Alta Bistro Whistler

I spent 2 days in Whistler with the three friends that I had explored Florence with in May, a sort of reunion, though Whistler and Florence could not have been more different.  We were looking for a restaurant for dinner and a man who served us in the liquor store highly recommended Alta bistro, So Alta Bistro it would be.

They have two set menus both 3 courses, but that does not include dessert.  This suited us very well as I usually avoid set menus as I don't really want dessert. 3 of us chose the Flute Bowl Menu for  $29 and Nancy chose the Diamond Bowl Menu for $39.00

I started with the Fall Salad Tomatoes, walnuts, fresh grapes, green onions & mixed greens with a very light barely there dressing.

This picture and the description sound a little pedestrian, but in fact this was absolutely delicious, Id do not know what the dressing was, and I could barely discern it on the greens, but it was wonderful and light and the grapes made a great taste and texture counterpoint to the candied nuts.

Nancy ordered Pâté & Charcuterie Board this came with a homemade pâté with Nita Lake Lodge charcuterie selection, dry fig crostini, chutney & apple

The home made pate was very good as was the mixed charcuterie and the fig bread.  The chutney tasted for all the world like English Branstons pickle, this was a nice platter though I did prefer my salad.

Connie and Jacky had the soup of the day, which was a creamy pumpkin soup served with a brandy snap. Jacky can't quite remember all the flavours of the soup, but commented that it did not photograph well, but it was delicious.

Unphotogenic pumpkin soup

For our next course Jacky and I had white Prawn cocktail with avocado & lime sorbet, orange wedges & cocktail sauce.

This was a very light but delicious dish especially the avocado lime sorbet.  This was incredibly light and cold with wonderful bright notes.  In fact this was probably my favourite part of the whole meal.

Jacky ordered Beef carpaccio with coco nib rub – Fraser valley beef tenderloin, smoked Gouda, mini capers and gooseberry dressing

Beef carpaccio is often what I order as it is one of my favourite dishes, but this was not an option on the menu that I was having.  I was a bit jeaulous of Nancy as this was a very good carpaccio and the coco nibs that surrounded it had an amazing texture.  Between us we ate every last one of them with our fingers.

For our final course Connie and I chose Fraser Valley pork cheeks braised with Calvados this was served with glazed pearl onions, seared apples and braised lentils with lamb bacon.

This was topped with a  watermelon radish imitating Mick Jagger's lips.  This was good, but the flavours just were not as distinct and bright as the rest of the dishes and I never found the lamb bacon.

Jacky ordered Pan Seared Ling Cod & Vermouth Sauce served with braised endives, roasted pear and blue cheese cake with walnut crumble.

Jacky really loved the sauce, though the fish was mild and really had no flavour of its own, she did enjoy this dish which also had a set of Mick Jagger lips on it.

Nancy ordered Angus beef Bavette Seared Medium Rare & Wild Mushrooms – Served with “Pomme Duchesses” and Chimichurri Salsa

I had to look up Bavette as I had never heard of it, this is flank steak which normally if cooked quickly and served medium rare like this one, would be tender.  Unfortunately Nancy struggled with the this beef and found it very chewy but flavourful. The chimichurri salsa however was very good and went well with the beef.

All in all we very much enoyed this meal and I would definately go back. I would like to try their winter menu.  I liked the fact that they had such a small seasonal menu with a lot of locally sourced ingredients. But most importantly the food was very well prepared and presented.