Restaurants
Elma
About Elma
Eating within reach of the water is most of the appeal of a summer evening in this part of the valley. Elma is at 994 Lakeshore Dr W, along the strip that follows Okanagan Lake at the north end of Penticton.
Restaurants near a beach live on a steep seasonal curve. The summer months are full and fast, the winter months are slower and more local, and hours often move between the two. Reservations, patio seating and how long a wait runs on a warm evening are the things to settle in advance, along with whether a larger group can be accommodated on a night when the whole city seems to be out at once. A lakeside patio also depends on its own outdoor liquor approval separate from the room inside, which is part of why some waterfront restaurants offer one and others keep seating indoors only.
Getting here on foot is realistic from most of downtown, since the beaches sit only a few blocks from Main Street, and that is the better plan in high season. Parking near the lakefront tightens considerably in July and August, and the Peach Festival in the middle of August fills the waterfront for days. Outside those weeks the same walk is quiet, the lake is still there, and a table is a much simpler proposition. Okanagan Lake itself draws boat traffic all summer, and the beaches along this stretch fill early on a hot afternoon, well before the dinner rush begins.
Visiting Elma
Getting there
In the Downtown Penticton neighbourhood of Penticton.
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