Portobello: Gourmet sandwich and pastries in Whistler Upper Village
There are a lot of expensive plates to eat in Whistler but also lots of fast grab-and-go options also! In this post, I will be reviewing one of my favourite sandwich spots: Portobello inside the Fairmont Whistler.
Located in the Upper Village, Portobello offers a huge selection of gourmet sandwiches, pastries, salads and soups in a casual and open kitchen café concept. Their sandwiches feature a lot of appetizing options like rotisserie chicken, BBQ meats and more.
Portobello
4599 Chateau Blvd, Whistler, BC V8E 0Y1
The vibe
The interior of Portobello definitely stimulates my appetite. You walk past this bar where you can see all the different sandwich toppings and it smells so good! Then you walk past this pastry section that looks amazing also. We bought some pastries to go and eat another and they were all really high quality, flaky, and huge.
You now order at the counter near the back and they will buzz you when your item is ready for pick up at the counter. There is a decent amount of seating if you keep walking deeper into the restaurant, and there is also a heated solarium/undercover patio area with more tables and chairs.
Food review
Prices are in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.
Perfectly perfect porchetta ($19)
My favourite sandwich from Portobello is their porchetta sandwich 😍! It is a hefty boy with lots of crispy porchetta chopped up in a long baguette with a sour cherry and sage mayo.
This is a big sandwich and usually I can only finish half of it. The skin on the porchetta has a great crunch and I especially like the fatty bits where it is bursting with flavour. The baguette holds everything together pretty well and the pickle cuts through some of that grease.
Sticky sweet citrus brisket ($16) + Mac and cheese side ($7)
Portobello has 3 different BBQ sandwiches for only $16 – pulled and basted BBQ chicken, sticky sweet citrus brisket, and Carolina honey mustard pulled pork. All BBQ sandwiches are served with zesty slaw, house mustard, BBQ mayo, and brioche buns.
My husband chose the brisket sandwich and added a side of mac and cheese. The brisket sandwich looked a bit more like pulled pork – we thought it would be more thinly sliced cuts of brisket. It had some good flavour to it and it was very saucy but the citrus taste wasn’t that predominant.
The mac and cheese uses applewood smoked cheddar and is dusted with panko crust – yum!
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The stereotype in Whistler is that everything is expensive but at Portobello, you can get a hearty meal for under $20. I recommend you to check out their variety of BBQ sandwiches as they smell the best! My only gripe is their tomato soup is not that great.
Portobello also offers breakfast and dinner (smokehouse menu), but I would skip breakfast and wait until they switch over to the lunch menu at 11am.
Service is fast and good!
Sincerely, Loewe