Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

There don’t seem to be many of these reviews, so here is what I and the kids thought. From our biased opinion focused on good food, fast service and nice people mainly. Here are our top picks in rough order of restaurants:
“Mantles”:http://www4.deltahotels.com/hotels/hotelinfo.html?categoryId=2&hotelId=38. This is in the Delta Sun Peaks. They have got the friendliest people. Even let Grace tour the kitchen when we were waiting for dinner. The food is Pacific Northwest mainly. Dinner was a bit slow, but they are very busy. They have the typical chicken, fish, etc. I did try their Asian entree that reminded me of Thai a little, but was mainly good because it wasn’t just the usual meat and potatoes Northwest style. They have a nice, if expensive, brunch by the way. Kids under five eat free there and under 10 is half price (About $8 or so). They make omelets to order, but ask for a little extra cheese was Alex’s opinion. Best thing is all the fresh fruit which is hard to get at Sun Peaks.
*Bottoms*. There are a bunch of identical grills and pubs. We ate at Masas and didn’t get to Mackers this year. Bottoms has two things going for it. It is ski-in from the slopes, the food is nearly instantaneous. So get there at 1130AM and you’ll be sure to get a table. The kids cheeseburgers are full size by the way and a great bargain. For grownups, the veggie burgers and the cod burgers aren’t bad (although for our environmentally conscious kids, halibut would be a better choice than endangered cod or farm-raised salmon). This is a best as a lunch place we think. Masa’s is an alternative and their rice bowls as well as ski videos are good, but the service is really very slow, so not a great place to lunch and then hit the slopes again.
“Baggio’s”:http://www.baggiosristorante.com/. There is nothing like homemade pasta at the end of a long day. These folks have it and it is good. Alex actually ate nearly two whole meals. One of the Fettucini Alfredo and another of there rissotto. This is one place kids and grownups can love. Pretty fast service too which is great.
“Powder Hounds”:http://www.kamloopschamber.bc.ca/directory.php?mod=listing&cmd=browse&cat=59&scat=1209&id=1509&. This place is bavarian in theme and while not the fastest place, the kids loved the food. The favorites were the fresh 8 ounce halibut and the wiener schnitzel. Before you laugh, the schnitzel looks exactly like a gigantic dino-chicken and so was a great hit with the kids. They are not very fast though, so get there early and when you order, make sure they don’t delay the meal for the appetizer, just tell them to bring it all as fast as possible.
The Val. This restaurant has now converted into a fusion restaurant from a formal seafood restaurant, so beware. They have a good assortment of things like hoi sun noodles that adventurous eaters will like (although I found the sauce too heavy). This is a fancy place so beware that the quantities are smaller. The best thing though is that they have Jones Soda floats. Delicious for dessert and there is a kids size. Also their tempura plate isn’t too bad.
Finally, we have one non-recommendation for those with kids:
Servus at Creekside. No pun intended, don’t go there if you need fast service. They have a small kitchen, but more importantly, they do zero prep work. That is if you order potatoes, the very nice folks in the back will find a potatoe, peal it and start cooking from scratch. They have two sittings 5PM and 8PM and for us, getting there at 530PM, we didn’t get food until 730PM. It was delicious, but it takes a lot of time particularly if they are completely full. Wouldn’t recommend it for kids or hungry folks. And, as Connie points out, even 5-star restaurants like Rover’s will make sure that when you are ready your food is too. It is absolutely fresh and homemade, but just be prepared.
In terms of places we didn’t try, the new Japanese restaurant Toro’s looked interesting. It is where the Heffley Steakhouse used to be and it is an antidote to all that beef, chicken and fish that gets served.