| Whistler’s
Restaurant Guide -- What you need to know get the best eats and seats in the house. Amami Restaurant Chinese cooking specializing in ramen dishes. The backroom has the kind of privacy to tell that special someone how much you love them. Araxi Restaurant & Bar The best seat would be table 31, against the windows in something of an alcove at that point where the restaurant juts into Village Square. Perched there, you and your squeeze can surreptitiously note how the hoi polloi wandering by are ogling you in your comfort. Inside, the rest of the Araxi diners can peer your way and go green as guacamole knowing you have a fine command of the room without having to wriggle around much to take it all in, including observing incomers and outgoers at the entrance. Wait staff are easy to signal, too. When secrecy is a priority, you want to be parked at table 85 surrounded by three walls of wine bottles at the opposite end of the restaurant from table 31. International menu that year after year brings raves from locals and visitors alike. Aubergine Grill "Canadian" cuisine used to mean maple syrup pancakes, green pea soup and a backbacon sandwich. No more. This is the Westin Resort & Spa’s main dining room and it offers up a doozy menu. Think caribou strip loin harvested by Nunavut hunters from the Far North. Think Fraser Valley (east of Vancouver) Cornish game hen. Think veal tenderloin matched with a half Maritime lobster tail and giant Digby scallop. Think about washing all that down with a cornucopia of fine wines from British Columbia’s vaunted vineyards. The Bear Foot Bistro A cellar with a spiral staircase leads up to the middle of the main room. That cellar houses the restaurant's main wine stocks and has about 20 places for you and your chums. Imagine candlelight sparking off classic wines red and supple wines white. Imagine the cosiness. Imagine the stares from the room as you step elegantly yet confidently down to your private cavern. Would you like to join us to sample the Bear Foot’s French-accented international menu? You wish! Black’s Original Ristorante Any seat by the windows gets you a view on the hugger-mugger roaring off to their feedbag destination. You’ve got yours at a long-time Whistler standard. Hankering for home cookin’? These are the folks who’ll do it for you. They also whip up a mean hand-tossed pizza and some of the best pasta you’ll slurp anywhere. Boston Pizza A family restaurant located in Whistler’s Creekside, featuring (as if you couldn’t guess) lots of pizza choices. Don’t let the location faze you, they’ll deliver anywhere . . . well okay, maybe not to New York City. Il Caminetto Di Umberto – More Tuscan adventures from Umberto Menghi, one of Whistler/Vancouver’s haute restaurant impresarios. Before you venture inside you’ll want to have some fun looking into the kitchen through pool-table sized windows streetside. Watching the Caminetto’s chefs work their magic is guaranteed to build an appetite. Caramba! When restaurant magician Mario Enero opened this spot four years ago, locals instantly raved about his open kitchen and wood-fired stove production line. Place was packed from Day One. Find out why. Thin crust nouveau pizzas and other goodies. Good seats by the south windows present the grande spectacle – not of the outdoors, but inside of the kitchen crew working their mojo. The Crabshack Steakhouse & Oyster Bar – Whistler Village’s only fresh oyster and shellfish bar. Seafood, pasta and steaks. When you’re done like dinner, waddle over to the bar side and take in the big sports on the big screen, or take in the ambience of locals jamming their live music brains out every Wednesday and Sunday night. Creekside Grillroom You want steak, you got steak. Down in Whistler’s Creekside, the Grillroom also has a hankering to do you up a fine West Coast seafood dish, too. And when you’re done, you can mosey over to Hoz’s Pub for some darts or a beer with the locals. Les Deux Gros Sometimes the destination is worth the journey. It certainly is for this hidden gem, found a handful of kilometers south of Whistler Creekside. French cuisine as only Pascal Tifine can summon from the old world. The only restaurant with a petanque court just outside. How French is that? Earl’s These guys are hard at work doing the renovation two-step. Hammer and tongs now to get the spatula and frypan working tomorrow. Another link in the franchise, Earl’s menu features a casual mid-range priced food-a-thon popular with striving careerists who want a little fun when they go out to dine. The Edgewater Movie legend Tony Curtis comes here every two years or so to soak up the magnificent view of Green Lake and the several mighty peaks surrounding the Wedgemont beyond, while mere mortals soak up the magnificent view of Tony Curtis and the several mighty peaked hairdos of his surrounding entourage. The