How Miradoro Became an Okanagan Dining Destination
Fifteen years in the restaurant industry is a long time to hold a room, and an even longer time to keep a community coming back for more.
At Miradoro, that commitment has a setting to match — a bright, airy dining room where black lantern pendants hang from warm wood ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows pour afternoon light across a full house of guests, and the signature timber beams of the architecture reach skyward just beyond the glass.
When the sun begins its descent over the South Okanagan, the valley below shifts from green to gold — vineyards and farmland rolling toward the blue-grey silhouette of the mountains, the terrace open to all of it. The setting alone would be enough to draw people in. That it has kept them coming back, season after season, speaks to something far more deliberate — a kitchen, a cellar, and a team that have grown together with the land beneath them.
This past spring, Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards marked the milestone with an anniversary dinner that drew loyal regulars and first-time guests alike to one of British Columbia’s most distinctive winery dining destinations. It is a destination shaped by place, anchored by philosophy, and driven by a kitchen that takes the land it sits on seriously.
For Executive Chef Jeff Van Geest, the evening was deeply personal. He has been at Miradoro since 2010, building a menu that draws directly from the region around him — from the local foragers who arrive at the kitchen door, to the small on-site garden that supplies seasonal herbs.
His culinary foundation, forged during his years at Bishop’s restaurant in Vancouver and later at his own Aurora Bistro, has always centred on the relationship between the farmer and the chef.
Estate Manager Jesse Collins captured the spirit of the occasion simply: “It is an honour to celebrate 15 amazing years with Chef Jeff, Manny and the whole team at Miradoro. This restaurant has been a place for the community to connect for many years, sharing laughs and celebrating the bounty of the South Okanagan.”
The anniversary menu told its story in courses. Guests arrived to a reception poured with the current release Gewurztraminer — a fresh, springy opening that set the evening’s tone and carried through the first course with the same aromatic ease.
The second course marked a deliberate shift in register. Van Geest reached into the cellar for a long-cellared 2005 2 Bench White — a golden, still-vibrant aromatic white blend from Tinhorn Creek’s library offerings. It arrived alongside a seared Hokkaido scallop, sweet and complex in equal measure, a pairing that spoke quietly to what fifteen years of kitchen and cellar collaboration can produce.
The evening closed with something few guests had encountered before: a preview pour of the not-yet-released 2025 Moscato Frizzante. Inviting and refreshing, it paired beautifully with a lemon crema and crunchy lavender sablé — a final course that felt both celebratory and quietly forward-looking. Collins reflected on the intention behind the wine selections: “We carefully selected the line up of wines for this evening, aiming to highlight our winemaking journey over the past several decades. The pairings told a beautiful story of where we came from, what our focus is today, and also what the future holds for Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.”
Miradoro sits within Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, a winery with over thirty years of winemaking history on the Golden Mile Bench — British Columbia’s first official sub-appellation, recognized in 2015. Tinhorn Creek became Canada’s first certified carbon-neutral winery in 2007, a distinction that aligns naturally with the restaurant’s own commitment to sustainable, locally sourced ingredients.
The wine list, anchored by the estate’s own bottles and bolstered by library selections, provides an ideal counterpart to Van Geest’s kitchen: structured, mineral-driven whites from the Tinhorn Creek Vineyard, and bold, opulent reds from the Diamondback Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench across the valley. Vancouver Magazine awarded Miradoro its Gold Medal for Best Winery/Vineyard Dining for five consecutive years — 2012 through 2016 — a recognition that reflects not only the quality of the food, but the singular experience of the room itself.
That experience extends well beyond the dining room this summer. Tinhorn Creek’s Sunset Concert Series returns to its outdoor amphitheatre with three live performances framed by vineyard views and golden hour skies: Antonio Larosa, The Matinee, and Juno Award-winning indie rock band Dear Rouge closing out the season.
The 2025 Moscato Frizzante, previewed at the anniversary dinner, will also become available to wine club members this summer — another reason to plan a return visit.
For anyone making the journey to the South Okanagan, the logic writes itself. Arrive for a long, unhurried lunch at Miradoro — the two-course option a leisurely entry point into the kitchen — then carry that ease into an evening of live music under an open sky. Or reverse the order entirely. Either way, one experience becomes two, and a day trip quietly becomes a weekend.
Open from March through December, Miradoro continues to earn its place as a destination in its own right. The anniversary is simply a reminder of how rare that truly is.