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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.
There's often a line out the door of this artisan gelateria on Homer Spit that's operated by a passionate chef who studied the art of making this dense, richly flavored ice cream in Calabria, Italy, and has garnered numerous awards. You can choose from around 15 flavors, including some rotating seasonal options, such as wild Alaskan rose with local honey, and maple brown butter pecan with Alaskan sea salt. It's open till late on summer evenings.
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.
Amid the summer shops and docks, this little café offers warm drinks and soups, sandwiches, and fresh-baked pastries, along with an Alaskan favorite, soft-serve ice cream. The busy shop has only a couple of indoor seats, but there's outdoor seating overlooking the harbor, which is quite pleasant on sunny days. They also sell box lunches for those embarking on a cruise or day hike.
Flatbreads, pizzas, calzones, and an excellent array of salads and garlic-filled dishes are the reasons locals congregate at this laid-back downtown eatery all year long. The calzones are true works of art.
For a quarter century, this downtown natural foods store has been serving Valdez and its visitors espresso and organic coffees, delicious fresh-baked goods, and fruit smoothies. There's also a sandwich bar for paninis and soups made from scratch.
This splendid café offers a good selection of teas and organic coffee, as well as soups, wraps, pastries, and smoothies.
This iconic food truck is known for its highly popular cheesy spinach bread and also serves breakfast and rotating daily specials, like Thai curry, Ethiopian beans and rice, and a Hawaiian poke bowl. Just look for the shiny metal trailer with a long line of people waiting for their favorite meal. It's worth the wait, and don't forget to grab some Brazilian limeade to wash it all down.
This is the only combination kayak rental shop and coffeehouse in Hope—maybe in the whole state. They offer up great coffee, small-batch-roasted coffee beans, fresh fruit smoothies, and house-made pastries.
This long-running eatery is a short walk from Bishops Beach, Beluga Slough, and the Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center. In addition to fresh breads and pastries, Two Sisters specializes in deliciously healthy lunches, such as vegetarian focaccia sandwiches, homemade soups, quiche, and salads. There's no indoor dining, but there is a lovely wraparound porch and a garden sitting area that are perfect on a summer afternoon; you can even walk your espresso and scone down to the beach to watch the waves roll in.
The folks at this aroma-filled bakery café serve up fresh and tasty pastries, quiches, wraps, salads, panini and other sandwiches, and espresso drinks. A convivial setting for meetings, board games, and pleasant conversation by day, Vagabond is a popular hangout. There's Wi-Fi, too.
