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There are plenty
o’ clubs in Whistler with variety and styles to match.
It’s big and it’s in the basement. The newest member of Whistler
nightclubbery has been evolving its mix of entertainments. A stage
as big as the Prairies has already attracted some heavy hitting
musical acts. A décor evocative of Switzerland featuring log cabins
borrowed from the Alps provide any number of nooks for kooks. More
than just a bar, the AlpenRock has loads of king-sized video games,
pool tables, a 10-pin bowling alley and a bevy of mini five-pin
lanes. Family friendly, too. Rock on.
All three are as one, the outdoor sidewalk cafes of each blending
seamlessly to anchor one corner of Whistler’s Village Square and
around and up the Village Stroll. Plunked at one of the wee tables
outside, you can gaze upon the moveable feast that is Resort
Whistler. Each has its own sense of wacked-out décor, with the
Brass going for something Paris-ish, La Boca going for
god-knows-what, and the Amsterdam offering up an old-world-weary red
brick and dark wood café/pub theme.
Size doesn’t matter. Okay so it’s too tiny for a pool table,
much less a dance floor, but it’s the kind of cosy bar you always
thought you’d like to run yourself. The smallest lounge in
Whistler seats 20 comfy souls and makes for a nice place to deke in
for a quiet tete a tete.
Proceed to the windowed east corner under the TV. From here you can
see up Whistler Mountain, left over to Blackcomb Mountain, and down
on fellow visitors shambling along to points unknown. Sitting at the
bar is good, too, but the view is limited to a delicious row of
scotches, and we can't be having that, eh?
Whistler's oldest bar, aka "the local’s livingroom."
Stalwart purveyor of live music of all sorts. And on alternate days,
the ballet. The Boot’s best seat is at the bar stool to the left
of the one right on the corner of the bar rail. Face the bar and
it's as if you have your very own TV to watch the hockey wars. Spin
around and you get a high sightline at the extreme sport vidz
flashing on the big screen. For the "ballet"-minded, this
best seat is, well, the best seat there is. When the music action is
live and on stage, your best seat gives you the periscope
perspective that the Boot's unfortunate pillars deny so many others.
If the Boot is the local's livingroom then you are the Dad in the
comfy chair.
They have their own brewery putting out an easy half-dozen varieties
of sipable suds. The pub side is an easy-going sports bar with a
hearty huge fireplace beckoning you from its position of prominence.
Knowledgeable locals come here for the mid-week menu specials,
including a selection of excellent wood-fired crispy crust pizzas.
Think "cougar country." One of Whistler’s bigger
establishments, Bill’s brings ‘em in from an older demographic,
but these are folks who know how to shake their assets with the best
of them. A deejay spinning the classics and top-40 dominates the
entertainment sked, but Bill’s has brought in some serious names
to do the live and sweaty music thing. Lots of cruising room to roam
about looking for that special someone.
The pride of the Delta Whistler Resort Hotel, this large-ish
high-ceilinged lounge features two excellent pool tables, a separate
darts room, and cerebral sports (backgammon or chess) built into the
bar top. Occasional live music of the solo guitarist variety. Too
many comfy chairs – and any comfy chair is a good chair.
One of the originals. The best seats are just inside the west side
of the doors leading to the deck, or at the east window at the
jukebox. Both positions give you a look at all traffic swirling in,
out and around Whistler Village and from all directions that the
other nearby bars don't offer. The large deck outside is excellent
when the weather co-operates for the casual observer to get a
lengthy look at the hunk or sweet thing striding up the Stroll
(depending on your inclination).
It's Sunday night, or Wednesday night, or fight night, or Hockey
Night in Canada night. Either way, what you want to do is get the
best seat: at the bar beside the server's pick up station. You are
at close and easy viewing distance to the big screen, being perched
on the bar stool gives you an edge to observe the impassioned antics
of the musicians over to the stage, and because customers have to
pass you by to get drinked or washroomed, you get to meet them all,
should you so wish.
If you perch along the banquette down from the bar, you are rewarded
with scanning power of the room and eye contact potential with the
occasional solo performer who knows every song ever written. Finger
food menu.
Och man, tha’s a fine pint. An authentic old Irish pub imported to
the new sod, there are all sorts of crags and crannies to huddle in.
The Dubh Linn Gate has a draft lineup of Irish and British
barley sandwiches that’ll have you yodeling "The Wild
Colonial Boy" in no time. Live entertainment by lads and lasses
to put you in the Emerald Isle mood.
This is the phoenix, risen anew. For nearly 35 years, Dusty’s was
the anchor for Whistler Mountain’s gonzo après scene. The last
day of the thoroughly worn-out bar last April was the biggest party
of the year for Whistler locals and all those who’ve come to love
what we do best in slopeside snowdom. Then they tore the beer-soaked
bugger down to make room for the next big thing. Whistler/Blackcomb
has put the boots to construction crews all summer and fall to get
the new Dusty’s – and the enveloping Intrawest compound of
luxury condo hotel and boutique shops – ready for opening by
mid-December. Classic bar food on the menu, but augmented by serious
Deep South-style barbecue. Get ready to lick your fingers.
