The Mongolie Grill is a restaurant in Whistler Village. When we were in Whistler in March, this was one of the restaurants that we visited. It was definitely our favourite. The design is really unique not only for it's design, but for the entire way that if works. It's not like other restaurants where you get to pick what you want off a menu and the waiter brings you your food. At Mongolie, who specialize in stir fries, you get to customize your entire meal. It's sort of like a buffet, as you go and build your plate with all kinds of vegetables, noodles, proteins, and sauces. Then you give your bowl to the staff and they cook it up on this big grill right in front of you! It's really cool!
Mongolie Grill is located on the second level of one of the buildings in Whistler, so that means that when you go inside the first thing you have to do is climb a few flights of stairs. The entire staircase is decorated with asian-style paintings. The lighting is quite dim and it makes you really excited to get up the stairs and see what the rest of the restaurant looks like. this is similar to many homes but very odd for a restaurant. Stairs right away can be a bit of a turnoff for people when entering a restaurant. Who wants to climb before dinner? but once you get up you realize it was definitely worth it! But there are some things similar about Mongolie to other restaurants. From the entrance you can hear the asian music playing, drawing you in, and there is also a menu and description on what the restaurant is about. That way, you can decide if it's something you're interested in trying before you go up all those stairs!
When you get up the stairs, this is what you see. The space is pretty small, for a restaurant at least, so the tables are pretty close together. Near the back there are a few booths and a bar as well. The eating area continues with that whole asian flare. There are a lot of paintings and the furnishings are modern but you still get the asian feel from them. This is different from residential design in many ways. In houses, extra space is necessary and having too much furniture is a major taboo. IT's the opposite in restaurants, as the more people they can seat the more money they'll make. Also, there is a lot of the same pieces of furniture, whereas in homes variety is good.
This is the grill sections. The large grill usually has about 4 chefs around it so that one isn't stuck cooking for 8 people at one time. The great thing about Mongolie is that you get to watch your food being made. The chefs put on a bit of a show with it too, flipping their spatulas and throwing them once in a while. But, though you get to watch them, there is a fence to give the chefs their own work space. This is different from residential design, where most people like their kitchens to be open and to prevent the segregation from whoever is cooking.
We really like how unique this restaurant is. It's design is simple but not too simple. You can tell that it's an asian themed restaurant without it screaming at you. Also, there are a lot of windows that have the beautiful whistler views. And, of course, our favourite part is the unique "kitchen." We love how you can see your food being made and control exactly what and how much you get. If we could change anything, it would be to make the space bigger. More seating with a little more leg room would be awesome, as you don't really feel as private as you would like. Some more booths would be nice too. But, given the space constraints, we think they did a really good job on Mongolie's design and would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique dining experience!
Hayley, Vanja, & Alexandra (*Double Post)
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