Nothing creates an appetite like a day on the slopes or on the water. Fortunately in Whistler, British Columbia, the dining choices are plentiful and excellent. Between breezy casual options for an on-the-run-to-the-gondola breakfast, bustling spots for a chill après or cosy fine dining experiences for a drawn-out evening affair, we’ve eaten at each of these excellent Whistler Restaurants. Here’s where to eat in Whistler, with kids or without.
Where to eat in Whistler with kids
Even if you have a kitchen in your hotel room or condo, it’s always nice to go out for a family dinner and enjoy a bite to eat at one of the great family-friendly restaurants in Whistler. During Whistler’s busy winter and summer seasons, it’s a good idea to make reservations ahead of time. And avoid the hangries (and the crowds) by eating early.
Need a TL;DR version for where to dine in Whistler with kids? Here you go!
Best dress up: Barefoot Bistro
Best budget: El Furniture Warehouse
Best brunch: Crepe Montagne, Grill Room (Fairmont Chateau Whistler)
Best family style: Caramba!
Best family-friendly après: Garibaldi Lift Company (GLC)
Best fine dining: Araxi, Wild Blue
Best tapas: Bar Oso
Best sushi: Sachi Sushi
Strong coffee: Ecologyst (Main Village), Rockit Coffee (Creekside)
Alta Bistro
Alta Bistro is a 65-seat bistro featuring local and farm to table meals, hand-crafted cocktails, organic and biodynamic wines and micro-brewed beer. As a true bistro, the menu changes depending on what’s fresh and seasonal. Alta Bistro is the first restaurant in Whistler to feature the premium Enomatic wine-serving system, which ensures every glass is as good as the first.
Use the map below to search for hotel and short-term rental options in Whistler
Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar
A perennial favorite for the best restaurant in the village, Araxi delivers artistically-arranged and delicious west coast cuisine in a tasteful room in the heart of the action in Whistler.
Using the best locally sourced ingredients, chefs deliver delicious pasta, fresh seafood and meat dishes, including fresh oysters, paired with a wine collection of more than 11,000 bottles. The al fresco Longtable Series dinners are legendary at this Whistler fine dining restaurant
21 Steps
You’ll find a tasty menu of appetizer-sized dishes with a funky, relaxed atmosphere at 21Steps. There’s also a children’s menu, with some added goodies like ribs and steak & mashed potatoes. A lounge-like “Attic” is available upstairs for drinks and quieter meals.
Need a room for the night? Check out our hotel guide to Whistler Village
Bar Oso
Share small plates of savory tapas at Bar Oso, a popular Spanish-flavored room of high tables that you may have to squeeze yourself into. This is a good choice for older kids, with an extensive menu of gin drinks for parents. Just saying…
Bearfoot Bistro
If your kids are older and can be left to Netflix and chill in your hotel suite, book a couples night out and eat at award-winning Bearfoot Bistro in the village.
Celebrate a wonderful stay by enjoying a gourmet meal, or choose a champagne bottle to saber in the Bistro’s wine cellar, or shrug on a parka and down a few vodka shots in the Ketel One Ice Room. One, two, three, POP!
Caramba!
This is great casual dining spot for the family. Caramba! features pizza from a wood-burning oven, as well as pasta, meat dishes and a kids menu. It’s reasonably priced, and the flames inside of the wood oven can be quite entertaining for the kids.
Crepe Montagne
This is an authentic French Creperie in Whistler. Offering sweet and savoury crepes, as well as apres-ski favorites like cheese fondue and raclette. Crepe Montagne is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bon Appetit!
Garibaldi Lift Company (GLC) Bar & Grill
Is it a lounge or is it a club? It’s likely both, but what’s not in dispute is that the GLC is the best place for après and happy hour in Whistler. With a great view overlooking the village centre and returning skiers, GLC offers signature drinks like spicy Bloody Caesars and Canadian pub cuisine like butter chicken poutine and giant nacho platters.
