Salt Spring Island, BC is known for its sustainable farming and locally grown food. Every Tuesday you will find locals sourcing the freshest produce at the farmers market. Organic and locally grown ingredients combined with the island's creative flair make for some delicious eateries. We list the 23 best restaurants on Salt Spring Island, each for a unique reason. You will find most restaurants in Ganges, since it's the main hub of Salt Spring.
Planning a trip to the island? Check out the best accommodation on Salt Spring Island for a weekend getaway and our list of 21 fun things to do on the island.
Top Restuaurants on Salt Spring Island |
Best Restaurants in Salt Spring Island
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1. Best for a date night: House Piccolo
House Piccolo is a quaint upscale restaurant in Ganges serving West Coast-Finnish cuisine. It’s located in a heritage building and has a cozy atmosphere making it ideal for a date night. The must try items on the menu are the Wiener Schnitzel and Salmon Chowder Finlandia Soup.
Some nights they feature lamb rib chops, which are absolutely delicious. There is something special about the lamb on Salt Spring and you have taste it to know what we're talking about!
Must try: wiener schnitzel, salmon chowder & lamb rib chops
2. Best for a unique setting: Tree House Cafe
Located in a wooden heritage cottage with a large plum tree as its centrepiece, Tree House Cafe is a fun place to grab some lunch. It gets busy in summer, but the wait is worth it to dine in the treehouse.
Must try: Grilled halloumi gyro wrapped in fresh warm naan bread
3. Best for a relaxed vibe: Beachside Cafe
For harbour views with a relaxed vibe, head to Beachside Cafe. In the back you will find picnic tables overlooking the Ganges waterfront. The cafe has excellent smoothie bowls topped with fresh fruit that is refreshing for a hot summer's day. On Saturdays they feature live music.
Must try: smoothie bowls
4. Best for a picnic: Salt Spring Vineyards
Have a wine tasting at Salt Spring Vineyards and pick out your favourite bottle to enjoy at one of the picnic tables overlooking the vineyard. The winery also sells picnic items like cheese and meats, so you can have yourself a delicious picnic.
Must try: Grab some Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese and pair it with their champagne style Karma wine.
5. Best for cheap eats: any of the food trucks!
Have a food crawl and try out the delicious food trucks in Ganges. You will find tacos, poutine, falafels and other comfort foods.
6. Best for fine dining: Hastings House
7. Best for Italian: Auntie Pestos
Step inside the cozy eatery to enjoy mouthwatering Italian cuisine and seasonal specialities. Their pasta is homemade and they are proud to support local producers.
We particularly love the ambience and jazz music that plays. It's great spot for a date or if you're with a group of friends. We always take our friends here.
Must try: seafood dill alfredo and beef carpaccio
8. Best for sushi: Express Sushi 2 Go
This takeout restaurant serves fresh sushi on par with the best sushi joints in Vancouver. Bring takeaway back to your Airbnb and enjoy it with some island views. Don't forget to pick up some sake from the liquor store!
Must try: spicy salmon roll and crunch roll
9. Best for sandwiches: Buzzy's Luncheonette
This Jewish deli serves up delicious Montreal smoked meat sandwiches on fresh marble rye. The sandwiches are mouthwatering and one of a kind! You can either take away or grab one of the few tables inside or outside. It's a convenient place to stop for lunch after browsing the Saturday Market. Just make sure to get there before they run out of meat!
Must try: The Hungry Jew or the Rabinowitz
10. Best for comfort food: Salt Spring Inn
Salt Spring Inn is also a great choice for accommodation. It's great value and located right in the heart of Ganges.
Must try: crispy cod burger (ask for extra tartar sauce!)
11. Best for coffee: Switch Board Cafe
Tucked away on a side street in Ganges, Switchboard Cafe is a quirky spot serving coffee from 49th Parallel and tasty baked goods. It's a lovely place to start your morning on their outside patio.
12. Best for breakfast: Barb's Buns, Dagwoods Diner or Salt Spring Inn
Barb's Buns is the best spot if you're looking for a quick bite. They have delicious fresh baked goods and sizeable breakfast sandwiches. Try one of their sourdough cheese twists, the perfect salty hangover treat.
Dagwoods Diner is the best spot if you're looking for a classic greasy spoon diner. It's great value and a favourite with locals. We usually go for their breakfast special or eggs benedict.
Salt Spring Inn is the best spot if you're looking for a country style breakfast including buttermilk pancakes or buttermilk waffles. On Sundays they serve breakfast until 2pm and have extra options like a traditional eggs benedict or a crab cake bennie. If you're up for it, you can start off your Sunday with a mimosa!
13. Best for daytime drinks: Salt Spring Wild Cider House
Salt Spring Wild Cider House is not only our favourite place to drink cider, but also our favourite spot to have lunch. The huge outdoor space with picnic tables overlooks the farm, making it a great spot for a sunny day. The items on the menu are perfect for sharing and light enough that you won't have to lie down from a food coma after.
We recommend trying a flight of ciders. There are up to 10 to try! Our favourites are the bitter orange-rosemary, farmhouse scrumpy, plum and elder flower/elderberry.
Too cold to sit outside? Salt Spring Wild Cider has an indoor dining room with great tunes. Their menu changes frequently and we are always delighted by the new arrivals. For small plates we love their mezze platter, roast aubergine with whipped feta and pan-friend scallops. For larger plates, our favourites are the pan-seared wild coho with chimichurri and jerk chicken. Yum!
