Named after Greywolf Golf Course’s famous sixth hole, Cliffhanger is a lovely new restaurant and steakhouse at Panorama Mountain Resort with a casual atmosphere and delicious food.

After a friendly greeting, we were seated at a generously sized table in the dining room. So many restaurants have tables that seem to be too small and packed in tightly — it was really nice to have some elbow room!

We became quite nostalgic recalling sitting in the sun on the deck of the old clubhouse where we had watched deer stroll across the greens as if on cue and were greeted by strangers who spoke glowingly about the resort.

It’s a lovely memory, but the long-awaited new clubhouse offers beautiful wood beam architecture with stunning floor-to-ceiling windows. Its modern, clean design offers panoramic views of the golf course and the mountain scenery, making for a dining experience you won’t soon forget!

As for the new deck… it’s huge and it’s going to be “the” spot to be this summer.

The menu is small, but it covers just about anything you could want. They also have a kids’ menu and the kids in the room seemed to enjoy their dinners. Our group started with a couple of appetizers and a well-priced bottle of wine. Everything came quickly, and both the food and the wine were very good. We appreciated the extra plates passed around for sharing as well as the team of people taking care of us.

The Aranchini is a plate of golden-fried Risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese and served with a savoury tomato broth. We also sampled the Crab Cakes, which are fried until crispy and served with a chunky caper dill remoulade and a refreshing fennel mint slaw. Each sampling had nice fresh flavours all working together.

Next, our mains. Two orders of Linguini Salamone were gobbled up despite the generous portions served. The perfectly cooked linguini noodles were tossed in a light lemon cream sauce with smoked salmon, red onion, arugula and topped with grilled asparagus and fresh parmesan.

The creamy Saffron & Mussel Risotto was finished off with a saffron reduction and served with fresh steamed mussels in a tomato broth. In a word, the verdict was “excellent.” This was stated more than once! The only thing missing was some crusty bread to sop up the savoury broth. That was quickly corrected with an order of garlic toast.

Finally… the Goat Cheese & Bacon Stuffed Chicken entrée. As the name suggests, chicken is stuffed with goat cheese and bacon, seared and then roasted until golden and crispy.  It’s served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, beets, grilled asparagus and a light lemony cream sauce. It, too, was excellent.

Every morsel evaporated from our plates. Hard to believe, but we were so busy eating that there was actually wine left in the bottle when we were done!

We didn’t have room, but for the sake of letting you know about the desserts, we managed to share a piece of chocolate almond tart. It lived up to the rest of our experience… decadent rich chocolate cake with layers of caramel and a hint of salt. Very yummy. The only thing that would have made the dessert better was a cup of fresh brewed coffee.

The food, atmosphere and service at Cliffhanger were all first rate. It’s totally awesome to have a restaurant of this calibre on the hill! Check it out soon.

Cliffhanger Restaurant is located at Greywolf Golf Course, which is about one kilometre from Panorama Mountain Resort down Greywolf Drive. Call 250-341-4102.

The Valley Echo’s team of mystery diners are constantly seeking out new restaurants and eateries to review.