Whistler Is An Amazing Mountain Resort And World Class Dining Destination

North America’s most impressive mountain resort is best known as a happy place for skiers, boarders and in the summer, thrill-seeking mountain bikers. But it’s also a world class dining destination nailing that time-honored something-for-everyone mission. Here are a few hot spots where you should definitely dine while exploring Whistler.

Wild Blue exceeds lofty expectations

The most-buzzed about restaurant right now offers a stellar showcase for chef Alex Chen’s accomplished creations. Walking in the door might feel as if you’ve stumbled into the coolest party in a welcoming dining room and a dazzling bar. The lighting is cool and flattering, the seating plush and the service exemplary. Get settled in with a well-mixed cocktail – including an excellent lineup of Zero Proof options – while considering the options.

Yes, we’ll have one of everything, please.

My husband and I are all about sharing and that approach worked well, starting with a half a dozen gorgeous oysters from local waters. The plump and slightly creamy Fanny Bay oysters were my faves, the spouse was wild about the Baywater Sweets. Both are Pacific oysters grown off the coast of Vancouver Island, both tumbled during the oyster’s lifespan, a process that creates a deep cup and a fatter bivalve.

What we definitely agreed on was the incredible Thai-spiced shaved ice that accompanied the oysters. Surpringly, the peppery ice didn’t overshadow the delicate, briny flavors of these sea creatures, but worked in harmony. A revelation.

Another beautiful shock came with the house-made linguine with clams, which included the elusive geoduck. That giant with a siphon that looks like a mini fire hose is rarely spotted on menus in this neck of the woods, as most of the supply gets shipped to Japan where it’s prized.

The geoduck was far from a novelty in this lovely dish, its thinly shaved slices tangled into the spot-on pasta delivered a distinctive clam-like flavor and a unique texture. Almost like the crunch of an apple, but truly, there’s nothing that’s quite like it.

We’d have been happy to call it a night at that point, but the main event was another showstopper. The perfectly cooked sablefish was finished at the table with a rich dashi broth that delivered on the server’s promise of an umami bomb complete with maitake mushrooms and tiny turnips.

Yes, of course, we’d love to try the new date cake from executive pastry chef Carl Sanchez. Triple wow from the salted caramel sauce and crispy toffee sitting a top of that dense not-too-sweet cake.

Adding the cherry on top of this deeply satisfying experience was the expertly paired mostly B.C. wine selections from Liquidity and Roche in the Okanagan Valley region near Penticton, as well as some spectacular NA cocktail accompaniments. Much appreciated.

Apres ski

For many years, I was a fairly decent skier, mostly chasing my partner of four-plus decades down some steeps and even the occasional deeps. But these days, I’m more inclined to spa than ski and Whistler has an impressive assortment of places to pamper.

My all-time favorite is the Scandinave Spa, a series of hot pools, cold plunges, saunas and steam rooms meant to be savored in silence in the great outdoors. That mission of zipping-the-lips and taking a digital detox by leaving the mobile devices in your locker is a challenge for some. There are staffers who occasionally shush, but the moment I loved best on the most recent visit was when a fellow guest hushed a jabbering dude by saying: “Bro, can you keep it down for the vibe?” Well said.

While I was soaking, my husband – who’s playfully known as Skizer – was busy racking up the vertical. He’s got an Epic Pass and loves the feature where the app tracks your runs. Day one total: 28K, day two was 31,000. Not too shabby for a 68-year-old.

In the afternoon, I walked to Whistler Village to visit the beautiful Audain Art Museum, blown away by the current special exhibit featuring women carvers. Bravo! Later, I squeezed in some shopping, including a trip to one of the oldest stores, Whistler Hardware. Absolutely loved combing through the hodgepodge of useful items and silly seasonal stuff.

The mission of this stroll on the always-busy Village Stroll was to meet up with Skizer at our go-to apres spot, Bar Oso. This popular spot from the Top Table restaurant group has dramatically expanded since the last time we visited, but all the key ingredients were as they should be. There’s an extensive lineup of cocktails and top-shelf spirits, excellent, attentive service and some of the best tapas.

Those bits and bites of classic Spanish fare are exactly what’s needed after a day on the slopes – or in the soaks – and Bar Oso delivered: tinned mussels and caviar flavored potato chips, tiny toasts topped with a brandade and a spreadable salami. The tortillas – the sliced potato creation – are served on skewers. Of course, we could have ordered more, but there was dinner on the books. While thoroughly enjoying these bites among the happy patrons, it was easy to get nostalgic about a long ago trip to Spain. Isn’t that the best kind of dining experience? One that transports while also grounding us in the magical moment.

Back to reality

Over many years, we’ve stayed at loads of different accommodations in and around Whistler, including a super snug pod hotel called Pangea. Top of the must-revisit list include the Sundial, Nita Lake Lodge, the Four Seasons and the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the latter two located in the more chill Upper Village near the Blackcomb gondola.

This quick trip marked the first time we’ve camped there together. We pulled into the well-located Riverside Resort, which features year-round hookups for motorhomes, trailers and vans. There’s also cozy cabins and yurts and an area for tent camping, but, obviously nobody’s pitching out when the temps are dipping into the 20s and below at night.

What made this experience truly exceptional was the Thai restaurant on property. I’d gotten a big thumbs up from a local on the quality of the food at Barn Nork and while sitting in the tiny dining room, it became clear there were a whole lot of folks from the neighborhood picking up their dinner.

There’s definitely something about being active in the mountains that makes people ravenous and when the food came, it was devoured with the kind of wild pleasure that comes from digging into a pleasant surprise.

The ingredients were fresh and fabulous: slightly crunchy broccoli raab in the Pad See Ew, the noodles in that stir-fried pork dish angel hair fine, but cooked properly al dente, fresh papaya salad that delivered the heat and a hot and sour soup that was swimming with mushrooms and sweet prawns. Simply stellar. If I lived in Whistler, this place would be a regular haunt.

And, hey, who knows? Now that we’ve discovered the ease of pulling into a sweet spot at the RV resort, we’ll very likely be making more trips north of the border.

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