Edgewater's best seat? The whole east side and its windowed scenics are nice, but get the staff to reserve the south-east corner. You can be seen, see the room in return, and you won't have to move too many muscles to connect with the alpenglow pinking the far horizons. Pastas, fish and lamb characterize the menu. Evergreens The main restaurant playground for the Delta Whistler Resort Hotel, if you don’t have the salmon skewered on lemon grass you haven’t had B.C. salmon. The chef has won international awards for it and it’s worrying him to no end. "A chef always wants to change things on the menu, but the popularity of this dish forces us to keep it on year after year," says our hero. Fogata – You won’t forget-a the Fogata. The menu changes regularly without losing its focus on an international little bit of this, a little bit of that. Entrees of game and seafood with a definite Spanish flavour. Gaitors Located "above the Boot" Pub (hence the name, eh?), known as the haunt of an infamous local writer/photographer. Buy him a glass of the house merlot. Don’t worry, friendly staff will point him out. Menu is Mexican and South-West U.S. "It’s all good," says the infamous local, "but try the chicken tacitos." Take the window seats on the east side for a great view of Blackcomb Mountain. High Mountain Brewing Co. A rambling big-beamed mansion offering nooks for the hungerin’ crowd or the famished family. The wood fired oven pumps out several styles of tasty thin-crust pizzas, but there’s a fine selection of stirfrys, pasta and big plates featuring everything else, including – and we quote – "big ass beef ribs." Their made-right-there beers and ales are top tongue ticklers, too. Hy's Steakhouse It’s a territorial kind of place. Stake out your claim before you claim your steak. The best seat is a horseshoe-shaped booth in the middle of the room. You can watch whatever's going on, it's romantic, comfortable, and yet you get a good deal of privacy even being in the middle of the room. Another best seat is the table by the fireplace. Not to the side of the fireplace, mind you, but in front because you want center stage. Let the flames in the hearth make you a fuel for love. Joel’s Restaurant There’s not a nicer restaurateur in Whistler than Joel Thibault. A fixture in this resort’s fine eating scene for more than a decade, Joel’s is robust French gourmanding in the Green Lake-side lodge of Nicklaus North Golf Club. A comfy lounge seat at the window side across from the roaring fireplace can set the perfect note of romance as the sun sets behind you, thus lighting up the Wedgemont and its mountain friends before you in a burst of alpen pink. The lounge serves up a hefty burger for your lunchtime cravings, but remove yourself to the restaurant proper to revel in the second and subsequent acts of your evening dining drama. The Keg Steak House Another of the longest-serving eateries in Whistler, this baby survives and thrives. You can get your dining game face on downstairs at Brandy’s Lounge before being escorted to table for what The Keg does best: juicy as-you-want-it steaks and prime rib. Interesting fact: The first Keg building was in Whistler’s Alta Lake neighbourhood. When The Keg moved to its current home in the then-new Village, some wiseguy decided to salvage the old Keg. It, too, came to Whistler Village and is now the Municipal Hall. Kypriaki Norte Greek food at its best. If you see owner Kike Reondo, tell him an infamous local writer/photographer sent you. He’ll have no idea what you’re talking about. Large portions of all things Greek. Get seated halfway along the south wall to gaze lovingly at the sunset between Whistler Mountain and points beyond. Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant The Mexicans have a word for it: "Ole!" This place carries the spirit, literally. There’s a ghost lurking about the lodge where the restaurant makes its home, said to be a young woman probably a little cranky that you didn’t share your quesadillas with her. You won’t need no stinkin’ badges to eat here, just an appetite as big as the Sierra Madre. Milestone’s Get hep to the jive. If you were in the City, this is the place you’d find all the up-and-comers showing off their power clothes impressing one and all with their handling of martinis. But this is Whistler so they’re here, all right, but in their casual gear instead. Same up-and-coming menu featuring modern touches to all your favourites, folks are handling wines instead. Mongolie Grill The Mongols had a word for it: "Umm, umm, good." Well okay, that’s three words. Or maybe one word and two expressions of approval. Whatever. Pick out your mixins from Mongolie’s buffet, add sauces, then let the hired grill kings stirfry it up for you. The upstairs location adds vista to your munchfest. Monk’s Grill – A stylish place for prime rib, steaks, seafood and a decent