Even if you do not stay at one of the full-service inns, I recommend taking at least some of your meals there. Some of the best chefs in Alaska cook at these places (I still try to copy some of the flavors prepared by Dave Lesh of the Gustavus Inn at Glacier Bay). Make reservations; you can't just show up and eat. The other choice for fine dining is The Glacier Bay Lodge, which serves three meals a day -- but it's 10 miles away at the park's Bartlett Cove headquarters. Otherwise, the dining choices in Gustavus are few and fairly basic.
One free-standing restaurant that's been going strong for years is A Bear's Nest Cafe, less than half a mile from the main intersection on Wilson Road (tel. 907/697-2440; www.gustavus.com/bearsnest), where the often braided Lynne Morrow serves organic dishes, homemade bread, local seafood, soup, sandwiches, beer and wine, and dessert in a homey dining room with baskets hanging from the open-beam ceiling. The cafe is open in summer daily noon to 8pm, with live music Saturday nights, and accepts Amex, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa. Lynne has a room and a couple of cabins for rent, too.
The other choice is Homeshore Cafe, at Gustavus's central intersection on Wilson Road (tel. 907/697-2822), serving meals all year in a dining room with about 40 seats next door to an art gallery. The menu includes pizza, calzones, sandwiches, salads, and the like, and beer and wine; a large pizza is $20 to $25, sandwiches $10. Summer hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11:30am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm; winter Tuesday through Friday 11:30am to 1:30pm and 4:30 to 6:30pm, staying open Friday until 7:30pm. The cafe accepts Visa and MasterCard.
