Ciao-Thyme Bistro

Been there twice now for breakfast and both times it was fantastic. Its small, friendly and casual but the food is more upscale. Great ingredients and good flavours. Highly recommended. Good portions too.

Very good first time experience. Very accommodating and attentive service. They set expectations for the wait while preparing food in their small kitchen. Food was excellent with reasonably sized portions and prices. We will be back.

We were lucky enough to get a table for two right away on a Saturday night at 7:00. The food and service were excellent! We had the bacon flan and gnocchi appetizers, then elk and pheasant as main courses.
First class organic free range food at prices we would expect if this restaurant was in our home town.

We ate here twice during our week stay and both times the food was stupendously good. Out of all the places we ate (including 21 Steps and Araxi) we felt this was by far the best.
This is a small/​intimate bistro; it doesn’t have the atmosphere of a very upscale/​high end restaurant but it doesn’t pretend to be anything that it isn’t and it is not pretentious at all. It’s very relaxed and you will be comfortable dressed up or casual…
The servers are super friendly; we had particularly good service from Nick on our second visit. The young lady who served us on the first visit was very helpful with the menu and took time to talk to us despite how busy they were and how exhausted we were after a 14 hour travel day! The chef also came over to ask us if we enjoyed everything; a nice touch for a small bistro.
Both times we were there it was very busy. You can see the chefs working in the kitchen and everything is prepared fresh/​to order.
The mushroom risotto was the best we’ve ever had — absolutely fabulous… the salmon tartare was delicious as was the catch of the day (Mahi Mahi one time and Rock Fish the second) with the sundried tomato pesto (yummy!). Our friends had the catch of the day and the short ribs and they thought the short ribs were the best they’d had too.
For dessert, we had Apricot Bread Pudding and the Apple Tart Tatin; both of which were worth the calories :-)
Overall, we really felt that Ciao Thyme Bistro offers the best value for money in Whistler taking into account the quality and flavor of the food, the freshness of the ingredients, the service and the effort in presentation.
Absolutely excellent — will definitely be back… and if you are a foodie, you should definitely take time to come here during your stay… enjoy — you will :-)

During a weekend stay at the nearby Fairmont Château, we had breakfast twice at Ciao-​Thyme. The first day, we both had the egg wrap, which was seriously yummy, but far too much food for breakfast (three eggs and various veggies in a large tortilla)…and at $ 15 each, seriously ouchie on the wallet!
On the second day, we chose the fried egg sandwich, which was a more reasonably-​sized meal, containing one egg on a burger-​style bun with lettuce and tomato. At half the bill of the first day, the expense was easier to swallow as well ;)
And yes, me and my better half share a brain and so usually wind up ordering the same meals. We know we are weirdos… no need to point it out.

Their eggs Benedict were soooooo good. Loved the pulled pork Benedict and the avocado & tomato one was really fresh and delicious.

I was here for breakfast /​brunch recently.
Food ³⁄₅: Nothing particularly exciting. Scones on the dry side. Potatoes a little too brown.
Service ¹⁄₅: Hopeless. But this seems rather typical of Whistler, where many service staff are here to party and work is just this thing that gets in the way of partying. Only 3 of our 5 drinks arrived and it took another two requests to get our 4^th and 5^th drinks. Pancakes came without butter. Had to flag our server down for that too. And I can’t believe that she actually gave of a sound of exasperation when we (nicely) flagged her down. Need to pay more attention to cleaning as well. Please wipe off all cleaning fluid on the table before seating your guests and make sure your jam jars and ketchup bottles aren’t sticky. Overall, slow and inexperience staff.
Value ³⁄₅: On the slightly cheaper side, considering you’re in Whistler. All breakfast entrees are less than $ 15. Portion size is on the smaller side though.
Ambiance ⁴⁄₅: No complaints about having brunch on a sunny patio!
Overall ²⁄₅

Loved this little café! Took a break from the slopes and walked over for an amazing lunch. The yam fries and accompanying sauce were DELICIOUS! Great server as well. I wish that they had been open at the end of the ski day…3 or 4-​ish,

A small Upper Village place with an original menu that relies on fresh local ingredients. The food is quite good and the wine selection has reasonably priced choices.

I would not recommend this place for dinner. Party of 3 felt sick after eating there (snapper, elk and pork)
Server did not know the food she was bringing out and the food tasted like it was cooked in reused oil.

hidden gem on blackcomb. i don’t know how many times i’ve stayed at intrawest (timeshares) on blackcomb and had no idea this place existed. it was only when my friend who frequents it introduced it to me one weekend we were up there, that i discovered it and all its glory.
it’s small and quaint — very homey. gets really busy though, so you might have to wait for a table, but it’s worth it. the eggs benny is delicious. all its breakfast food looks pretty legit, although i haven’t been able to order anything else except the eggs benny because it’s that good. i’ve had a few bites of my friends’ dishes, and they were all pretty tasty.

