Travel pros dish about their favourite restaurants

Food for thought

Industry personnel recall great dining experiences

Ian Stalker

Clearly there are people in the travel industry who enjoy breaking bread in distant and perhaps very remote settings.

And that isn’t really surprising since dining in new locales and experiencing different cuisines is always considered one of the highlights of travel.

These days of social distancing brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have curtailed the international restaurant scene but Travel Courier would like to introduce you to some in the travel industry who are happy to recall some particularly memorable meals:

I truly do go ‘to the end of the earth’ for the best restaurant experience!’ My favourite place to dine is in the middle of Torres del Paine National Park at the intimate explora lodge. After a day of outdoor activities, the incredible fresh cuisine washed down with Argentinian and Chile wines tastes superb.”

Dallyce Macas

explora

Dallyce Macas clearly isn’t kidding when she says she’ll travel far and wide for a great meal.

Macas, who carries the flag here for Chilean resort company explora, recalls savouring the food in an explora lodge in Chilean Patagonia.

“I truly do go ‘to the end of the earth’ for the best restaurant experience!” she says. “My favourite place to dine is in the middle of Torres del Paine National Park at the intimate explora lodge. After a day of outdoor activities, the incredible fresh cuisine washed down with Argentinian and Chile wines tastes superb. In the prime season, the sunset view out to Lake Pehoe and the Massif lasts until 11 pm at night. Plenty of time to savour the homemade scrumptious Dulce de Leche desserts!”

Macas has been to dramatic Patagonia three times, and is eager to return. “The best part about visiting Patagonia is the vast amount of space this huge land offers. There are no crowds. Anywhere. The dining room at explora’s lodge offers a relaxed dining experience, so you can celebrate another great day with your family or special someone,” she says.

She recalls visiting the lodge restaurant after a day on horseback in the Patagonian pampas. “I worked up a huge appetite. So you could say it was recommended to me ‘straight from the horse’s mouth,'” she jokes.

One of my all-time favourite restaurants is Elements, situated in the Whistler Village. The brunch is to die for and I have literally travelled all the way up to Whistler just for their brunch.”

Sheralyn Berry

Contiki

Contiki president Sheralyn Berry’s top restaurant pick is one that’s found in a part of the world that more or less amounts to home turf for her.

The B.C. native reports she is is particularly smitten with an eatery in trendy Whistler.

“Seeing as I am a West Coast girl, one of my all-time favourite restaurants is Elements, situated in the Whistler Village,” she says. “This hidden gem has the most incredible menu created with fresh local ingredients and a ‘green table’ commitment. The brunch is to die for and I have literally travelled all the way up to Whistler just for their brunch. Their Double Smoked Bacon Frittata is so delicious with a chive sour cream topped potato tartlet and a giant mimosa! The atmosphere is cozy, the staff are super friendly and the night time vibe is awesome. Anyone who visits Whistler, do yourself a favour and stop at Elements. I can’t wait to dine there again when I am back in Whistler, hopefully this winter. For travellers who would like to experience the restaurant, Contiki’s Whistler ski trip launches this July with new Canadian domestic departures and Whistler is perfect for young Canadians who want to hit the slopes this winter, snowshoe the back country or just chill in the village.”

Berry discovered Elements many years ago when she “was out just wandering around. We had heard from the locals that the best brunch is town was at Elements, and when a local recommends something, you best be sure I will take the time to stop in and try the local cuisine.”

Meanwhile, Berry reports she has adapted to the impact coronavirus has had on the restaurant scene.

“I miss dining out and having someone else cook, but I am actually enjoying BBQ season!” she says. “I have embraced the fact that I cannot just go out and sit in a restaurant for dinner and I think I will appreciate it more once I am able to. Right now, we are supporting local restaurants with curb-side pick-up and that suits me just fine for now.”

It’s all delicious,” he says of the likes of pasta, meat and fish dishes at Krystal in the Hotel Riu Palace Riviera Maya. “Desserts are out of this world.”

Marc Miralles Pon

RIU Hotels & Resorts

Luxury hotels provide the luxury of choice for Marc Miralles Pon.

Miralles Pon works in RIU Hotels & Resorts’ Cancun office and so is well familiar with the chain’s numerous four- and five-star properties in the Cancun area and on the Riviera Maya.

Miralles Pon, who acknowledges being particularly appreciative of Italian food, gives all the resorts’ restaurants high marks, but adds that the one that particularly stands out in his view is the Krystal in the Hotel Riu Palace Riviera Maya, which among other things demonstrates great skill in mastering fusion cuisine.

“It’s all delicious,” he says of the likes of pasta, meat and fish dishes.

And Miralles Pon says that when Krystal guests finish their main dish, an Epicurean’s delight still awaits them.

“Desserts are out of this world,” he reports.

The food scene is in constant evolution and showcases the fantastic variety of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, an inspiration for innovative and re-elaborated local food with a contemporary flair.”

Laura Nesteanu

Quito Tourism Board

Laura Nesteanu is happy to note that those wanting to dine out in Quito will find a huge number of options awaiting them, some of them distinctively Ecuadorian, others of which were brought to the city from afar.

Nesteanu, with the Quito Tourism Board, reports that culinary options in the Ecuadorian capital range from traditional Ecuadorian food to international dishes.

“The food scene is in constant evolution and showcases the fantastic variety of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, an inspiration for innovative and re-elaborated local food with a contemporary flair,” tourism officials proudly proclaim.

Among the tastiest food options, according to Nesteanu, is URKO, Local Cuisine. It has a 14-course tasting menu that takes participants on a “gastronomic experience around Ecuador” using regional ingredients. URKO changes its menu for each of the following seasons: harvesting, fertility, sowing and flowering.

Nesteanu says those wanting to top their evening off with great Ecuadorian coffee should consider Ethnic Coffee, located in the Mariscal neighbourhood, found near famed Santa Teresita Church.

Meanwhile, Nesteanu adds that tourists wanting to try some food that reminds them of dishes they can easily find back home can quickly do so, with Quito having a lively international restaurant scene that serves such mainstream items as pizza.