Favorite Restaurants in Anchorage, Alaska

[Kinnikinnik]

What are your favorite Restaurants in Anchorage, Alaska and why?

I'll start:
1) Marx Brothers: Not the cafe in the Museum, but the little house on the bluff. Intimate and experimental. I still have wonderful memories of their seafood pate. But the best stand-by is the Caesar salad.
2) Crows Nest: Excellent bar and a staff that is willing to accommodate. The views of the Inlet are unmatched. The tasting menu is the way to go.
3) Sacks: Consistent with the fresh ingredients combined into original Pan-Pacific cuisine a la Alaska.
4) Bear Tooth: They know how to combine hot-spicy with hot-spicy with their Anchillo brownie with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Modern Mexican American cuisine served with delightful margaritas.
5) Villa-nova: It has a loyal clientele that revels in the fact that tourists don’t drop in because it is in a strip mall. But man-oh-man the service is professional and the food is too. I love all their pasta dishes.

[Khotso98]

Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria
3300 Old Seward Hwy.
Anchorage, AK 99503-4129
907-258-2537
Excellent pizza (lots of topping choices), great home brewed beer and cider, nice casual atmosphere.
http://www.moosestooth.net/

Snow City Cafe
1034 W. 4th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
907-272-2489
Yummy food, large portions, breakfast items served all day (big omelets with loads of fillings served with hashbrowns and toast, plus pancakes, french toast and more), casual atmosphere and near the water front.
http://www.snowcitycafe.com/

Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company
717 West 3rd Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-277-7727
Descent food including reindeer meatloaf, fresh local seafood, pizza and more; home brewed beer, great homemade root beer, near the water with great views.
http://www.alaskabeers.com/

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Moose's Tooth
3300 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99503

Snow City Cafe
1034 W 4th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

[legerdenez]

Hello,
My favorite place is Kansha, a Japanese restaurant on Dimond at King St run by a great family from the Big Island. In addition to the best sushi in town, they have Hawaiian plate lunch and Aloha night every Friday with more Hawaiian fare. Also, Cafe Savannah is good downtown for tapas and reasonable amusing little wines with not too much presumption (hehe). The food is good at Bernie's Bungalow, across the street from Nordy's downtown. That's a mix of great burgers and asian-fusion/california cuisine starters. I can't say I care for most of the "finer" restaurants in town including Crow's Nest, Villa Nova, Marx Bros, Jens's, and so on. They all tend to resemble airline food. Not fresh or inspired or current. Sack's is good. Southside Bistro is okay if you want wretched excess sitdown dinner. But my conclusion is that Asian food is the best food in Anchorage, with Charlie's, Ray's, and of course Kansha at the top of the list.

[nytexan]

i was in alaska last summer and had a great meal at sacks and they have a great wine list too, ate at maxines in girdwood and had a very good salmon sandwich.the brewhouse does make a great bread pudding and i love the alaskan ales they serve.cant wait to get back this summer.

[mare b.]

FABulous! it's a lovely bistro with food (including scrumptious Asian fusion) to please many different tastes. great service, too. Try the fresh oysters; Syrah White Oak (red wine); seared ahi tuna; pork chop.

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Ginger
425 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

[DishDelish]

I agree Ginger is good!

[natalie.warner]

I traveled to Anchorage in November. I did a lot of research before I went and I flew up prepared with a list of places I really wanted to try. I am attaching the link to my reviews of the places I made it to-

http://www.yelp.com/list_details?list_id=zilnEIqGeQiPI8unNxb1HQ

Eateries I had to skip but wish I tried were- Simon & Seaforts for apps, The Snow City Cafe for breakfast, The Double Musky (it was closed!), and Humpy's for hailbut tacos.

Must tries if you make it to my reviewed places- Bread pudding and the sampler at the Glacier, Chipotle pizza and the sampler at Mooth's Tooth, any buger at Artic Roadrunner on Old Steward Hwy (fun and old time with knick knacks on the wall and great milkshakes), wings and apps at the Peanut Farm if you want to watch a game at a sports bar, a fish themed sandwich at F Street Station, and anything at Taco or Burrito King besides the enchiladas- the sopas were good!

Threads about Alaska-
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/457512
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/449218

[AnneInMpls]

These are great leads! It sounds like y'all do OK for cheap-but-good restaurants. Charlie's Bakery and the pho places sound especially good to me.

Keep those favorite restaurants coming! Especially if they're in the Spenard area (I think we'll be staying in a hostel there) or near the train station.

Thanks,
Anne

P.S. I'm adding the Places links, selfishly, as preparation for my trip. (We leave in a week!)

