Gourmet Dining Awaits at Vancouver Island’s Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge
Fresh-caught seafood and handcrafted cocktails pair with outdoor adventures.
At first glance, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge’s name does not evoke an endless series of superb gourmet meals. In the 1980s and 1990s, the area around the luxury adventure lodge on Vancouver Island’s west coast made international headlines during the Clayoquot Sound logging protests.
Yet today, a serene ambience prevails amid the huge western red cedars and Douglas firs in this UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve. For lodge guests, dining on elegant, locally inspired cuisine at the Cookhouse restaurant is as integral to a rejuvenating experience as listening to the wind, water, and birdsong while relaxing in a spacious waterfront canvas tent with First Nations artwork and Tofino Soap Company spa products.
To get here, it’s a scenic 45-minute flight in a Cessna float plane out of Vancouver International Airport’s South Terminal on the Fraser River. The 600-acre property—facing Bedwell Sound and surrounded by the Great Bear Rainforest—can also be reached by boat from Tofino. Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge joined the Australian-owned Baillie Lodges collection in 2021, received three Michelin keys in 2024, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025.
Chef Benjamin Godin, who grew up farther south on Vancouver Island in Victoria, takes pride in creating beautifully plated meals that draw on British Columbia’s bountiful fish, meat, and produce.
“The ethos of this place is to work off the land as much as possible, using what’s around us,” says Godin, who previously honed his craft at acclaimed eateries like Pidgin (Vancouver) and Allium (Ottawa). “That’s enjoyable as a chef. For example, we source all our beetroot and rutabagas from Michell’s Farm in Saanich. Tatlo Road Farm in Crofton is where we get our greens and garnishes. All our strawberries come from Krause Berry Farm in Langley.”
Signature dishes tap into the natural goodness of Canada’s Pacific coast. Spruce broth—an ingenious forest-ocean collaboration—is reminiscent of miso soup. Spruce tips boiled at 80°C for 16 hours yield a broth with lemon and citrus notes, served with seaweed caviar pearls. King salmon tartare is elevated with a zesty blend of bay leaf oil, mustard, capers, and Walla Walla sweet onions for a deceptively simple delicacy.
Artistry and ample portions go hand in hand here. Upon arrival at the lodge, you might tuck into a multicourse dinner featuring melt-in-your-mouth plates like pork belly with rhubarb and charred sablefish with clams and beurre blanc. You could easily fill up just on the homemade sourdough bread with salted butter. Or sample B.C.-made wines like a 2022 Burrowing Owl Sauvignon Blanc from the Okanagan Valley or a 2022 Averill Creek Pinot Gris from the Cowichan Valley.
A guided fishing expedition amid misty coastal mountains can furnish your next lunch. Go jigging one morning for copper rockfish in a 28-foot Grady-White boat with 225-horsepower Mercury four-stroke motors. With luck, you could spot a black bear on the shoreline, foraging for crabs and mussels. Odds are even better that you’ll reel in a couple of five-pound rockfish on Bedwell Sound and pull up teeming prawn traps to supplement your upcoming feast prepared by the Cookhouse staff. Fresh-caught grilled rockfish with lemon and butter puts any fish and chips you’ve ever ordered to shame.
Breakfast-wise, whether you are gearing up for an easy e-bike ride on forested trails or a challenging hike to nearby Penny Falls for a glacial plunge, the right fuel is essential. The Wanderers’ Roll—incorporating a fried egg, applewood bacon, tomato chutney, cheese, and greens—delivers hearty satisfaction. For some indulgence, there are decadent cinnamon buns in the breakfast buffet, along with berries, housemade muesli, and natural yogurt.
At the end of the day, cocktail hour can be as adventurous as you desire at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge. Book a Sip to Sky helicopter excursion, soaring 150 metres over the green-blue ocean in a Bell Jet Ranger before alighting on a nearby islet to enjoy champagne with local cheese and charcuterie. Or retire at sunset to The Ivanhoe—the contemporary waterfront lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor deck upstairs with fire pits—to sip your libation of choice. The Prosper Mine (gin infused with spruce tips, aperol, vermouth) offers a winning twist on a classic negroni. Beer lovers can try the Tofino Brewing Company’s Kelp Stout with notes of coffee and chocolate.
Should you ever feel that your culinary indulgences are outweighing your cardiovascular exercises, both the Healing Grounds Spa—including a massage tent, cedar hot tubs, and sauna—and a well-equipped gym with a rowing machine and elliptical trainer are just steps away.
The term “dream destination” is often tossed around too casually. Here, it fits. For anyone who seeks to satisfy both the stomach and the soul, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge offers a mouthwatering and captivating escape.
Photos courtesy of Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge.
