The Pointe Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Pointe Restaurant sits on a rocky headland at the Wickaninnish Inn, where the Pacific rolls in against ancient stone and the forest presses close to the glass. The setting is not backdrop — it is ingredient. Everything on the plate traces back to what lies just beyond the window.

A Kitchen Built on Place

Executive Chef Clayton Fontaine leads a culinary team whose sourcing reads like a map of the surrounding landscape. Kelp is harvested by hand from Clayoquot Sound. Chanterelles arrive from rainforest floors carrying the scent of cedar. Spot prawns come in from cold Pacific waters at dawn, sweet and translucent. Sea asparagus carries the brine of low tide; spruce tips and coastal botanicals add depth. A mushroom forager shows up with specimens still holding forest soil. A fisher delivers lingcod hours after it leaves the water. These are not poetic abstractions — they are the actual supply chain.

As Fontaine puts it: "Being close to nature, embracing the bounty it offers, and forging relationships with local farmers and foragers has taught me that the beauty of the coast lies in its sustainability and the unique treasures it holds."

The restaurant is a founding member of the Tofino Ucluelet Culinary Guild and works with partners like NAAS Foods and Get Wild to ensure seafood and foraged ingredients are sourced responsibly. The commitment shapes not just what appears on plates, but how the entire operation runs.

The Menus

Evening brings the full expression of this Canadian cuisine through a choice of a three-course Table d'Hôte or a five-course Tasting Menu, with wine pairings guided by the sommelier team. Both menus shift with the seasons — what the region offers at its peak is what gets cooked. Brunch and midday service celebrate the coast in a lighter register. The adjacent On the Rocks Bar offers a more relaxed setting for elevated bar fare: whole Dungeness crab, steaks, burgers, and a serious cheese selection, alongside BC wines and beers.

Howard's Wine Cellar

The wine program earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, a recognition that reflects the depth and intentionality Sommelier Ike Seaman has brought to a collection of over seven hundred labels. British Columbia wines anchor the list — small-production Okanagan estates, Vancouver Island expressions — with international selections from Burgundy to Barolo providing context and comparison. The cellar itself is a destination: three glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled rooms visible behind a twenty-foot table carved from yellow cedar with kelp inlay artwork by Claire Watson. The space, named for Dr. Howard McDiarmid and shaped by his son Charles, holds up to twenty guests for private wine-paired dinners and intimate gatherings.

The Whole of It

More than two decades of this Canadian cuisine's evolution are documented in The Wickaninnish Cookbook. The restaurant's reach extends to culinary classes and private events, but the core remains unchanged: technique and restraint in service of what the forest, tide, and season provide.