Restaurants in Anchorage
The Best Takeout in Town -- Anchorage has great takeout food. Downtown, the Muffin Man, 817 W. 6th Ave. (tel. 907/279-6836), produces some of the best meals eaten at the city's desks, including the memorably delicious smoked red salmon and cream cheese sandwich. You can eat in the sunny, tiled dining room, too, and they serve wine and local beer. The best, most original burgers are at Arctic Roadrunner, with locations on Arctic Boulevard at Fireweed Lane, and on Old Seward Highway at International Airport Road. Try the Kodiak Islander, which has peppers, ham, onion rings, and God knows what else on top. New Sagaya's City Market (tel. 907/274-6173; www.newsagaya.com), at the corner of 13th and I streets, is a wonderful gourmet grocery and community meeting place, and has a good deli, Italian-style brick-oven pizza, and familiar Chinese food that's generally good. Pack a picnic here, or eat at the enclosed or sidewalk dining areas.
Coffeehouses -- There are coffeehouses all over the city to get a cup of java and a pastry, and to meet people and engage in conversation. A favorite is Side Street Espresso, on G Street between 4th and 5th, a gathering place for artists, activists, and anyone who wants to trade ideas, sometimes with live acoustic music in the evening. Cafe del Mundo, at Northern Lights and Denali Midtown, gathers an older crowd of businesspeople, yuppies, stay-at-home parents, and those looking for a comfortable meeting spot. Kaladi Brothers has several locations with Internet access, including the classy space in the back corner of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts downtown, at 6th Avenue and G Street. Their location on Northern Lights Boulevard between Spenard and Minnesota is extremely popular, in the same shopping center with essential stops such as Title Wave used book store and REI sporting goods store.
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
24 Results
- Burgers
Arctic Road Runner
This Anchorage institution serves big, juicy burgers with a wide variety of toppings from peppers to ham or fried onion rings The Old Seward Highway location is decorated with photographs of past local celebrities, the other location has a bit less character. Stop at the ATM as cash…$Midtown - Southwestern
Bear Tooth Grill & Bear Tooth Theaterpub
Bahn mi burger, anyone? That's just one of the creative concoctions at this fun, noisy, casual pub that serves up surprisingly sophisticated food alongside the craft beers. It also offers a full slate of Mexican specialties and such changing specials as chimmichurri skirt steak and a…$$Spenard - Northern Italian
Campobello Bistro
Who would have guessed that Anchorage's best Italian restaurant would be located in a mini-mall storefront? But walking through the door is surprisingly like stepping into Italy, with authentic, robust food and wonderfully jocular service. The prices are reasonable and such dishes as…$$Midtown - American
Chair 5
Chair 5, an hour south of the city, is a happy place to stop for a meal, rich with small-town warmth and ski-bum camaraderie. Although the bar dominates the entrance, kids are treated especially well, and the menu includes such a wide variety of options (from fast food to fine…$$Girdwood - Diner
City Diner
Chrome, neon, and vinyl create an atmosphere like a movie set, a theme fully realized through the friendly service and the milk shakes presented in metal mixing cups. But the food is much better than at most diners, produced with excellent ingredients and a minimum of…$Spenard - Steak
Club Paris
Dinner rushes at Club Paris come like the 6-foot bore tide that rushes up Turnagain Arm, only less predictably. The ebb and flow of meat eaters at this dark, narrow arm of a steakhouse is dictated by variables like bachelor parties, retirement send-offs, and the schedule of the…$$$Downtown - Bistro
Crush
This is a wine bar first, but the food here is far from an afterthought. At dinner, most dishes are small plates, many with the word "Artisan" in their name (such as the artisan wedge salad, the and the artisan bread with plugra and tapenade). Other exotica include elk meatloaf and…$$Downtown - Cafe
Dianne's Restaurant
A sandwich shop in the heart of downtown (it's located off the lobby of a big glass building), you’ll see more office workers than tourists here. But if you want a hearty sandwich, soup, or a hot special—and you want to save time—you’ll do no better. Food is served from a cafeteria…$Downtown - Cajun
Double Musky Inn
The retro-roadhouse isn't actually in Anchorage (it's in nearby Girdwood). But the food is so electrifying and the atmosphere so ebullient, many make the hour-long trek for the big city just to eat here. And that's a major commitment, as the Double Musky doesn't accept reservations,…$$Girdwood - Brewpub
