Restaurant in Tofino, Canada
Storm-season seafood with serious wine depth.
The Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn is Tofino's clearest answer for serious dining on the BC coast. With a 4.5-star Google rating, a White Star wine recognition, and an 850-selection cellar with 12,400 bottles, it operates well above the local baseline. At $$ cuisine pricing, it is accessible — and the Pacific-facing room in storm season makes the drive from Vancouver worth it.
If you have been to The Pointe before, the question on a return visit is not whether the kitchen still holds its standard — it is whether the season has given the team something new to work with. At a venue where Canadian seafood drives the menu and the Pacific Rim surrounds you on three sides, the answer changes with the tide, literally. The Pointe earns a 4.5 out of 5 on Google across 663 reviews and carries a White Star recognition from Star Wine List (published December 2021), which, combined with an 850-selection wine list and a 12,400-bottle inventory, signals a kitchen and cellar operating well above the typical Tofino baseline. Book it for dinner. If you are a returning guest, book it again — the room and the wine program reward the effort.
The Pointe sits within the Wickaninnish Inn property, a detail that matters when you are weighing the experience against comparable options in Tofino. The McDiarmid family has operated the venue for decades, which gives the dining room a continuity rare in a remote coastal town where staff turnover tends to run high. Chef Clayton Fontaine leads the kitchen, with Wine Director Ike Seaman and Sommelier Pablo Castro Fuentes managing a cellar weighted toward France, Canada, California, and Italy , the kind of depth you find at urban destination restaurants, not typically at the end of a logging road on Vancouver Island.
The cuisine pricing sits at $$, meaning a typical two-course meal (excluding tip and beverages) runs $40 to $65. That is reasonable for the setting and the wine program on offer, though your final bill will climb if you work through the cellar. Wine pricing is similarly mid-range ($$), with selections spanning well under $50 through to $100-plus bottles. The corkage fee, if you bring something special, is $75. Lunch and dinner are both served, which matters for trip planning: a lunch seating gives you the panoramic ocean views in full daylight, while dinner trades that for a more atmospheric room.
From a seasonal standpoint, The Pointe is a different proposition in summer versus winter. Tofino's storm-watching season runs October through March, and a dinner here during a Pacific swell, with the windows facing the surf, is a specific experience that summer visitors simply do not get. Conversely, summer brings the leading of the local seafood supply chain at peak freshness. Neither window is wrong , they are just different reasons to visit. If you are planning around Pacific storm season, note that the Wickaninnish Inn packages tend to sell out well in advance; the restaurant fills alongside the hotel.
The wine list's strength in Canadian selections is worth flagging for the food-and-wine traveller. British Columbia producers sit alongside the French and Italian heavy-hitters, giving the sommelier team genuine regional pairings to offer alongside local seafood. If you are the kind of diner who wants to eat BC salmon and drink BC wine in a room that looks out at the Pacific, The Pointe is one of the more logistically satisfying places in the country to do it. For comparable regional wine programming paired with serious Canadian cooking, see Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln or AnnaLena in Vancouver.
Compared to other Canadian seafood-forward destination restaurants, The Pointe sits in a mid-to-upper tier on price but does not attempt the tasting-menu formality of peers like Tanière³ in Quebec City or Alo in Toronto. That is a feature, not a gap. If you want a serious meal with a serious wine list in a room that justifies the drive to Tofino , without a multi-hour tasting menu format , this is the clearest answer in the region. For more of Canada's leading tables, the Tofino restaurants guide covers the full local picture alongside national context.
Reservations: Easy to book; advance booking is advisable during storm-watching season (October to March) and summer weekends when the Wickaninnish Inn fills. Meals: Lunch and dinner. Budget: $$ cuisine pricing ($40–$65 for two courses, excluding tip and beverages); $$ wine list with a $75 corkage fee. Wine list: 850 selections, 12,400 bottles; strengths in France, Canada, California, and Italy. Address: 500 Osprey Ln, Tofino, BC V0R 2Z0. Getting there: Tofino is a 4.5-hour drive from Victoria or roughly 30 minutes by floatplane from Vancouver. There is no public transit option; plan accordingly. Also in Tofino: hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.
Yes, with a clear qualification: the setting and wine program do the heavy lifting. The room faces the Pacific surf, the cellar runs to 12,400 bottles across serious French and Canadian selections, and the McDiarmid family's long ownership gives the service a consistency you do not always find at this price tier ($$ cuisine, $$ wine). For a milestone dinner where the backdrop matters as much as the plate, it delivers. If you need a tasting-menu format to mark the occasion, look at Alo in Toronto instead.
It works, particularly at lunch, when the room is lighter and the $$ cuisine pricing keeps the bill manageable solo. The wine-by-the-glass program across an 850-selection list gives solo diners something to work through. It is not a bar-seat counter experience , if solo dining energy matters to you, Tofino's more casual options will feel less formal. But for a solo traveller who wants a proper meal with serious wine on the BC coast, The Pointe is the clearest option in town.
No specific dietary restriction policies are confirmed in the available data. Given the seafood-forward Canadian menu and the venue's position within the Wickaninnish Inn, it is reasonable to expect the kitchen can accommodate standard requests, but confirm directly before booking. Contact details are not available in our current record , check via the Wickaninnish Inn's booking channels.
