Ric’s Grill

I have been in Whistler for about 3 years now and I initially tried Ric’s back in 2012 once in 2013 and for a final time this year. I know the staff has changed over the year but the only thing that is consistent about this place is how bad the food is especially at the price point they are charging. It seems like everything is either prepared early or frozen then thawed out and served to you. I really don’t know but nothing I have had here ever tasted fresh.
The Spinach and Beet salad they have on the menu listed as: fresh beets, toasted almonds and sliced apple with house-​made poppy seed dressing. There is no way the beets are fresh, the salad I had tasted like they came out of a can and the salad looked haphazardly prepared.
I then had the filet which comes wrapped in bacon. I asked if I could have mine come out without bacon. The server told me that they were all already pre-​made so they could not accommodate this. Which makes me believe either they are getting all of their food from somewhere else or it is just made earlier in the day then re-​heated or something.
Definitely not a place I would go back to or spend money on as there are so many amazing restaurants in Whistler. I was hesitant to write such a negative review but after trying to give this place a chance three times, I really think at the price point the level of service and food is extremely disappointing. It is a real shame because the restaurant is in a great location and has so much potential to be great.

I was pretty happy with the service. I had a rib eye blacked with cajun sauce that was pretty good service is a little slow, but it is one of the few places you can get a party larger than 4 in without an early reservation.

Why didn’t I check Unilocal first? If you read previous reviews and think that things might have gotten better since late 2013, think again. Stay away! There is a reason this is the only place you can get in when all others in the village are booked. Beautiful Dining room with an enticing menu but the execution SUCKS! Stick with the pubs or fast food if necessary.
Someone at our table tried to defend the staff saying that it’s probably a bunch of kids who just want to ski and stay stoned all the time (which is true probably). My opinion is that their JOB is to provide delicious food, in a timely manner, in exchange for the hard earned money and high resort prices they charge.
I ordered the toasted coconut chicken with risotto. The chicken was burned BLACK and the risotto was a clump of undercooked muck that would hold a fork standing up! (see pic). Seriously, this gruel would be snubbed at a London orphanage! (Think Oliver Twist). The «chicken pasta special» next to me tasted like hamburger helper and/​or dog food that was over salted and gummy. Creamy is a word this kitchen doesn’t understand. Salads — good.
Hello Crystal Lodge, can you hear me? Fire your chef and start over! Whoever is back there has no business cooking for other people! I will say the server (forget her name) tried to be chatty & pleasant (what option does she have?) although everything from the cocktail order on was served waaaay toooooo slowly. The place was practically empty. She never checked to see if 4 guys wanted checks to be divided and totally screwed it up when asked to do so. (Sad Trombone sound)

So I’ve read pretty much all of the bad reviews here and I decided to put in my two cents.
We went in just for a few appies and decided on the Tuscan Brandy Tiger Prawns, Crispy Calamari, Sesame Ginger Chili Chicken, and the espresso pie. I thought everything we ordered was absolutely delicious! I wanted to bathe in the prawn sauce, and the fresh grated ginger on the chicken gave it an amazing freshness. The serving of calamari was very generous, so probably the best value for money there.

This was all around an awful experience, sadly. We walked in at 8:05 and were told by the hostess that since we didn’t have a reservation the restaurant wasn’t going to be seating anyone else. So, we walk out the door and look on Open Table and see there is a reservation available at 8:30, 9, and 9:30. We book the 8:30 reservation go back in, inform her we do have a reservation and we would like to have a seat in the lounge. She says oh, I can seat you now if you would prefer… uh, what??? It took a good long while for a waitress to come by, she takes our drink order and then we get a new waitress several very long minutes later (at least 20).
After talking to both waitresses it is determined that two things have happened here 1) they basically have no food due to not receiving a shipment and 2) they are understaffed. Our waitress, a sweet Australian woman whose name I cannot remember was a trooper and did her job well.
Had a fantastic riesling to start the dinner off, two of us had the special which was a pistachio crusted halibut… it was awful. Bland in most spots as it was cut quite thick and way too salty in other spots. Mine wasn’t cooked well, either. I didn’t eat but 2 – 3 bites… however, my caesar and twice baked potato was delicious. My dining companion who had the same thing agreed with my thoughts on the meal. My other dining companions had steak and they loved them. Sadly their ribeye does lack some flavour due to it not being a bone-​in.
This was a truly awful experience and we will not be going back. I wish the food and initial service had been better. I think if the hostess had a bit of personality and thought about customer service and had been honest with us about the situation with the food in the kitchen and being understaffed for wait staff would have helped us as we probably would have gone somewhere else.
I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant at all, especially to those with kids as the turnaround time for food was very, very slow.