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La Rua Restaurante
Category: Restaurants French French [Edit]
4557 Blackcomb Way RR 4Whistler, BC V0N 1B4
(604) 932-5011
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Classy, Upscale
- Has TV:
- No
14 reviews for La Rua Restaurante
14 reviews in English
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Review from Jamie S.
12/28/2011
Lively atmosphere paired with exceptional food and very good service.
Our party of 5 had 3 appetizers, 5 entrees and 3 desserts and everyone was satisfied with their meal. We were there for Christmas night, but still had what I believe was a full menu to choose from.
After many visits to Whistler, this is a new (and good) find for us. We'd be happy to return. -
Review from John C.
1/25/2012
Dinner for two on a Tuesday night started off well at 6:30 with a great table in the nicely appointed main room in the front corner by the windows = 4 out of 5. Our server -- a charming man whose name we didn't catch -- did a lovely job all evening. Fine service -- friendly but inconspicuous, as one would want in a resort setting = 5 out of 5.
We had looked at the menu online ahead of time and so knew what we wanted to order. Here's the recap: 1. The mussels were good though not amazing (and this is a hard dish to screw up), the broth was a little overly spicy to us = 4 out of 5. The goat cheese fritters were a nice contrast, though the portion was stingy and the sauce drizzled on them was overly sweet = 3 out of 5. if I see Osso bucco on the menu, it will be ordered. Here the Osso bucco was merely okay, the shank didn't melt in the mouth and the flavors were not inherent layered and embedded within the dish -- It seemed more like the kitchen had ladled a nice marinara sauce over the top of the already prepared meat = 2 out of 5. The salmon was the weakest dish, slightly over cooked, rather bland and too salty = 2 out of 5. The chocolate parfait was light and airy, but not truly memorable = 3 out of 5.
All in all, the excellent service makes up a little for a rather mediocre meal -- everything was palatable, but nothing was spectacular, and for $200, you something should be spectacular. -
Review from Kelly K.
Vancouver, BC
12/28/2011
Had three meals in Whistler over the holidays at La Rua, Quattro, and Araxi. La Rua was my favourite meal whereas Quatrro had the best service.
At La Rua I had the Rangeland Alberta Buffalo and it was one of the best pieces of Buffalo I've ever had. It was cooked to perfection and all the sides on the plate accompanied it perfectly. -
Review from David S.
4/24/2012
Always a favorite. We have never been disappointed in the food or service. Atmosphere is also very nice and elegant. Will continue to return.
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Review from Larry R.
3/4/2012
Great service - very friendly - though utterly unknowledgeable about the wines on their wine list (which isn't overwhelming in the least). Our server was unable to answer questions about an Alsace blend and an albarino (two of perhaps 30 whites on their wine list). Food was great - the oysters were outstanding (though would be nice if they were served on an oyster tray, not soup bowls), as were the goat cheese fritters and tuna tataki appetizers. I had a rockfish special, which was good and particularly helped out by a smoked salmon and potato cake it is served with. Four others had the sable fish on the menu, also good -- but all dishes were undersalted. The buffalo was terrific. Of the desserts, the strudel really stood out - delicious. Overall, a solid place, and fairly priced.
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Review from Salsaboy S.
8/21/2011
I enjoyed my dinner at La Rua notwithstanding that it doesn't cater to vegetarians. Over the summer, La Rua has promoted its 3-course menu for $39 -- a veritable bargain for most meat and seafood eaters. The three courses include an appetizer, entree, and dessert. I was told by my bed & breakfast owner that ordinarily these 3-course meals at La Rua are much higher (she said $79, but I don't know if that's accurate).
Despite that there wasn't one vegetarian entree on the menu, the chef offered two vegetarian entrees: a pasta primavera or a quinoa tower. The manager and the server strongly encouraged the latter, which was very good. For a vegetarian, the portion was quite small, and this was acknowledged by the manager, so she offered to bring me an additional course, a cheese plate (which is normally offered for dessert) to satisfy my nutritive needs. I then had dessert as my last course (a trio of ice creams -- I opted for the peanut brittle, the basil, and the chocolate . . . all made in-house, all very interesting, but the chocolate was the best). My appetizer was the house salad, which was excellent.
