Kelowna is rocking its new 'UNESCO City of Gastronomy' designation by being named one of the 'top 15 places to eat in the world in 2026'.
Eater.com, part of the VOX food and drinks media empire, that has 5 million monthly visits to its website and 4 million YouTube subscribers, compiled the top-15 list.
"When picking the best travel destinations for dining this year, we looked for outstanding restaurants and laso to people who ardently endorse them," said Eater.com editor Nick Mancall-Bitel.
"These destinations leave little doubt that there's great eating ahead this year."
Kelowna came onto Eater.com's radar when Portland-based freelancer Zoe Baillargeon came to the Okanagan in the summer of 2025 as part of an Iconic Wineries of BC and Destination BC familiarization trip.
Baillargeon was wined and dined and pitched Kelowna to Eater.com as one of the best dining destinations for 2026.
"In 2025, for the first time, UNESCO recognized one place in Canada as a Creative City of Gastronomy," wrote Baillargeon for the top-15 list.
"It wasn’t Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver, but Kelowna, a town of roughly 165,000 in British Columbia."
During her trip to Kelowna, Baillargeon rated restaurants Kin & Folk downtown, Wildling in the North End, The Terrace at Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna and Home Block at Cedar Creek Winery in Kelowna.
The two wineries are part of the Iconic Wineries of BC along with Martin's Lane in Kelowna; Liquidity in Okanagan Falls; and CheckMate, Road 13 and Red Barn in Oliver.
The Jammery was recommended for breakfast and the North End for craft breweries, cheesemongers and butchers.
"Canadians instantly understood (why Kelowna was awarded the UNESCO designation)," said Baillargeon' "Surrounded by family farms, peach orchards, forageable forests, fish-filled lakes, and 200-odd wineries in the Okanagan Valley — which supplies many of Vancouver’s best restaurants — Kelowna is smack-dab in the farm-to-table heartland."
Baillargeon also praised Indigenous input.
"The Westbank First Nation, who call the area home, collaborated on the UNESCO application, reflecting the region’s roots in Indigenous foodways, which local businesses like Okanagan Select Salmon and Kekuli Cafe carry on," she added.
Tourism Kelowna said inclusion in the Eater.com list "amplifies the global momentum of Kelowna's UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation."
Eater.com's 'top 15 places in the world to eat list' doesn't rank destinations, but rather lists them alphabetically.
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