The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry is the re-branded signature restaurant at Spirit Ridge Resort that opened in 2019. The restaurant sits on the land of the Syilx People of the Osoyoos Indian Band so it is only natural to pay homage to their history.  Executive Chef Murray does that by creating a menu of “modern vineyard cusine inspired by our Indigenous roots”. The inspiration behind the restaurant’s name comes from the legend of the Four Food Chiefs  - Skimxist (Bear),  Ntytikxw(Salmon), Speetlum (Bitteroot), and Seeya (Saskatoon Berry) - a chaptik story passed down through the generation of the Sylix People.

My family and I had dinner here during our stay at the Residents at Spirit Ridge. We originally had a table reserved out on the beautiful terrace but it was a scorching 33 degrees out that day, so we moved into the much more comfortable air conditioned dining room. The expansive terrace is incredible with the views. If you can handle the heat, I’d recommend a table outside.

For drinks, our lovely waiter suggested the Summer Peach Cocktail. It was light and so refreshing. I don’t recall what was in it but it was good - so good I had a second one.

Everything on the menu looked and sounded so enticing it was difficult to choose! We decided to start with the Salmon Platter and West Coast Diver Scallops. The Salmon Platter included maple candied salmon, smoked salmon, beet cured gravlax, capers, assorted pickles, grainy mustard and crackers. This was a great starting dish for myself and my hubby to share with our two boys. I loved the maple candied salmon with the hint of sweet and salty. It was a nice light appetizer to kick off our meal.

Our other shared dish was the West Coast Diver Scallops: sear scallops, smoked soubise, sunchoke, chives, and fried arugula. The scallops were amazing. Perfectly cooked and such a unique way to prepare them. Each scallop is $9 so order as many as you would like. I could have easily eaten several more!

For the entrées we went with the Pacific Halibut, Lucky Ducky and Bison Ribeye. The Lucky Ducky is a barbecued duck breast with celeriac slaw, warm kale, parsnip gnocchi, grilled corn bread and berry wojape. If you love duck as much as I do, I recommend ordering this. The mix of salty, savoury and sweet flavours as well as the use of seasonal vegetables makes this a great choice. The duck was prepared to a medium rare. My husband isn’t a huge fan of duck but even he enjoyed the (big!) bite he took.

My very lucky foodie sons got to share a wonderful pacific halibut. The pan seared halibut was served on a chestnut pappardelle pasta with peas, chorizo, spinach, and white onion velouté. The halibut and pasta were an interesting combination in a very good way. The halibut was moist and flaky. I have never had chestnut pasta before and quite liked it. The portions of this entrée were generous. More than enough for my two boys to share.

My husband’s entrée was the 10oz Bison Ribeye . It was served with duck fat potato tostones, WTF mushrooms, hay roasted carrots, kale and spruce demi glaze. The bison was tasty and with a great mix of vegetables.

While I was pretty stuffed, I couldn’t pass up dessert so I went with something light. The CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-Cherry Bomb - trio of sorbet. House made white peach, cherry, and apricot sorbet with a sour cherry consommé. Made from local Okanagan fruits the flavours were so refreshing. The perfect dessert to end a fantastic meal.

I would not hesitate to order the scallops, duck and halibut again. Each dish was uniquely crafted, flavourful and beautifully presented. I tried each of the entrees and was impressed by all of them.

Overall we had a wonderful night. Great service, fine dining cuisine in a casual setting all add up to a fantastic experience here at The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry.

The Bear, The Fish, The Root, The Berry Restaurant
1200 Rancher Creek Road.
Osoyoos, BC.

Disclosure: Media Visit.