Glacier Brewhouse
The cavernous, lodge-like Glacier Brewhouse is a bar-and-restaurant with the gleaming stainless steel vats of the brewery behind a wall of glass. An amber, a blonde, an IPA, and an oatmeal stout are always on tap, and joined by brews off a long, long, seasonally-changing roster.It's…$$Downtown - International
Jens' Restaurant
Watch out Stockholm, New York City and San Francisco! Anchorage has a contender for the title of world's most creative chef and his name is Jens Hansen. A true original, his food is always beautiful to look at, and surprising to taste, as the dish always hides in it a bit more…$$$Beyond Downtown - New American
Kincaid Grill
Looking for a date night place? The Kincaid Grill is it. The atmosphere is serene, the service warm but restrained and the food is so good, it's downright sexy. Kincaid's adds a cajun or asian twist to many of its dishes, which give them extra interest, but it's really the freshness…$$$Beyond Downtown - Cafe
Kobuk Coffee Company
Set in one of the oldest and most authentic historic buildings in town, this is a nostalgic, old-fashioned shop full of fancy candy, teapots, soaps, and the like, with a tiny cafe in back.$Downtown - Japanese
Kumagoro
An authentic Japanese restaurant, Kumagoro is set right on a major tourist street in the heart of downtown. That's good news for visitors as its bento box is a fun lunch option, a nice sampler that includes sushi, sashimi and your choice of cooked entrees (teriyaki, noodles and other…$$Downtown - Cafe
Muse
The restaurant in the new addition to the Anchorage Museum, an architectural trophy, is the city’s trendiest. The food and service, produced by the Marx Bros. Cafe, live up to the setting, but prices are much lower than what you'd pay at their main restaurant.$Downtown - International
Sacks Cafe
Sacks is the place where Anchorage residents come to see and be seen, but more importantly, it’s a place where everyone looks at what everyone else is having....and resolves to come back and try that next time. A bright and airy downtown bistro it offers imaginative,…$$$Downtown - Coffee House
Side Street Espresso
For visitors whose politics aren’t in line with those of Anchorage's conservative mayor, this funky little espresso shop attracts the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s a meeting place for activists, artists, musicians, and other creative, lefty types.$Downtown - Steak/Seafood
Simon and Seafort’s Saloon and Grill
The amazing views of Cook Inlet and mountains in the distance is worth the visit, but so is the food. Sockeye salmon is the star of the show, along with other seafood specialties, but the prime rib will keep meat-lovers well satisfied. Locals come here, as do smart tourists—the…$$$Downtown - Cafe
Snow City Cafe
As you may have guessed from the title, this happening little cafe only operates when the sun is shining (ie for breakfast and lunch). It's particularly popular at breakfast, when folks gather here to try one of their seven types of eggs Benedict or their famed salmon cakes and eggs…$Downtown - International
Snow Goose Restaurant & Brewery
Standing on a bluff on the north edge of downtown, the Snow Goose looks toward the port across Ship Creek basin, where the tent city that grew into modern Anchorage sprung up in 1914. The downstairs dining room, second-floor pub with al fresco seating, and the rooftop beer-and-wine…Downtown - American
Spenard Roadhouse
"Bacon of the Month" specials, "TV dinners" served on a metal tray, and a decor that puts a glitzy spin on the 1970's diner are all part of the kitschy fun at this uber-popular eatery (expect a wait of half an hour or more as Spenard doesn't take reservations; it's worth it). Of…$$Beyond Downtown - Diner
The Lucky Wishbone
A 1950's timewarp of a classic diner, this is comfort food central. We highly recommend the fried chicken, which comes with a biscuit in a basket atop a pile of fries. Many come here to splurge on a dessert from the fountain. Alas, the Lucky Wishbone is far east of downtown, so…$Fairview - New American
The Marx Bros. Cafe
The 1978 opening of a new restaurant in downtown Anchorage was accompanied by mayhem on the scale of A Night at the Opera (lots of alcohol and cops were involved), which led the owners to name the place the Marx Bros. Cafe. It has grown up and settled down to become the standard…$$$Downtown - Pizza
The Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria
This pub and pizzeria, located in midtown along Spenard, the main drag leading to the airport, has great beer from the Moose’s Tooth Brewing Company and not nearly enough room at the bar. There is, fortunately, a whole restaurant where you can grab a table or a booth and order up a…$Beyond Downtown
