The Okanagan's Soma Cidery has opened the doors to its first restaurant and cidery in Kelowna located at 4485 Sallows Rd.
The building had previously been used to host weddings and other community events but has evolved into Soma's first restaurant and cidery - with a tasting room of course.
Michael Donley, Soma resident Cidermaker, explains that Soma's new building promotes community and family.
"This space is about creating a community for people to interact and enjoy arts . . . that's really the core values of what we're trying to do here."
The new restaurant will feature good cider-based eats - like the cider fish and chips, or pork belly made with cider - as well as the signature cider beverages and an Alpaca farm.
Yes. An Alpaca farm.
Donley also explained that Soma brings a farm-to-table ideology which sources items locally and puts it on your plate.
The apples used for the cider are grown in Kelowna and many of their signature ciders use local ingredients, including Soma's Honey Cider which gathers the nectar from Arlo's Honey Farm only a stone-throw away from the restaurant.
"We're really excited about the farm-to-table idea: we're growing, we're harvesting, we're crushing and we're fermenting to create something that celebrates the Okanagan," explained Donley.
Donley, as a cidermaker on the premises, was sure not to skip over their fermenting process, which he explains is similar to wine-making and deviates from the cider as a soda drink.
"A lot of the process we use is similar to wine-making, in fact, we have a winery license, what we're doing is fermenting apples and really mirrors the white winemaking process," he said, noting there will still be carbonation.
The restaurant and cidery is open Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