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Ray's Place
2412 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503

Thai Kitchen
3405 E Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99507

Hula Hands Restaurant
4630 Mountain View Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508

VIP Restaurant
555 W Northern Lights Blvd Ste 105, Anchorage, AK 99503

Thai Basil Restaurant
3020 Minnesota Drive,#20, Anchorage, AK 99503

Yamatoya
3700 Old Seward Hwy Ste 5, Anchorage, AK 99503

Taco King
113 W Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99503

Double Musky Inn
Crow Creek Hwy, Girdwood, AK 99587

Tommy's Burger Stop
1106 W 29th Pl, Anchorage, AK 99503

Middle Way Cafe
1200 W Northern Lights Blvd Ste G, Anchorage, AK 99503

Moose's Tooth
3300 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99503

Nino's Italian Eastery
831 E 36th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503

Greek Corner
302 W Fireweed Ln, Anchorage, AK 99503

Charlie's Bakery
2729 C St, Anchorage, AK 99503

Bake Shop
Olympic Cir, Girdwood, AK 99587

Gwennies Old Alaska Restaurant
4333 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 99517

Jens' Restaurant
701 W 36th Ave Ste 5, Anchorage, AK 99503

Glacier Brewhouse
737 W. 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

Simon & Seafort's
420 L Street, Anchorage, AK 99501

Snow Goose Restaurant & Brwry
717 W 3rd Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

[repete]

In Spenard, check out the halibut sandwich at Momma O's. It's been a long time but it used to be the best halibut sandwich in town. It's just a strip mall stop, but the fish was always fresh.

[AnneInMpls]

This is great to know - I plan to eat as many halibut sandwiches as I can. Thanks!

Anne

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Momma O's Seafood Restaurant
2636 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503

[Annaliese]

The halibut sandwich at the Bear Tooth grill is truly fantastic, by the way - as is everything on the cafe side (and you can watch a movie, drink great beer, and eat incredible food in the theatre). I have to reiterate that Charlie's is the best Chinese food in town, and the dim sum can't be beat. I'm sitting down here in Illinois writing papers for my grad classes and my mouth is watering just thinking of those treats. Downtown, I would definitely hit Humpy's for food and beer selection, and when I was around this summer, Ginger was a new place that was expensive but interesting. Also, over on 4th Avenue (near C st) there is a really great little Russian cafe that serves pelmeni, varenniki and borshch, not a huge selection but all really delicious, filling, and relatively cheap! Apart from that, I have to echo most other people who have posted - for relatively cheap and really good eats, I'd hit Bear Tooth (the cafe, not the grill), Charlie's, Tommy's Burger Stop, Yamato Ya, oh, and definitely the Bake Shop if you're going to Girdwood. The Szeged goulash is to DIE for. The other stuff is way out of my price range as a grad student.

[cloverflowers]

Yamatoya is horrible now. It's a Japanese place and even the rice is inedible. Very sad because it was great for years and years.
Now I go to Tempura Kitchen, but it is a poor substitute for Yamatoya's when Yamatoya's was good. Thirty years ago Kumago's down on 4th avenue right across the street from the log cabin visitor's center was great. But I haven't been there in many years. We had better Japanese food when jets had to stop here for fuel. We used to get a lot of Japanese flight crews on layovers.

The pho noodle shop in the Diamond Center mall is good. It isn't located in the food court. I would tell you what it is next to but everything goes out of business so quickly...

There's a good new pho shop right next to mid-town Walmart, in the strip mall with Baskin Robbin.

And Hula Hands opened a new outlet on Arctic Blvd. Between Bear Tooth, VIP, Hula Hands, Charlies Chinese Bakery, the Bagel Deli Factory, Ray's Place I might have to move to midtown/Spenard and walk to dinner every night and never cook again. Oh and Sahara's which is terrific. Those places are all cheap and tasty and within a mile of each other. Middle Way Cafe is in there too.

[DishDelish]

What kind of food does Sahara's have? my Mom and sister have raved about Middle Way cafe, I will have to check it out. Have you tried Doriolas? I think you would love it ... their quiche is heavenly. And everything else is amazing as well. The homemade sandwiches, the salads with the homemade dressing. The delicious homemade soups. So delicious!!!

[cloverflowers]

These places are cheap and the food is good:

Ray's Place - Vietnamese, casual, with great prices and wonderful food.

Thai Kitchen - Thai, casual, really good food

Hula Hands - Polynesian food - love the grilled chicken and the pork in taro leaf

VIP - Korean food - the bbq is excellent and the sides are soooo good. A real treat.

The pho is good at the pho shop on the corner of Minnesota and Northern Lights (in the strip mall behind City Diner) - Ray's has good pho too.

Our Japanese food is pretty good. My fav is YamatoYa, for sentimental reasons - I love the waitresses. Up here you usually get real crab in California rolls, not fake crab.

The pizza and salads are good at Moose's Tooth and Bear Tooth but I can't recommend the Mexican food at Bear's Tooth. Very heavy and not in a 'I'm splurging but this is delicious' kind of way.

The only Mexican food I can recommend is Taco King. It's cheaper than McDonalds and hardly a fine dining experience, but much better, fresher Mexican food than you can get for 4 times the money any place else. I don't like any of the Chinese places in town either.

I hate to be a complainer but the Italian food isn't great either. And the baked goods are lacking. They look good at LaRoma inside of New Sagaya's but looks aren't everything! Cafe Europa is better tho nothing to write home about.