glass of wine. Every year they put on an "industry night" inviting select members of the food & beverage corps to go nuts. One year everyone had to wear all white. One year it was a cowboy/western theme. Every year food & beverage types go away with smiles on their chops. Find out why. The Old Spaghetti Factory A family restaurant if ever there was one. Pasta with all the meatballs you can handle, the price is right to entertain little-uns to grownups. Quattro at Whistler Italian dining that earns so much applause in Vancouver they opened another one here. Be nicey-nice to the maitre-d’ and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get dibbs on the table nestled by the river-rock designed fireplace. Much more than spaghetti and meatballs, there’s a whole lotta grillin’ goin’ on, too. The RimRock Café Located down Creekside way, it’s another spot for fireplace action. Once again, get the main stage. A little seafood, a stylin' bottle of wine, Drambuie and coffee to finish and the room of green-eyed wannabees will rise as one in reverence because you and your partner are, for tonight, the gods of fine dining. If you’re paying, this is where locals say they’d like you to take them . . . hint, hint. La Rua Restaurante Mario Enero’s first and foremost Whistler establishment (see Caramba!, too), it remains one of the top-top places to satisfy your need for fine dining aux style Francais. The richly dark décor suits the mood to sit down to an evening of gourmanding pleasure. Sushi Village You want sushi, you want to go here. Be prepared to wait. Be prepared to discover they won’t take reservations. It earns a #1 rating from discerning locals every year. Despite its second-floor location, you don’t care that there’s no view to speak of because, well, it’s that good. Sushi-Ya Another excellent sushi haven. The fish chowder is to fight through seven samurai for. Private Japanese-style booths if you reserve ahead. Sitting on the west side wins you a look up Sproat and Cougar Mountains. Tandoori Grill – The clay oven (tandoor) rules. Tandoori entrees are marinated with a blend of spices that were perfected by chefs of the emperors of India from a bygone era. If you are a fan of Indian curry done like no other nation can, then this is your bag. Teppan Village Japanese steak, seafood and sushi on the grill and prepared at your table. These are the guys who are part knife-flipping acrobat and all chef. Don’t worry, they have all their fingers. Thai One On As the name suggests, Thai and Polynesian cookery. A spot at the south-west corner will open a vista between Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains, but you won’t care because you’re looking forward to the dessert platter. Uli’s Flipside Here’s a story: Uli’s name comes from the days when his dinner joint was in Creekside and shared the same beanery space with a breakfast king. Flip the time zone and it’s Uli in the evening. Success brings Uli’s pasta wizardry to his upstairs location in the Village. Get a piece of turf at the balcony overlooking the room and out the floor-to-ceiling windows to the teeming ped-way beyond. "Although we are a pasta restaurant we are not obligated to serve meatballs," says the courageous Uli. Locals like it. Umberto's Trattoria Table 1 is where it’s at. It is an alcove of the restaurant. From there you rule the room. All eyes must turn to you at least once to see if you are worth a second look. And you can see them all looking. Table 1 will seat six, but you know someone must be paying attention in this great world when the Tratt lets just the two of you lay claim to it. And they will . . . if you deserve it. "It's the most commonly sought after table in the restaurant," confirms server Michelle Moffitt. Tuscan menu by Umberto Menghi who returns to Italy each year to make sure he has it right. Val D’Isere If you are going after fine dining in the French style, then shift your weight over here toot sweet like. A cosy table in the north-east corner lets you plot your conquest of the world. You may have to get in line for it, though. The Val has a long list of worldly regulars who insist on "their" tables when in town. Whistler Noodle House A Chinese restaurant with Whistler’s finest hot pot and wonton soups in mind. They specialize in take out for that night at the condo when no one wants to cook. The Wild Flower The main restaurant in the Chateau Whistler, the premiere hotel in this resort of fine hotels. You gotta know they don’t hire mere burger flippers to head the kitchen. Duck, veal or lamb: everything infuses a curiosity about mixing Asian and Euro theories of food and eating. Zeuski’s Taverna A spacious Greek themed restaurant dominating one corner of the Village North plaza. If you sit at just the right window seat you’ll crane your view around a wood-beam gazebo and up into Blackcomb Mountain. Ouzo anyone? |