Best Whistler 2015

Best Whistler Restaurant winners of Vancouver Magazine’s 26th Annual Restaurant Awards

• Gold: Araxi
• Silver: Bearfoot Bistro
• Bronze: Alta Bistro
• Honourable Mentions: Aura, The Mexican Corner

 Araxi (Gold) has long been considered by people of average means to be a restaurant exclusively for special occasions or a reckless splurge. But in terms of prices, its menu is now in line with many of the region’s better “casual” rooms—without a titch of compromise to be found. We remain in awe of chef James Walt’s plates and the efforts of his crew, which “command the attention not only of Village Square, but of all food and wine enthusiasts.” “Luxury, extravagance, and flamboyance,” says one of our judges, sum up Bearfoot Bistro (Silver), from chef Melissa Craig’s spectacularly composed dishes (the $98 three-course tasting menu is worth every penny) to the Ketel One Ice Room, reputedly the coldest vodka-tasting environment in the world. Alta Bistro collects Bronze and commendation for “modern French cuisine committed to seasonality and sustainability”—which here means everything from cooking with renewable hydro-electric power to using natural, locally made hand soap throughout the premises. Honourable Mentions: Aura at the Nita Lake Lodge, The Mexican Corner