Read more: Our dining and accommodation guide to Whistler Creekside
Harajuku Izakaya
Crispy tuna rolls, oh my! There are lots of other fried and yummy items available, like poke, zuke, sushi, bowls, and even deepfried Brussels sprouts, at this Japanese pub-style restaurant in the heart of Whistler.
High Mountain Brewing Company
Located at the Olympic Plaza, the High Mountain Brewing Company is one of the busiest spots in Whistler. Its large, pub-like atmosphere is welcoming to big groups as well as kids and families. The expansive outdoor patio gets very crowded in high summer.
The kid-friendly menu pleases with BBQ dishes, rotisserie chicken, and pizzeria antico, cooked in a wood fired oven. And of course, they’ve got lots of craft beers on tap.
Purebread
There’s an amazing selection of mouth watering sweet and savory baked goods to tempt you at this bustling Purebread bakery, just steps from the Whistler Olympic Plaza.
Be sure to try a caramelized banana chocolate brownie or buckwheat cherry chocolate scone. Add some Stumpton coffee and you’ll be ready to hit the slopes again, with comfort food energy to spare.
Red Door Bistro
Tucked away in Whistler Creekside, Red Door Bistro has been knocking high-end French and fusion cuisine out of the park for years.
Located near Nita Lake Lodge, the Bistro’s interior is intimate and cosy, and the food, fresh seafood, French classics like cassoulet and decadent desserts, are worth the splurge for a celebratory meal with the family.
Sachi Sushi
When it comes to sharing where to eat in Whistler with kids, I’m almost reluctant to divulge this insider tip. Sachi Sushi is a locals favourite, and ours too. It is super family friendly with quick service, great food, and high chairs and booster seats.
They specialize in a sashimi dish called Zuke (pronouced Zoo-keh), of tuna, salmon and lightly grilled Ahi tuna in a special marinade. I dream of their pressed lemon sushi. Honestly, everything is delicious at Sachi.
Sidecut Modern Steak + Bar Restaurant
If meat is where it’s at, head to the base of Blackcomb Mountain in the Upper Village and into the Four Seasons. Sidecut’s luxurious room serves up epic portions of perfectly grilled meat on its 1,800 degree infrared grill.
Guests can customize sides and sauces, or choose from other meat or fish dishes, or even a ‘beetroot’ Wellington vegetarian option. Sidecut also serves a fabulous buffet breakfast, a perfect way to fuel up for a day on the slopes.
Sushi Village
This is one of Whistler’s most long-standing and favourite sushi restaurants. Centrally located, Sushi Village is a great place to eat when you have kid in tow.
You can find all manner of sushi and sashimi goodness on the menu. Their soy-wrapped sushi is a tasty specialty of the house, and the sake margaritas for the adults are tasty too.
El Furniture Warehouse
If your teens want to head out on their own, this is the spot for cheap eats and carb-loading meals. Every item on the food menu is under $10 CAD. I don’t know how they do that, but my sons report that the Warehouse Poutine is ‘darn good.’ They may have used more colorful phrasing, but you get the drift.
Splitz Grill
If grilled meat is on your mind, head to Splitz Grill, home to Whistler’s #1 burger. You can fully customize your own burger with items like bacon jam, crispy onions and pineapple, and they even have vegan meats and fixings. They also have a ‘secret menu,’ but we can’t talk about that.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
The perfect place for sugary goodies to hit your sweet spot after a day on the slopes. Enjoy a solid choice of treats like ice cream, gelato, chocolate, fudge and sticky caramel (and other covered) apples while you walk around the village or in your hotel room.
Wild Blue Restaurant
Dress up, Whistler-casual style, to enjoy award-winning cuisine at Wild Blue. Located next to the Aava Hotel in the village, this restaurant is where “Italy, France and the Pacific Northwest’s coastal influences meet the mountains.” The menu is seafood and meat-forward, and dishes are beautifully prepared and wildly delicious.
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