Must try: mezze platter & jerk chicken
14. Best locals pub: Moby's Pub
Moby's Pub is the best locals bar where you can listen to live music, have a few cold beverages and order pub favourites. Ari's favourite dish is their 18 Hour BBQ Brisket. Kitchen hours are from 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM.
15. Best for food made-from-scratch: Rock Salt
Down south in the quaint village of Fulford Harbour you will find Rock Salt. Their delicious food is all made from scratch and focusses on local ingredients. They have a dining room with 180° ocean views and a cafe where you can order food to go. This is great if you need to catch the ferry nearby. The best quick treat to grab is their cheese bun stuffed with different daily ingredients, like pulled pork and mushrooms.
Must try: Cider braised pulled pork burger served on a potato bun
16. Best for Mexican: Dos Amores Tortilleria
The newly opened Dos Amores Tortilleria produces fresh corn tortillas and serves mouthwatering Mexican food through their takeout window. The head chef was born and raised in Mexico, so it's a real treat trying authentic Mexican dishes like Chilaquiles, fried tortillas simmered in a delicious sauce containing salsa roja, crema, feta, onion and cilantro with pinto beans.
Must try: Deb's Carnitas (Pork) Taco and Mushroom Pibil Taco
17. Best for Pizza: True Love Pizza
At last, the pizza place we've been waiting for on Salt Spring - wood-fired, bubbly sour-dough crust with creative toppings that all come together to make the perfect pie. Try the Wise Guy, an olive-oil base pizza with house made lemon & fennel sausage, roasted onions and aged mozza. It's absolutely delicious!
Must try: Wise Guy
18. Best for the sunset: Seaside Restaurant
Seaside Restaurant is one of the best spots to see the sunset. Grab a spot on the outdoor patio and take in stunning views of the ocean and Vancouver Island across the way. Seaside Restaurant is known for their tasty fish & chips. You can choose from fresh-battered halibut, cod or haddock.
19. Best for live music with a view: Oyster Catcher
If it's a nice day, head over to Oyster Catcher to take in stunning waterfront views on their large outdoor patio. During summertime the restaurant has live music everyday of the week starting at 6PM. Enjoy listening to cheerful classics and take in the island vibes. Don't go if you're in a rush - it's a busy spot, so service can be slow at times.
Must try: Salt Spring mussels
20. Best for cheese lovers: Salt Spring Island Cheese Cafe
During summertime, Salt Spring Island Cheese Farm opens up their cafe and outdoor terrace. Order one of their speciality pizzas, like their truffle chevre pesto pizza, and sit at a picnic table in the back overlooking the farm and cute goats. For dessert don't miss ordering their chevre cheesecake.
The kitchen is open from 11AM-4PM, however their pizzas and cheesecake can run out beforehand on busy days.
Must try: any of their pizzas with goat cheese
21. Best for Middle Eastern: Woodshed Provisions Food Truck
In the quaint village of Fulford Harbour you will find the Woodshed Provisions food truck serving up delicious dishes like their falafel bowl and sabich bowl, an Arab dish made with roasted eggplant, tahini, and tomato-cucumber salad. So tasty! Their dishes are seasonally inspired and they use local harvested produce. We love picking up one of their Sabich bowls and taking it to Ruckle Provincial Park nearby for a picnic!
Must try: Sabich bowl
22. Best for cocktails & dancing: Mateada
Mateada is one of Salt Spring Island's hottest new spots. The lounge features live music, creative cocktails and tasty bites, and has a funky ambience with its rich textures, coloured lighting and ornate woodwork.
Outside of their creative cocktail selection, Mateada serves a unique selection of non-alcoholic drinks, like kombucha and yerba mate served in a traditional gourd. Their food is easy for sharing and includes plant-based and gluten free options.
We saw The Della Kit with David Morin perform a groovy set of jazz-inspired neo-soul songs. The atmosphere was lively and a ton of fun. About half-way through, almost everyone got up to dance on the dance floor in front of the stage.
Mateada hosts different styles of music from Thursdays-Saturdays, so don't miss checking out their list of events!
Top Tip: Arrive 30 minutes before the show starts to order food before the kitchen closes and to get a good seat. You can purchase your ticket online in advance, but tables are not assigned.
23. Best for a party vibe: Cassette
Cassette is Salt Spring's newest bar located in a former 1950s gas station, where old Top 40 hits from artists like Kanye West play over the lively indoor and outdoor space. Its picnic tables can accommodate larger groups, so it's a good place to go if you're spending a weekend with friends. It's not the kind of place where you want to take your parents, unless you want to hear them complain about the music volume.
The specialties here are the fried-chicken sandwiches and slushy margarita-style cocktails. The menu may be small, but the food is tasty. Expect long wait times for the food, since it comes out of a food truck.
Start planning your trip to Salt Spring
- 🏡 Accommodation: see our list of the best Airbnbs and hotels in Salt Spring
- 🍷 Fun activities: see our list of the top 21 things to do in Salt Spring Island
- ⛴ Book your ferry: BC Ferries
- 🚗 Car rental: see Rentalcars.com to compare car rental prices across different companies.
- 🛫 Flights: see the Kayak tool to compare flights (includes float planes)
- 🏥 Travel insurance: World Nomads. Already traveling? You can purchase insurance with World Nomads while you're abroad. A 48-hour waiting period just applies for coverage.
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