Bourbon Street Bar & Grill

A bar and grill carries a double job, and the two halves pull in different directions. Early in the evening it is a place to eat, with tables turned over for families and for people coming off a shift. Later it becomes somewhere to sit with a drink and watch whatever is on the screens. Kitchens in this line usually build a menu that works both ways: shareable plates and things you eat with your hands, alongside something served with a knife and fork for the people who came specifically to have dinner.

Vernon runs on four real seasons and hospitality here follows them closely. Summer evenings fill up as the beaches empty out. Winter brings a different rhythm, quieter midweek and busier after the ski hill on the skyline has had fresh snow. A phone call ahead is the simple move if you are bringing a group, want a table before something else you are going to, or need to know whether the kitchen is still serving late. Worth asking whether they take reservations at all, since plenty of rooms in this trade seat walk-ins only and would rather you just turned up at the door.