[Trent]

I totally agree, but I would add,
Tommy’s Burger Stop for (obviously) burgers, cheese steaks, and Double Musky desserts.
Middle Way Café for veggie and a couple non veggie sandwiches
Charlie’s Bakery for great Chinese food and soups
And even though we don’t have any terrific Italian restaurants I love Nino’s and the Greek Corner.

[DishDelish]

Have you heard of Fiori D'Italia? They actually go to Italy several times a year to bring back many fresh ingredients. My Hubby has a co-worker (he works at Hula Hands) who LOVES their food. He is taking me there tonight. I will let you know how it is. =)

-Melissa

http://www.yelp.com/biz/fiori-ditalia...

[DishDelish]

Okay, so now I need to report on Fiori D'Italia.
It was good, not amazing though. I am not still dreaming of their food as I have with some other restaurants. I would like to go back however and try some more dishes.

My hubby got some sort of spaghetti dish with red sauce, anchovies, green peppers, mushrooms etc. on top (he thought they could have added more anchovies). He also tried the stromboli (we brought most of it home as it is HUGE) and we both thought it was to greasy and heavy. They served it with marinara sauce and neither of us liked their version very well. I ordered the special of the day which was a shrimp stuffed ravioli in white sauce. The white sauce was very good, however, I must add that I ordered a similar dish, a lobster ravioli in white sauce, from the Greek Corner (also a special) last year and their version was one of the best I have ever eaten. I dreamed of it every week during my recent pregnancy. Anyways, my ravioli came with the dinner salad which I ordered with Italian dressing and I was not impressed. I have had some very good Italian salads and this could not compare. I did however read a review that they make an excellent Caesar salad so I will try this next time.

I would also like to try Campo Bello soon as I have heard excellent reviews about this restaurant. I will keep you posted.

-Melissa

[AnneInMpls]

How about places that are cheap and casual but really nice? Any Anchorage lunch joints that are worth the trip? Or how about Maxine's Bistro or The Bake Shop in Girdwood?

Thanks,
Anne

[repete]

Bake Shop is good for breakfast. For "joints" ... I'd say Gwennies. It's not very nice but it's got an old-time Alaskana dinner feel. Definitely more of a breakfast place. Caribou sausage, crab omelets ...

Jen's is an excellent suggestion as well.

[AlaskaChick]

All excellent choices. I'd add Simon and Seaforts for apps and drinks when the sun is setting (tho I'll stay for dinner if they have fresh oysters), Snow Goose for their brew if its a sunny day and you can sit on the deck, Glacier Brewhouse for the Tahini Salad and Bread Pudding (baked in the wood fired oven), and Jens for whatever the guys are recommending that nite.

[AnneInMpls]

Thanks for this information! I'm headed to Anchorage in two weeks, and was just about to post a request for restaurant info.

As long as I'm here, I'll add the Places links for these restaurants (so I don't have to ask you where they are :-).

Thanks,
Anne

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Crow's Nest
939 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

Villa Nova Restaurant
5121 Arctic Blvd Ste I, Anchorage, AK 99503

Marx Brothers Cafe
627 W Third Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501

Sacks Cafe & Restaurant
328 G Street, Anchorage, AK 99517

Bear Tooth Theatrepub & Grill
1230 W 27th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503

[repete]

That's a very good start. Always liked Marx Bros. I have fond, fond memories when they catered a function at my office that was latter canceled by a snowstorm (rarity in AK... the cancellation, that it). They brought in a huge sheet of lamb chops ... and they couldn't go to waste. Carefully prepared food with great ingredients.

Villa Nova is a longtime, local fav with a devoted following of AK "sourdoughs." I''ve had some wonderful meals there but if you've had a lot of great Italian it's not going to knock your socks off.

Crow's Next has upscale food with a killer view on clear days/nights, but is a little full of itself.

I'd add two in Girdwood, which is technically in Anchorage, but an hour or so from downtown. The Double Musky isn't fancy but is the best food in Anchorage.

http://www.doublemuskyinn.com/

Seven Glaciers is upscale dining on top of a mountain -- and accessed by a tram. Like the Crow's Nest, aim for a clear night.

[jlc]

I was in Alaska in May and we drove to Girdwood, and planned to eat at the Double Musky, as it was highly recommended. But, it's closed on Mondays! It was so disappointing, so be forewarned.

I loved the Crow's Nest bar - very old fashioned feel. The wait staff are very proper there, but friendly and not snobby. They didn't mind our group being as silly and we were.

I liked the Glacier Brewhouse's food much better than the Snow Goose. The Snow Goose has a large outside deck with an excellent view, so it's worth a trip, but is better for happy hour.

Snow City Cafe was excellent for breakfast. Hmm, are hey affiliated with the Snow Goose?

[mdhak]

Also, don't forget to try Glacier BrewHouse's "sister" restaurant ORSO, on the same block just east of the BrewHouse. They have a very nice Mediterranean Menu with fresh Seafood and an Osso Bucco that is my favorite. The bartenders are very outgoing and it is fun to sit at the bar and enjoy dinner with them.