The restaurant itself was quite good, but expensive. I spent $65 USD on just me, which only covered two beers, main dish, and an appetizer. The host and waiters were very friendly. I had the sea bass, which was very good, and squid for the appetizer, which was the best I had ever had. My friend had the lobster, which was big and tasty from what he described. They also had a live band playing in the back of the restaurant in the bar area.

The food at Araxi was wonderful and tasteful. It was a very light meal but very filling. Their specialties consist of oysters. This restaurant has a knowledgeable staff and offers an abundant amount of fresh seafood daily. They serve everything from Char to venison. It is all very tasty and fresh. Also, they have wonderful dessert choices. There is a sampler that has all of their desserts in miniature form. Most of the desserts are between $10 and $30 U.S., which is reasonable.

The first restaurant mentioned to us was Araxi, an upscale restaurant where reservations are recommended. It was the talk of the village, but much to our disappointment,it did not live up to all the hype it received. The portions were small and not only was the steak was not prepared as ordered, it lacked any hint of flavor. The desert was the best part of the meal and it as the meal itself was greatly overpriced in our opinion. There are many other more palatable restaurants in Whistler and definitely a ones that provide greater value for your dollar. We will not choose Araxi for dining when we return to Whistler.

We had a horrible experience here. We got there about 8 p.m. and they told us it would be an hour wait. As we were leaving we decided to check out the bar. It was relatively empty and they said we could order dinner in there as well. It took us 30 minutes to have someone take our order, so lets say about 8:30 p.m. We didn't get our food untill 10:00 p.m. at which time we asked for the check the waitress brought the check and we never saw her again. The food wasn't even that great to compensate for the wait.

If I'd known how good Araxi was, I'd have saved up my pennies and eaten there every night. This is a keeper folks, a must-do on your Whistler itinerary. The exterior is drab, but that makes the amber- and rust-toned interior even warmer.

If you've been wondering about BC's wines, this is the place to satisfy your curiosity. Their award-winning selection of 13,000 wines (many offered by the glass) offers ample opportunity to sample your way across the Pacific Northwest. Wine also shapes the décor, with bottles stored in honey-brown wood cubes lining the upper walls. Ask for a table in the corner dining room, separated from the main room by a wall of these bottle-filled cubes.

You know you're in good hands when the bread is fresh baked and served with white ramekins of olive butter. At a nearby table, a couple tried to hold hands around a skyscraper-sized seafood tower. The tower is one of Araxi's specialties, and can be ordered with two tiers or three. Both include oysters, shellfish, smoked fish, caviar, and sashimi. The three-tier buys you a lobster, prawns, and crab legs. Vegetarians are in for a treat! Araxi specializes in local organic produce and regional farmers and fisheries, but would you believe there is an entire vegetarian menu? I wanted to have mine framed!

Let me get the one dud on the menu out of the way so I can get back to singing its praises. The Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Cocktail sounded harmless, but the clamato and vodka frappe it was served in had a fishy, briny taste. Other appetizers were fantastic, like simple celery soup with sour cream. Tempura of Pacific Prawns was quite tasty - a relief given that its accompaniments of "jellyfish ceviche" and "kaffir lime emulsion" had the potential to be terrifying. A classic Caesar salad was just that, classic, and my architecturally arranged tower of polenta with roasted peppers, grilled radicchio, fig confit and pesto was near perfection. I found the fig business a bit too sweet but I could have sat there eating the polenta until my stomach burst.

Entrees were equally fabulous. Albacore Tuna Sashimi came with a crisp nori roll on the side. A cassoulet of Alberta Lamb Shank served with an "orca bean" stew, merguez sausage, and duck confit was the hit of the table.

My Pemberton Pumpkin Ravioli was a religious experience. Pemberton is a nearby farming community, but the ravioli was from another world. Served with toasted hazelnuts, sage, curried pumpkin seeds, and shavings of Pecorino cheese, it was about as close to heaven as you can get without your heart stopping. Yum!

Despite our groaning bellies we shamelessly ordered an assortment of local chocolates and biscotti for dessert, served with blood orange slices and an orchid. Kudos to executive chef Scott Kidd, who does all that cooking AND finds the time to be one of Canada’s top doubles squash players!