Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
The best way to describe the hospitality industry in Alaska is "informal," and this applies all over the state—even in Anchorage. Don't worry if you still have your hiking clothes on when you go out to eat. Every kind of food is available, especially in larger towns, but options decline considerably from mid-September through April.
Open at 7 am, this little café near the end of the Spit is a perfect stop before a day of fishing, but lunch is an equally fulfilling experience. Owner and renowned chef Kirsten Dixon and her daughter Mandy, both of them graduates of Le Cordon Bleu, the Paris cooking school, create simple, highly pleasing meals like fresh ramen with homemade broth, local vegetables, and seasonal fish. All the wild seafood dishes here are tremendously flavorful.
This roadhouse diner is a great place to grab a bite and a libation and soak up the sun (when it makes an appearance) on the outside deck. The café offers an array of dishes, but they're particularly known for their excellent variety of burgers. Breakfast is served on weekends, and the country-fried steak is out of this world. On weekends, the venue presents outdoor concerts by bands from all over the country (and in winter, acoustic music is performed indoors). This makes lodging and comping a hot commodity when concerts are scheduled, so make sure you have your lodging and tickets in place before making the long drive.
Like every good brewery, Denali Brewing Company has a large outdoor porch for sunny days, and a menu of savory items to soak up the beer. Burgers, fish-and-chips, and a host of appetizers pack their menu. Denali Brewing is also home to Alaska Meadery, Alaska Ciderworks, and Denali Spirits.
This restaurant and acoustic music venue (adjacent to Bear Creek Lodge) prides itself on epic meals with a twist, like two-layer crab cakes and deep-fried cheesy rice and Alaska sausage. The food is delicious, but the interior, with its one wall that opens up to let the delightful summer outdoors in, really makes this a terrific place to dine, drink, and enjoy great live music.
This trusty spot for burgers, sandwiches, and seafood specials is known for generous portions and reasonable prices. There's often live music in summer.
With a menu that ebbs and flows with the seasons yet consistently delivers fantastic dishes, The Grape Tap is lauded by most as the top upscale dining experience in town. This 60-seat restaurant and European wine cellar is set in a 1930s pioneer home that's been renovated with contemporary colors and style. Reservations are highly recommended.
This roadhouse was first built in 1952 replete with cut, hauled and split timber. It's a great place to grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with specialties ranging from double quarter-pound burgers topped with applewood-smoked bacon and cheddar to halibut fish-and-chips.
A big, boisterous, friendly place near the small-boat harbor, Henry's has a menu that's equally big. There's fresh local seafood, of course, but also everything from barbecue to gourmet salads, pastas, and even some Cajun dishes. Get started with one of the many appetizers, and finish up with one of their tasty desserts.
Located at the harbor with splendid outdoor seating, this laid-back eatery features smoked meats, fresh baked goods, and an array of rotating specials on the menu, including barbecue ribs on Friday. On the weekends they have fantastic dinners and live music.
With a back side that faces Kenai Lake and offers splendid views, and food equally worth your attention, this unassuming roadhouse is the place to stop in Cooper Landing. The halibut crab cakes with an excellent homemade tartar sauce come highly recommended, and there are always great fish options at the peak of the season. Musicians from all over entertain in the evenings.
With a great outdoor deck and a heap of local company, the Linwood emphasizes its "bar" side at night and serves up hearty grilled burgers, pizzas, and seafood by day and into the early evening. Musicians from all over the state take the boat over to perform for Seldovians here.
As its name suggests, Louie's specializes in steak and Alaska seafood, but they have a number of other alternatives on the menu as well. The clam chowder gets quite the rave reviews, and the clam and mussel appetizer is outstanding. On the weekend, the breakfast menu offers a bountiful amount of food. The decor is not for everyone, but for those not bothered by the sight of taxidermied animals, it's a chance to see just about every creature that roams the state.
Located downtown Wasilla in the old clock tower, Meta & Rose serves gastropub fare from an eclectic menu, including brie-and-pear salads, chicken-fried chicken, lemon-garlic halibut, and rib-eye steaks. On the weekends, they host live music. Reservations are recommended.
A warm and inviting wood-paneled restaurant and Victorian lounge inside Hotel Seward, Ms. Gene's is one of the town's only fine dining establishments, serving breakfast and dinner year-round. The dinner menu changes often, but dishes such as seared ahi tuna, filet mignon, and halibut cheeks appear with frequency and are revered. There is limited seating so be sure to book a table in advance.
A favorite meeting place in the old train depot, Palmer City echoes with the sound of local chatter. It has a great ambience, and the standard pub fare—salads, tacos, pizzas baked in a firebrick oven, and handmade burgers—is reliably good. With more than 40 beers on tap and crafty craft cocktails, there's enough libation diversity to suit just about every taste. The Alehouse hosts live music in the summer months.
This cozy little converted house overlooks the harbor and is a local go-to place in summer. Whether it's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this place has mastered the potato—be sure to try the potatohead burrito or the spuds with gravy. They also offer terrific salads, wraps, sandwiches, and pizzas.
A shanty roadhouse of sorts, Rendezvous serves drinks all night and caters to locals with great grub and live music from artists that hail from all over the country. Every afternoon (except Monday), the locals and tourists show up in droves to fill their bellies with tasty eats. The clam chowder, halibut sandwich, and fish tacos are enough to make anyone fall deeper in love with Alaska—but get there before the 7:30 pm witching hour, when the menu turns back to liquid-only.
Part of Seward Windsong Lodge, the Roadhouse offers deck seating that overlooks the Resurrection River and the surrounding mountains. Classic Alaskan seafood and American fare fills the menu, along with multiple Alaska-brewed beers on tap.
With its rusty roof set against a breathtaking inlet and mountain backdrop, the Seaview is one of the original buildings in Hope at nearly 120 years old. It serves terrific seafood chowder and halibut-and-chips as well as one of the best Reuben sandwiches in Alaska. There's also live music every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Everything at St. Elias is homemade: the beer, the Neapolitan-style stone-fired rustic pizza, the sandwiches, and even the desserts. The calzones are to die for, and the Mt. Redoubt chocolate cake with a molten center is simply divine. This is a good place to check out the locals; the patrons are just as friendly as the staff, and in summer local live music is a big draw.
The owners of this cheerful little year-round restaurant on the shore of Kenai Lake call it a "backwoods bistro." The very reasonably priced menu includes breakfast dishes, homemade soups and chowders, wraps and vegetarian items, and hand-grated french fries. There's even a spotting scope in the parking lot for spying on the Dall sheep and mountain goats in the surrounding peaks. The bar here hosts live music on most Saturdays in summer, and the deck outside is great when the weather's warm. The Inn also offers 10 rooms to spend the night and an RV site.
This cozy café with rustic wooden benches and tables and a patio is only a few years old but is already a favorite summer eatery in town. It's a short walk for cruise ship passengers, and it serves outstanding burgers, plus hefty sandwiches, reindeer chili, seafood chowder, and other hearty dishes.
