Where to Eat in Anchorage

Whether you're craving pizza, salmon or something wild, here are the best restaurants to try in Alaska's largest city.

By: Susan Sommer

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Photo By: jodyo.photos

Snow City Café

Anchorage’s best breakfast joint, Snow City Café is where all the cool kids go for morning fortification. On a downtown corner amid professional offices, Snow City’s artsy diner-style booths and tables beckon. Weekly specials might include a turkey pesto panini, pumpkin milkshake, chicken curry wrap, wild mushroom omelet, world-famous sticky buns, snow city hash or spicy fish tacos, proving that the menu offers something to please everyone. As a stop on the First Friday Art Walk, Snow City sports new artwork each month.

Bear Tooth Grill

Always hoppin’, the Bear Tooth Grill in the heart of quirky Spenard is a great gathering place, with a boisterous, welcoming atmosphere. Locally inspired combos like Alaskan shrimp and grits, garlic-cilantro fries and the rosemary burger pair well with the establishment’s first tap and specialty beers. Pop next door for a movie after your meal at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub.

Glacier Brewhouse

Warmed by a flickering fireplace in the center of the expansive open room, Glacier Brewhouse lures fans in every season for wings, brick-oven-baked pizzas, steak and seafood, sandwiches, burgers and an array of desserts to wind down the meal. Gluten-free options are not only available but plentiful.

Rustic Goat

Constructed using timber and flooring from a historical Alaskan salmon cannery, The Rustic Goat makes for a unique destination in the middle of west Anchorage’s Turnagain neighborhood. Built for locals, it attracts fans from throughout the city who love its large windows and mountain views as well as its delicious fare. With servers running up and down a wide stairway to deliver plates to the top floor, and diners coming and going, the place bustles with energy, but its comfort foods like mac ‘n cheese, hot sandwiches, simple pizzas and a large wine list make it feel like home.

Moose's Tooth

Love garlic? Moose’s Tooth is your home away from home, serving Anchorage’s best gourmet pizzas in a bustling, friendly setting. Besides the typical soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts, the restaurant serves inspired pizzas, including the Solstice, topped with roasted chicken, mushrooms, roasted garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, and the Call of the Wild, with reindeer sausage, steak, bacon, mushrooms, peppers and more over garlic cream sauce. Wash it all down with Moose’s Tooth’s own brews.

Simon and Seafort’s

Classy and elegant with nothing of the stuffy, Simon and Seafort’s offers one of the best sunset views of any Anchorage eatery, ideally enjoyed from a table by the window. Often voted the best in Alaska, Simon’s, as the locals call it, puts fresh Alaska seafood front and center on its menu — though steak, chicken and pasta are also perfectly good options. Try a specialty cocktail, like a lavender cosmo or blueberry crush.

Kincaid Grill

Specializing in Alaska regional cuisine, Kincaid Grill is owned and operated by accomplished, award-winning chefs who treat each presentation as a work of art. Inside a little strip mall, the main seating area is nonetheless bright and cheerful by day and classy by night, each table set with a linen cloth and an assortment of tableware. Besides appetizers like gorgonzola fondue and lamb lollypops, and entrees like Kodiak scallops and duck, Kincaid Grill also offers seasonal wild game dishes. Finish with delectable desserts and boutique French-press coffee. The bonus? Ample free parking.

Spenard Roadhouse

Looking for an eclectic menu with a down-home atmosphere? Try Spenard Roadhouse. The sandwiches are to die for (the cooks love bacon!), and international flavors infuse the entrees with dishes like Korean tofu tacos, spicy Thai chicken curry and jambalaya. Everyone should try the prosciutto fig pizza once in their lifetime. The weekend brunch includes the usual with a side of wacky: a bowl of Lucky Charms or bacon of the month. Try a drink from the Hair o‘ the Dog menu to help ease into the weekend.

Kaladi Brothers Coffee

Kaladi’s, as locals call Kaladi Brothers Coffee, has been an icon of the Anchorage roasting scene since its humble start as a sidewalk cart, in 1986. Now with numerous locations around Anchorage, Wasilla and Soldotna — and even one in Seattle — Kaladi’s considers roasting, brewing and serving coffee as a mix of science and art. Stop in any location for an expertly brewed espresso, or enroll in their barista academy to learn how to create a successful cup of joe at home.

Thai Kitchen

Tucked into a nondescript mall and designed with simple furnishings, Thai Kitchen delivers rich flavors that locals come back for again and again. Prices have remained low, and those with only a short lunch break can rely on the lunch buffet, including the best fresh rolls in the city. Being a family-run establishment, your server is sometimes a youngster. Crank up the spicy and bring a sweater, as the place runs cool.

Lucky Wishbone

Folks don't go to the Lucky Wishbone for fancy digs or fine silver. Nay, they flock to this old standby for the best fried chicken around, plain and simple. Add to that corn muffins, coleslaw, onion rings, burgers and shakes, and you're in for a big dose of comfort food at a great price.

Organic Oasis

Clean eaters will swoon over the choices offered at Organic Oasis, which gained a loyal local following for its shots of wheat grass juice. Tucked into a strip mall, Organic Oasis satisfies your inner vegan with eats like the Moroccan hummus wraps, the macrobiotic platter, teriyaki tofu stir fry and the hula burger. Try a Peanut Butter Conspiracy smoothie or a verdant wheat grass shot mixed with cilantro or ginger. While you’re digesting, stick around for some live music.