Small plates and big hearts at this new tapas restaurant

The tantalizing smell of Mediterranean cooking makes it hard to walk by this newly opened restaurant in Kelowna.

Habibi Tapas Grill has recently opened in Kelowna’s Landmark district, offering unique cuisine to customers.

Milling around the restaurant, taking food to customers and assisting staff, are spouses and owners, Bassem Jawhari and Selina Kersey. The pair recently relocated from Calgary.

“This was something me and my spouse have kind of come up with to try something as a traditional Lebanese cuisine and to bring it as traditional as we can here to Kelowna,” Jawhari told Kelowna10.

Further motivating the pair, Kersey said, was the severe lack of ethnic foods in Kelowna. She and her spouse decided to give it a go and open their own restaurant to fill the void.

“Kelowna has opened its arms and we couldn’t be more grateful,” she said. “It’s been busy, and each week we get a little bit busier than the week before. So, it's truly been great.”

Habibi offers a unique menu of traditional Mediterranean and Lebanese dishes, all curated from fresh seasonal produce sourced from local Kelowna farmers.

“Our Smoky Baba ghanoush is probably one of the most popular Meze items,” Kersey explained. “For those a little bit more adventurous, the Makdous, which is a pickled stuffed eggplant with walnut.”

The restaurant also proudly displays their desserts, which Kersey said are all made in-house with great love and talent.

The owners plan on expanding in the future, hoping to open more locations around British Columbia to be able to share their food and motto of ‘small plates, big hearts’ with a wider audience.

“We want to bring it out to most of British Columbia to enjoy,” Jawhari explained. “We’re just happy to be here and be around everyone in B.C.”