Elements Urban Tapas Parlour is an attractive space with food a notch above casual
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Elements features a tapas menu in which most of the dishes are accessible and casual. The restaurant has a sustainable seafood policy.
One restaurant that won’t be booked out or reserved to the max in Whistler during the Olympics is Elements Urban Tapas Parlour. They don’t take reservations now and that’s the way it will be through the Olympics. And, bonus, Elements is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It’s tucked away on the quiet and inappropriately named Main Street, and visitors find it only when tipped off by hotel concierges. Locals might want to throw me off the Peak 2 Peak gondola for this, but Elements is a hugely popular breakfast spot. They have a full menu to break your fast — eggs bennies, duck sausage, fritattas and several versions of stuffed french toast. Squamish-tapped maple syrup is expected to be on the menu soon; it’s currently making its way through the regulatory hoops.
Elements is owned by the Wildwood Restaurant Group, which runs Wildwood Bistro at the Whistler Racquet Club and in Pemberton, as well as a cafe version at Function Junction.
According to general manager April Salonyka, the five owners have worked in Whistler restaurants, front and back for some 20 years.
Since Whistler’s full of dirt-faced mountain bikers, we walked into Elements after a day of hiking hoping we weren’t breaching Whistler etiquette too much.
We did change into sandals and since it wasn’t a hot day, it’s not like we were in desperate need of a shower — as far as we could tell, anyway — and we were welcomed in.
The restaurant wasn’t terribly busy and the two servers had time to chat with customers, but there was little engagement. Our wines were forgotten but water glasses were kept full, dishes came promptly and when plates need changing between tapas dishes, don’t ask, just do it, I say. Better service really would make a difference as Elements is attractive, it’s away from hubbub and the food is a notch above casual.
As you might have gathered from the name, Elements has a tapas dinner menu. Tapas dishes are $5 to $16 (duck confit with orange marmalade and asparagus). Most are accessible, casual dishes. We started off with Greek mini-lamb burgers (sliders) — the menu said it came with tapenade but I found tzaziki but no matter; I like it a lot.
Crabcakes weren’t stellar — too moist and sullen. A carrot, fennel, cucumber and chickpea salad was refreshing and tasty. The hot, sticky toffee pudding with dates, spices, butterscotch sauce and topped with poached pear slices and cinnamon gelato was a good recommendation — not too heavy or cloyingly sweet.
Salonyka says a must-try are the mussels from Salt Spring Island. The dish is part of the restaurant’s sustainable seafood policy. All the seafood is sustainably harvested except for the prawns.
There’s a substantial cocktail list and what the menu doesn’t say is that new on their shelves is a vodka distilled in Pemberton because of course, there’s no end of potatoes in Pemberton.
“I gotta tell you, it’s comparable to Grey Goose and Belvedere,” says Salonyka. “You don’t get the burn.”
During shoulder season, Elements is offering a $21 prix fixe with a choice from $5, $10 and $15 categories (which would add up to $30). The restaurant is also part of the Whistler Tasting Tour where $150 takes you to multiple restaurants in one evening. (www.whistlertastingtour.com)
ELEMENTS URBAN TAPAS PARLOUR
Overall: Rating 3 1/2
Food: Rating 3 1/2
Ambience: Rating 3 1/2
Service: Rating 3
Price: $$
4359 Main St., Whistler,
604-932-5569. Open daily
for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
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