Service was excellent. The food was very good. My father ordered the cioppino and started with an albacore tuna sashimi. He enjoyed the cioppino, but wasn't mad for the tuna.
For $39 for three courses (or in my case, four), it's a bargain. It's not that much more expensive (or any more expensive, depending on where one goes) than any other comparable place in Whistler.
Recommended for Whistler. For vegetarians, I don't think this compares to other restaurants in metropolitan areas like Vancouver or San Francisco, and in those markets, I'd give this three stars. -
Review from Christine K.
Vancouver, BC
8/9/2011 9 photos
This was my favourite dinner in Whistler this trip. The restaurant has a fine dining setting with white table cloths. Service is very good with everyone that works there chipping in to help out each other. It was full tonight with hardly an empty table to be seen. I can see why.
Their menu right now is three courses for $39 and is great value for what you receive. The description for most of these dishes are on their website. I would absolutely recommend it and I would return to this restaurant any chance I could.
The gazpacho soup and seafood tower was amazing! It was a special of the evening. Soup had a great bite to it and woke up the taste buds. The seafood tower melded all the different tastes perfectly together. My favourite dish of the night.
The "Bavette" aka "minute" steak didn't thrill me and I didn't eat it. It was just chewy and had zero flavour. However, the potato/short rib terrine and crispy onions were delicious.
The bouillabaisse broth had great flavour and abounded with seafood. Mac & cheese was creamy, cheesy, though very rich. I only had a bite but son ate it all. Overall it was a delight to dine here.
I was very full so I took my cheese plate to go and it made a great midnight snack later on. (My son ate all the candied nuts). :-)
I've posted the pictures of everything we ate. -
Review from Tialen K.
8/1/2011
We have dined here for the last 3 weekends straight, the 3 course dinner is a fantastic value and everything we have had has been great.
Service has also been excellent.
We have tried:
Veal Porterhouse
Vension Roast
Miso Sablefish
duck two ways
All were cooked perfectly and were well paired with sauces and such. -
Review from Thomas B.
6/5/2011
My wife and I both had their 3 course menu. I had the sirloin and she had halibut. I had a crab cake and she the seafood salad. Everything was terrific and the visual presentation was really thought through well. Our service was outstanding although they were not very busy that evening so judgement on that it TBD.
We will happily return, the daily special 3 course makes this a great value for the quality. -
Review from Zan F.
12/26/2010
I had an average experience here. My main complaint was the service we received.
Christmas Eve at North America's premier ski resort could be a hectic time for any restaurant, so they can get a small pass there. But our server was simply unprofessional. He had a disingenuous personality, he couldn't describe the product, didn't check up on the meal after it was served, ssslllooowww to bring the check, and seemed to hustle for every table except ours. And this is not the all the server's fault, but we were left dry on both alcohol and water glasses.
To be frank, I rarely receive exceptional service in either Whistler or Vancouver restaurants. So there was no shock here.
The decor is simple and nice. We had reservations in the smaller dining room to the side of the bar and they had nice 'Christmas-y' touches on the server station and the plants around the dining room. The windows overlooked the snow falling on the Village...always a white Christmas here!
As for the food...it was cooked well, but served warm and (on 2 dishes I tried) tasted pretty bland. I ordered the Veal Osso Bucco. The meat melted off of the bone...it was slow cooked to perfection. The aromatics should have made this dish 'pop'. They topped the shank with a tomato based sauce (tasted like it was the base they braised the shank in) which fell flat. What I was looking forward to (as w/any Osso Bucco) was the marrow, or as I just heard it called...God's Butter! As the dish's name suggests, the marrow puts a lot of the taste in the dish. Although they didn't give you a narrow spoon to scoop it out, I did manage to get my butter knife in there and mix the marrow around in the sauce. This made the dish marginally better, but it still didn't shine like it should.
