Revisiting Nita Lake & Cure Lounge
If you are taking a short trip to Whistler and staying in Whitler Village for the night, I would recommend making Nita Lake as your first stop. Only a 6-minute drive from Whistler Village, the Creekside Village features the only lakefront hotel in Whistler, Nita Lake Lodge. There are 2 restaurants at the hotel – the refined Aura Restaurant and the casual Cure Lounge & Patio. However, only Cure is open at the moment.
As I had such a great time staying at Nita Lake Lodge last winter, and I was looking forward to a relaxing lunch by the beautiful Nita Lake after the long drive from Vancouver.
The Views
We arrived around 1:30 pm. The glacier-fed Nita Lake surrounded by mountains and trees was stunning on such a beautiful sunny summer day.
The Drinks
RC decided to go easy on drinking at this early hour and picked the lightest cocktail on the menu. Mixed with prosecco, strawberry syrup, rose water, and soda, the Strawberry Rose Spritzer ($11) is on the sweet side and fairly refreshing. I ordered the G&T Flight ($28) with 3 local gins produced in BC: Montis Alpine Gin, Empress Gin, and Longtable Gin. As I was only told about it and didn’t actually see it on the menu, I had no idea how much it was until RC told me after it was served. The gins were tasty but for $28, it only came with 3 shots of gins and one bottle of tonic, which seemed a little pricey.
However, there are some good deals on the drink menu if you visit from 2 pm – 5 pm. The happy hour features $6 draft beer, $8 house wine, $15 sangria pitcher, and $9 rosewater spritz.
The Food
The food was divine.
The Speck Alto Adige & Summer Pea Tagliatelle ($26) reminds me of the meal I had at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Napa Valley. The 3 main ingredients are delicious – the exquisite, dry-cured, & lightly smoked Italian ham, fresh summer peas, and hand-made tagliatelle. The toppings represent the best from an Italian summer market, such as orange zest, shallots, cured tomatoes, arugula, sage cream, and grana padano.
I took advantage of the special of the day – the Cure Burger ($21) is only $15 on Wednesdays. It is stacked with house-ground AAA beef chuck, applewood smoked cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, pickle mayo, fried onion rings, and toasted brioche bun. The quality of the ingredients really shine and it really should be named one of the best burgers in Whistler!
Walking Around Nita Lake
After lunch, we had a lovely walk around after the meal. There are trails around the property that connect the hotel to Whistler Village and to Alpha Lake (five minutes on foot to the south) and Alta Lake (a 20-minute walk to the north). If I have a chance to stay here in the summer next time, I would definitely explore the outdoors in the area.
Final thought
The breathtaking views of Nita Lake and the refined dishes really made our stop in Whistler enjoyable. Although the food is on the pricey side, for such an exquisite dining experience, it is worth it.
$$ – $$$
Rating: 4/5
Cure Lounge @ Nita Lake Lodge
2131 Lake Placid Rd, Whistler, BC V0N 1B2
(604) 966-5700 or nitalakelodge.com