The place to relax at the Westin Resort & Spa. Intimate in a
blonde wood and river rock décor. Cuddle by the fireplace over a
brandy or two. Occasional soft guitar noodling by a local performer.
The always-packed gallery is before you as you make your way into
one of Whistler’s largest establishments. Sitting high and pretty
gives you a wide scan of the rest of the joint, front row seats to
see the hustlin' bartender action and access to a steady stream of
fellow Garfers parading by. But what, you want to know, is a "Garfinkel?"
To find out, take a gander at the large collection of famous people
mug shots who thank him many little favours.
Also known as the "Garibaldi Lift Company" after the
original name of the corporate hoo-haas who ran Whistler
Mountain’s slopes ‘way back in 1966. Look for the aluminum can
gondola hanging at the entrance hard by the foot of the Village side
of Whistler Mountain. The only ski-in/ ski-out bar in the Village
for that après craving of liquids and touch-friendly bar food.
The locals’ hangout in Whistler Creekside. Bar menu is a simpler
list of the fine fare at the Creekside Grillroom next door. Eat
better for less. After the work day’s done, a good place to find a
plumber or tradesman to fix/build whatever . . . as long as it’s
not a broken heart. Well, maybe even that.
Next to the Bear Foot Bistro, this quiet bar is as good as its name:
wine, wine, wine. Plonking yourself at the bar means you can keep a
line of quizzing going with the bartender pouring those oh-so-tasty
glasses of grape joy. Bar menu comes from the gold-star quality of
the Bear Foot restaurant, or you can order from the main menu.
Not quite the yeehaw bar it was when country&western line
dancing was the rage, it still rocks hard during the après hours. A
honkin’ great outdoor patio heated by those genius propane trees
makes lounging on this concrete beach the place to be. Pool tables
indoors and out, plus a table tennis field until it’s time to
boogie. Menu is burger-bar food and go-big-or-go-home sandwiches.
Whistler’s most upscale of hotel lounges. Located in the Chateau
Whistler, this resort’s most upscale hotel. While a jazzer tickles
the ivories, chit-chat of the day’s adventures mixes with glances
out the wall of glass toward the lower slopes of Blackcomb Mountain
and the far slopes of Whistler Mountain.
It’s haunted, for one thing. You never know who you’ll meet in
Whistler where the world comes to play, but at this place it could
be the occasional appearance of a ghostly woman who seems rather
disturbed about something. Maybe it’s because you haven’t bought
her a round. Hop to it, ghost buster.
The funkiest-looking bar in town, this place set the standard when
it opened with its big city ultra cool décor. Park yourself along
the bar closest to the dance floor to scan the masses, or dock along
the other side of the bar to cement the deal. An assortment of
latest music deejays play the week, but Mr. Fish sometimes brings in
something live - breakers to jazz, worldbeat to trash-n’-thrash -
to tickle your ears.
The flagship bar of Whistler/Blackcomb on the village side, its
sun-soaked monster patio has launched a billion schooners of beer
during the après hours. Infamous through spring skiing season and
the hotter summer weekends as the home of rousing guitarists who
know every popular song ever written and will get you doing some
crazy-assed things to earn a jug of draft. Basic bar food menu, but
where the nachos are king.
Go to the far side of the bar. Sit yourself down at what would be
the right back corner if you look at the stage, but one seat to the
left of the seat beside the pillar.
From here you command a view of the entire bar, the stage and its
striving musicians, the fast and furious action of the bartenders,
and yet you also have room to yak it up with surrounding bar mates.
All Beverley, all the time. Classy joint to shoot some stick, get
all warm and fuzzy by the fireplace, or look deep into your
partner’s eyes to see how much hunger resides there . . . for you
or for dinner next door.
Go upstairs. Get one of the bartenders to crank up one of the
Beagle's excellent martinis (shaken, not stirred) and plump your
buns down on its best seat: halfway down the bar rail. Look worldly
and the world looks at you.
Long-term locals of all sorts can be found here, especially at the
end of the working day. Need a plumber? Electrician? Drywaller?
They’re all here, as well as those who’ve climbed the corporate
ladder but remember their blue-collar roots. The first bar to open
in the central village back in the late 1970s, it is the least
resort-looking one of the bunch. Hefty helpings from a burger and
beef dip-themed menu.
Jungle up at this bar's best seat which would be, if you are on the
dance floor, to the left of the stage. The main bar side is too
hectic to qualify and the "other" side of the main bar is
too quiet. Nope, you want the best seat and stage-left is it. Settle
back for some big game viewing. As for trolling for swinging
singles, any veteran fisherman will tell you sometimes the calm
pools are where the trophy fish are. Dig it.
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