery that fits your route, such as Marionette in Salmon Arm or Recline Ridge in Tappen.
• Afternoon: Leave time for a relaxed tasting, a scenic drive and a safe ride back to town.
• Evening: Return for dinner in Salmon Arm and take one more lakeside stroll if the light is good.

Quick tips for visiting Salmon Arm

• Check menus and hours directly before travelling, especially on holidays or outside the summer season.
• Reserve winery tastings or tours when the business recommends it.
• Plan a designated driver or other safe transportation before tasting wine.
• Build some open time into your day; the wharf, beach and downtown are best enjoyed without rushing.

With a good breakfast, a few independent food stops, a thoughtful winery route and time beside Shuswap Lake, a visit to Salmon Arm can feel full without feeling overplanned.

Discover local. Support local. Stay connected.