Whistler Dining Picks

Whistler literally overflows with dining choices: Whistler Village alone has over 90 restaurants. You'll have no trouble finding high-quality, reasonably priced food.

Best BC Regional Cuisine
Araxi. Araxi serves a menu of West Coast regional cuisine incorporating Pacific seafood and local farm produce and meats. The wine list has 800 different labels, the decor is contemporary Mediterranean, and there's a great heated patio for good-weather dining. (4222 Village Sq.; tel. 604/932-4540; www.araxi.com; entrees C$28-C$40; AE, DC, MC, V; dinner daily)

Best Steakhouse
Hy's Steakhouse. Whistler's top steakhouse, Hy's is a classic, cozy, wood-paneled room serving a menu of aged AAA Alberta beef steaks, seafood, oysters, hearty soups, and classic salads. (4308 Main St.; tel. 604/905-5555; www.hyssteakhouse.com/hys-whistler.html; entrees C$30-C$50; AE, MC, V; dinner daily)

Best Family Restaurant
Caramba! Caramba serves fresh, flavorful pasta, wood-oven pizza, rotisserie meats, and seafood in a fun, casual, environment. (4314 Main St.; tel. 604/938-1879; www.caramba-restaurante.com; entrees C$13-C$21; AE, MC, V; lunch & dinner daily)

Best Poutine
Zog's. An open-air restaurant right in Skier's Plaza, Zog's is famous for its poutine, a French-Canadian combination of fries, gravy, cheese curds, and meat sauce or chili. Heaters keep the outdoor seats warmish. (4340 Sundial Crescent; tel. 604/938-6644; all items under $10; cash only; open 8am-2:30am daily)

Best Brewpub
Whistler Brewhouse. A chunky, woody interior has the usual family-oriented mountain brewpub amenities: fermenting tanks, fireplaces, TVs in the bar area, an open kitchen, and a menu of pizzas, pasta, burgers, soups, salads, and homebrewed beers and ales. (4355 Blackcomb Way; tel. 604/905-2739; www.markjamesgroup.com/whistler.html; entrees C$14-C$36; AE, MC, V; lunch & dinner daily)

Best Pub Menu
Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub. Located in rock-throwing distance from Blackcomb's Excalibur Gondola, this Irish pub has an authentic, wood-filled interior (brought piece-by-piece from Dublin) full of memorabilia and cozy touches. The Guinness is well-poured, the pub menu is fantastic, there's a large beer and whiskey menu, frequent live music, and TVs for sports. (4320 Sundial Crescent, in the Pan Pacific Lodge; tel. 604/905-4047; www.dubhlinngate.com)

Best Location
Garibaldi Lift Co. Bar and Grill. You can't get any closer to the slopes: The Garibaldi is perched right at the lower edge of the slopes, between the Fitzsimmons Chairlift and the Whistler Express Gondola. Big and fun, it's got a large slope-side patio; a big fireplace; windows all around; reggae and dance music in the evenings; and a menu of tapas, pizza, and burgers. (Skiers Plaza, at the base of the Whistler Gondola; tel. 604/905-2220; www.whistlerblackcomb.com/todo/apresnightlife/glc.htm)