My girlfriend had the Bouillabaisse. The seafood was tasty as it should naturally be. But I was expecting more from the 'tomato saffron' broth. Again, it was almost there...but fell flat for me. I didn't get to try the Sablefish or the Buffalo ordered by my GF's family, but they gave it thumbs up and it looked like it was cooked well.
It's not on the online menu currently, but we ordered the 'Chocolate Surprise' as a self proclaimed choco'holic, this dessert did not disappoint.
I really wanted to agree w/the other 5 star reviews so far, and again I can see the potential for greatness here, but my experience was mediocre -
Review from Jocelyn E.
11/29/2008
Two years ago, we walked by here on a trip through the North Village and ended up going elsewhere because they weren't open (The waitress who was there early eating her own early dinner was actually really nice and offered to let us stay in the bar area until they officially opened.). I was really hungry, so despite the amazing menu, we went to Monk's Grill across the plaza.
Thanks to http://OpenTable.com expanding to Whistler, we decided to check out La Rua again for our Thanksgiving weekend trip to the mountains. The food really was amazing. We had the duck spring rolls and crab & lobster cakes for appetizers. I had the Cassoulet for dinner (braised lamb, duck confit, roasted beans, pork belly, and a few other veggies in stew) - a hearty helping. My husband had the lamb chops, which were cooked perfect; in fact, to quote him, they were "the best lamb chops I have ever had." I had a soda, and our total bill was just over $100 CAD.
The service was very good. We had to wait a little while before the waitress came to take our order, but once we ordered, we never had any issues. Never was our water glass empty, nor did we wait lengthy, awkward times between courses and leaving.
The decor is beautiful, one of the tables along the corner windows has a beautiful chandelier directly above it. The bar is located at the entrance. The rest of the restaurant consists of separated dining rooms (there may be more, but two were visible to us). It was pretty busy for an early season dinner, and there were several larger groups that were also dining at La Rua so it was a bit loud.
I would highly recommend La Rua for good eats with a small to medium sized group; probably not for an intimate dinner. The food is definitely worth the trip and price. The appetizers were pretty expensive (almost $20 each), so if it may be worth just bulking up on the hearty entree portions if you want to save some money.Listed in: Whistler - my other home
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Review from Wayne T.
Vancouver, BC
12/19/2010 1 Check-in Here
Amazing food. They take a simple menu and create a great tasting dish. So many items on the menu I really wanted to try. Will be back again for sure.
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Review from Emre M.
1/13/2011
Yes. So many good things to say about this place.
After a day of intense powder, a Gin and Tonic sounded fantastic - it ended up tasting even better, especially when the tab read $5.75. Cha ching!
Duck Confit Spring Rolls - YES. I could eat these for breakfast. Heck, I'd eat them in my sleep if I had the motor control. Crispy puff pastry wrapping, delicious filling (what else would you expect from duck confit?), and omnomnommy Cumberland sauce.
BC Sablefish - Bordering on undercooked, but still tasty, refreshing, and the dashi broth was perfect. Highly recommended if you don't want a massively heavy meal.
Cassoulet - Geezus. There was a s***ton of meat in this one! Duck, sausage, lamb, pork belly... very much the hearty meal that is so delightful after a day of hard skiing. Not a diet food, but you wouldn't order the cassoulet if you weren't looking for heart-warming deliciousness.
Would've given it 5 stars, except that when I asked whether the Buffalo Mozzarella was from Italy (I was curious if it was made in the US or Canada, as well), he waxed poetic about how it's from Sicily and then proceeded to pronounce me misinformed when I suggested it was from Campania. After that exchange, he was significantly less friendly, but professional nonetheless. -
Review from Brett F.
3/29/2010
Wow - an amazing experience. Oysters that were the tastiest I've had, followed by a rack of lamb that was outstanding. Service is first-rate and this restaurant is a must if you get to Whistler!