We had breakfast here on a Saturday morning with two young kids based on our hotel’s concierge recommendation. I thought it was pricey for what you get, even compared to other places at Whistler. For two adults and two kids (2 and 4) with juice, we spent close to $ 80 CAD.
While the food was decent, it wasn’t anything special. Service was average. The indoor seating was small and cramped, although there was just as much seating outdoors. A couple came in just as we were leaving and wanted the last table, which happened to be for 4, and the staff made them wait so they didn’t take up extra seats. I thought it was rude, and if I were that couple, I would have left.
The breakfast buffet at the Four Seasons was far better, and since kids under 5 were free, we only spent $ 65. That’s were we had breakfast the rest of our stay.

I went here around 12:00 on a Sunday to eat brunch. They were really busy with some people coming in for brunch and families eating lunch. We politely made it fairly clear we were in a hurry and they were extremely accomodating and got us out of there fairly quickly.
I thought the food was very high quality, generally healthy, and really tasty. I was in a mood for something very simple so I just got the two eggs breakfast. Simple but they executed it really well and they were very nice about letting me subsitute smoked salmon for sausage/​bacon. The breakfast potatoes were really good. My husband ordered a pulled pork sandwhich with yam fries that he really loved. I tried the yam fries with dipping sauce and they were really awesome. They are available with many of the different dishes — I highly recommend them.
I even though they played really good music.
I highly recommend this place, particularly for anyone who is somewhat health conscious.

I think they have sorted out the service problems that other reviewers have reported. I went there with a party of seven for a late lunch last week-​end and they treated us well — quick service and friendly and chatty staff. Also, and very important, the waitress was knowledgeable about the ingredients and food prep techniques. One person in our party is gluten intolerant, and it makes us all enjoy our meal more when we are confident that the restaurant understands how to cater to this condition.
It’s a funny little space — it looks like a coffee shop crammed into a small retail shop, with half the space taken up by the kitchen. However, we really liked the menu. The dishes we ordered included breakfast and lunch, and everything was excellent. The dinner menu looked fantastic, with elk and duck and other stuff that sounded great.
This is a nice change for Whistler, where most places are over-​the-​top pretentious or factory-​food chains. In contrast, this place feels like they focus heavily on food and don’t worry much about décor. I look forward to going back to try their dinner menu sometime.

Most of the bad reviews seem to be based on breakfast, which I haven’t had. Their dinner, however, is hard to beat in Whistler. Braised lamb shank, slow-​cooked short ribs, yam fries that are the best I’ve *ever* had. Local duck, west-​coast halibut. This is not your typical Whistler Restaurant. It’s worth the hike over toward the Fairmont to check it out. I also love that you can sit next door at Fitzsimmon’s pub and be served the same food as you find at Ciao Thyme. The atmosphere in that pub is quiet and friendly, not overcrowded and frat.

The breakfast burrito seemed charred and lacked any other redeeming flavor. I enjoyed the few pieces of fruit that came with the meal, but had to abandon half the burrito. The waitress didn’t ask if anything was wrong with the food when clearing the table. My friend’s breakfast platter included a basic portions of egg, potato, and turkey sausage. The turkey sausage was heavily seasoned and tasted like it was grilled on top of beef fat.
Service was overworked and scattered. Our waitress exchanged the nasty turkey sausage for bacon, but insisted the sausage was delicious. Our bill took several minutes to arrive and ten minutes to pay. At least they were training an additional server.

Not great at all. Coffee was cold. Service was funny. Table beside us left because server was giving out so much about getting told off by boss. Food was ok. Credit card machine out of order. Seems like the kind of place that has a lot of bad days.

This is a great place for coffee and breakfast. The breakfast sandwiches («Bob») are tasty.

Just opposite the Fairmont Resort is Ciao Thyme Bistro, a small and quaint restaurant perfect for satisfying post-​boarding breakfast hungers.
I came here and ate their breakfast platter: two eggs, delicious fried potatoes, toast, and turkey sausages. My friend had a breakfast wrap, which she seemed to enjoy immensely.
Our server was simply lovely and very attentive. The food came to us quickly and the atmosphere at Ciao Thyme Bistro was relaxed, cosy, and friendly. I’d definitely come back here for breakfast or lunch next time I’m in Whistler.

This was one of the first restaurants I ate at when I moved to Whistler and continued to be a favorite throughout my time there. The rosemary and goat cheese egg dish is superb. I really don’t remember the other menu option as I stuck with the eggs. I do remember that all my friends would get the salmon as it was fresh and apparently delicious. I just had to take their word on it as I’m a veg.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, this relaxing restaurant tucked in the Upper Village is what Whistler cuisine is all about: fresh, fun and inventive.