SALTY CARAMEL || This Lakeside Vegan Cafe is Lake Country's Best-Kept Secret
“We’d love to grab a coffee after brunch, where should we go?”
This was the question we posed to our server at BLOCK ONE Restaurant at the 50th Parallel Estate Winery. She enthusiastically recommended a nearby vegan cafe, where we must try the vegan brownies and the sticky buns. As we got up to leave we heard the same cafe recommended by another staff member at the wine tasting bar to a couple also looking for a cup of coffee for their midday pick me up. We heard in passing “you should really hit up Salty Caramel it’s a cafe just by the water…”
Needless to say, we wasted no time hopping into our car to drive over to Salty Caramel. Nestled within a quiet residential neighbourhood along a winding road hugging the shores of the lake, the cafe is an apt spot for locals to grab their morning coffee and pastries.
Next to a paddle board and canoe rental shop, the cozy cafe’s counter seating faces out to the water, making it the perfect spot to gaze at the water and zone out over scrumptious baked goods — an activity we were all too happy to engage in.
Grab a seat inside in the comfortably cushioned benches on a rainy day, but head outside to the cute patio tables and covered area on a sunny summer day.
You will have a hard time deciding what to pick from the vegan pasty display.
Enjoy the sun on the patio.
The semi-covered area offers bar and sofa seating. The bar seating is perfect to gaze out to the trees.
The day had just started to warm up, so we grabbed our iced coffees, gluten-free cream cheese brownie and blueberry granola sticky bun and settled into the outdoor counter seating. The cafe was bustling on a weekday afternoon, with brunch plates being served to our left and right, as more visitors dropped in for their tasty vegan dishes. Those who love the sun can grab a spot on the patio where cute tables and benches are available for you to catch up with friends over a tasty Salty Caramel Latte.
This gluten-free cream cheese brownie served as my snack throughout the day and stayed moist and crumbly even when I stole my last bites after dinner!
The gluten-free cream cheese brownie is so decadent and moist, and it stays that way for the whole day even after I left it out on the kitchen counter. The blueberry granola sticky bun is fluffy and soft, with crunchy granola on top and the sweet yet tarty flavours of the blueberries in every bite. These two items should already be enough to send you running for your car if you’re visiting Kelowna.
The to die for blueberry granola sticky bun.
We grabbed a spot on the counter facing the beach.
After enjoying a few bites of our pastries, we picked up our goodies and strolled across the street to take in the early summer sunshine and lakeside breeze. Pebble Beach Park is just a minute’s walk away from the cafe, where one can enjoy a peaceful paddle boarding session on the quiet water. We saw a few children playing at the beach, skipping stones across the water.
We chose to go for a short walk on a path framed by soaring trees, which makes you feel like you’re in the heart of a forest but the lake it on one side and the road is just on the other side of the trees. We saw locals walking their dogs and friends, much like us, on the path with their coffees in hand. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.
We’d love to come back next summer to try their brunch dishes — until then, our memories of the lovely pastries will have to do!
Pebble Beach Park is just across the street and a minute’s walk from Salty Caramel.
VISIT
11407 Okanagan Centre Rd W, Lake Country, BC
Photography by Florence Leung
