Araxi Restaurant + Bar

We ate at Araxi last Easter in Whistler while spring skiing. The setting is of course as expected, lovely, great ambience, lovely surroundings and a relaxed and professional front desk. Our waiter was knowledgeable and helpful, his wine suggestion was perfect. Where Araxi let itself down was that once we had sat down the service was relentless. We wanted a relaxing dinner and got seated to dessert in less than 60 minutes, I had barely finished my appetiser when the mains arrived, which was a shame as the venison was sublime! It might sadly stop us returning when there are so many great choices in Whistler.

We new something was awry when 4 teenage models greeted us at the door the take our coats. 

Our french-speaking waitress was just that, french-speaking and only french-speaking.  NOBODY understood the specials.  The sommelier corrected us when we referred to has "wine steward," insisting on the esteemed title of "Wine Director."

The oysters were the best we ever enjoyed.  The wines were also fabulous.

That being said, we had to make a special request for a green dish; salads were not on the menu and your dish will not come with a vegetable.  The Dungeness crab risotto was devoid of crab, and uncooked rice grains speckled the sad excuse for a dish.  A little sauce on the bolognese might helped to choke it down easier.  Rice-a-roni would have been a welcomed substitute.

Regarding those 4 hostesses, they had stashed our coats outside on the patio and could only smile sheepishly as they helped us into icey coats.

In summary, Araxi is a terrific place for wine and oysters, but forgoe dinner unless you're hankering for a heft dose of dry, crabless elitism.