No formal dress code is confirmed in the available data. The venue's White Star wine recognition, Wickaninnish Inn setting, and $$ pricing suggest smart casual is appropriate and safe. Tofino is an outdoors-first town, but The Pointe's dining room is not a casual surf shack , dressing up slightly from your hiking gear is the right call, particularly for dinner.
Within Tofino, The Pointe is at the leading of the fine dining tier. For a full picture of what else the town offers, the Tofino restaurants guide covers current options across price points. If you are willing to leave the island for a comparable or higher-calibre experience, AnnaLena in Vancouver offers contemporary cooking at a similar price with a stronger urban wine scene around it.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in the available data. The venue operates within the Wickaninnish Inn and is primarily a sit-down restaurant with lunch and dinner service. Confirm bar availability directly when booking if that format matters to your visit.
Three things: first, the wine list is the strongest in Tofino and one of the more serious on the BC coast , 850 selections and 12,400 bottles with real depth in France and Canada. Second, the room faces the Pacific, so where you sit matters; ask for a window table. Third, the $$ cuisine pricing is accessible, but your bill will rise quickly if you engage the cellar properly. Go at lunch for daylight views, or in storm season (October to March) for the full atmospheric experience.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Pointe Restaurant | Canadian Seafood | The Pointe Restaurant is a restaurant in Tofino, Canada. It was published on Star Wine List on December 29, 2021 and is a White Star.; HIGHLIGHTS: • EXPRESSION OF THE TERROIR DIRECTIONS & ACCESS: Directions By car Adirondack Reg. Airport (SLK), # 186 & 30, Lake Clear, Saranac Inn Golf Club, 16 km to the left. By plane Saranac Lake 14 km By train Albany-Rensselaer 264 km GPS coordinates 44.3300 -74.1815 MEMBER SINCE: 4.9/5; WINE: Wine Strengths: France, Canada, California, Italy Pricing: $$ i Wine pricing: Based on the list\'s general markup and high and low price points:$ has many bottles < $50;$$ has a range of pricing;$$$ has many $100+ bottles Corkage Fee: $75 Selections: 850 Inventory: 12,400 CUISINE: Cuisine Types: Canadian Pricing: $$ i Cuisine pricing: The cost of a typical two-course meal, not including tip or beverages.$ is < $40;$$ is $40–$65;$$$ is $66+. Meals: Lunch and Dinner STAFF: People Wine Director: Ike Seaman Sommelier: Pablo Castro Fuentes Chef: Clayton Fontaine General Manager: Charles McDiarmid Owner: McDiarmid Family | Easy | — |
| Alo | Contemporary | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sushi Masaki Saito | Sushi, Japanese | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Aburi Hana | Kaiseki, Japanese | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| AnnaLena | $$$$ · Contemporary | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Don Alfonso 1890 | Contemporary Italian, Italian | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes — it's one of the stronger cases for a special-occasion dinner on Vancouver Island. The Wickaninnish Inn setting, the 850-label wine list recognised by Star Wine List, and Canadian seafood-focused cooking from Chef Clayton Fontaine give the meal enough ceremony to justify the occasion. At $$ for a two-course meal, the price point is accessible relative to comparable destination dining in Canada. Book well ahead during storm-watching season (October to March), when demand peaks.
It works for solo diners, though the format leans toward a sit-down table-service experience rather than a counter or bar-first setup. If you're travelling alone and want to eat well in Tofino at $$ pricing with access to a serious wine list — 850 selections, White Star-rated by Star Wine List — The Pointe is a sound choice. Ask about seating near the window if available, given the coastal setting of the Wickaninnish Inn property.
The venue data doesn't specify a dietary accommodation policy. Given the Canadian seafood focus under Chef Clayton Fontaine, pescatarian and seafood-forward diets are well-served by default. check the venue's official channels ahead of your visit — the general manager is Charles McDiarmid — to confirm options for plant-based, gluten-free, or allergy-specific requirements before you arrive.
The venue data doesn't state a dress code. The Pointe sits inside the Wickaninnish Inn, a destination property known for a relaxed coastal character rather than formal dress expectations. A neat, polished-casual approach fits the context — think clean layers rather than a suit. Avoid anything beachwear-adjacent given the $$ price point and table-service format.
Tofino's dining scene is compact. For a more casual seafood-forward meal at a lower price point, local spots along the waterfront serve the same Pacific ingredients without the Wickaninnish Inn setting. If you're weighing The Pointe against a destination-level Canadian dining experience elsewhere in BC, AnnaLena in Vancouver operates at a similar price register with a stronger creative edge, though it lacks the coastal scenery context entirely.
Bar seating availability isn't confirmed in the venue data. The Wickaninnish Inn property does include lounge and bar areas, but whether walk-in bar dining at The Pointe itself is an option isn't documented here. Contact the McDiarmid family-run property directly to confirm before planning a drop-in visit, particularly during peak season.
The Pointe is inside the Wickaninnish Inn at 500 Osprey Lane — you are booking a destination meal, not a neighbourhood drop-in. It serves lunch and dinner at $$ pricing, which makes it more accessible than its setting implies. Wine Director Ike Seaman and Sommelier Pablo Castro Fuentes oversee a 850-bottle list with strong Canadian, French, and Californian depth, so it rewards pairing engagement. Advance reservations are the move, especially between October and March when storm-watching brings heavy Wickaninnish Inn occupancy.
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