Anchorage Dining & Nightlife

Fes­tive, col­or­ful and plen­ty of both tamales and tequi­la: Is this real­ly that far north of the bor­der? Down­town Anchorage’s La Cabana offers a friend­ly atmos­phere and a clas­sic (and exten­sive) Mex­i­can lunch and din­ner menu, as well as a Sun­day brunch buf­fet. There’s a large patio for warmer weath­er, while inside you might find live Mari­achi music, danc­ing, or beer and tequi­la tast­ings. The menu reflects a Cal­i­for­nia-Mex vibe with…  ...more

Locat­ed atop Tow­er 3 of down­town Anchor­age’s Hotel Cap­tain Cook, this AAA-four-dia­mond fine din­ing restau­rant — the only one in Anchor­age — offers a blend of French and New Amer­i­can cuisines, a 10,000-bottle wine cel­lar and stun­ning views of Down­town, Chugach Moun­tains, and Cook Inlet. Dish­es reflect local resources, such as veni­son loin and Bering Sea king crab legs. Hours Mon­day through Sat­ur­day — 5pm-9pm. Prices Entrees range from $29…  ...more

If the Hotel Cap­tain Cook sits in the heart of Anchorage’s buzzing busi­ness dis­trict — and it does — then this cof­fee bar, right off the lob­by, could be its nerve cen­ter. And while it is unde­ni­ably a con­ve­nient spot to swing by to pick up an espres­so or iced cof­fee, local fans come back because it’s the kind of friend­ly place where the barista remem­bers your name when you order. 

It’s hard to believe that one of Anchorage’s best wine bars used to be a sand­wich shop. Com­plete­ly revamped in the fall of 2011, this new hot spot in the Hotel Cap­tain Cook has Alaska’s only on-tap wine machine. Choose from 32 wines, select­ed by the hotel’s som­me­li­er, for a 2‑ounce sam­pler or a 4‑ounce pour. The bar also has a lim­it­ed menu, includ­ing Amer­i­can-style tapas, sal­ads, and desserts. Sip your wine at the mar­ble-topped bar,…  ...more

Piz­za-lover? This down­town find will sur­prise you with its take on America’s favorite food. Fat Ptarmigan’s über-fresh, wood-fired piz­zas fea­ture high-qual­i­ty, sea­son­al ingre­di­ents and a crispy crust that takes two full days to mature. 

This bar was found­ed in 1994 by a few locals who felt that Anchor­age need­ed a real­ly good bar for craft beers. Clear­ly, they were right — both locals and tourists made this place a near-instant institution. 

This restau­rant on the main floor of down­town Anchor­age’s Hotel Cap­tain Cook offers gourmet piz­za, fresh pas­ta dish­es and seafood spe­cial­ties in an Eng­lish pub-style set­ting. Named for Fletch­er Chris­t­ian, the man behind the his­toric mutiny on the Boun­ty, the pub also offers local, micro-brewed beers, wines by the glass or cognac. Hours Dai­ly: 11:30am-1am Prices Prices range from $7 to $24.  ...more

Perched atop a 1920s rail­road bridge that strad­dles a stream filled with salmon, Bridge Seafood restau­rant is the only venue in the state where you can dine on fresh-caught Alas­ka seafood while look­ing out the win­dow at fish­er­men cast­ing for sock­eye or king salmon. Indeed, they’re fish­ing for the same species of fish on your plate. This restau­rant oper­ates sea­son­al­ly, mid-May through August. 

At the Sol­stice Bar and Grill you’ll find fire-roast­ed pep­pers, slow-cooked prime rib, scratch-made desserts, and fresh soups, plus plen­ty of fresh seafood and fine meats. Break­fast and lunch menus include con­ti­nen­tal and hot buf­fets, as well as burg­ers and sal­ads. And for being in such a large hotel (the West­mark), the restau­rant is sur­pris­ing­ly small and intimate. 

Three great tastes that taste great togeth­er — piz­za, pool, and local beer — have made this Anchor­age hang­out a quirky-but-fun hit. Named for the near­by moun­tain, Flat­top was opened in 2013 by the same team that cre­at­ed Anchor­age insti­tu­tion Humpy’s Ale­house and the urbane bistro bar SubZero.

Arti­san bak­ery near Down­town Anchor­age. Open Wednes­day — Sun­day 7am — 6pm.

Beni­hana is famous for ten­der steaks, juicy chick­en and suc­cu­lent seafood pre­pared to order by a show­man chef. There are 16 hibachi tables around which guests are seat­ed, and a large tep­pan grill in the cen­ter where the per­for­mance takes place. In addi­tion to the tra­di­tion­al offer­ings, Benihana’s menu includes some inter­est­ing entrees such as Hibachi Tuna steak – sesame-encrust­ed and seared to your lik­ing. Or Seafood Dia­blo: udon noodles…  ...more

The treats at this down­town Anchor­age bak­ery taste as good as they look. After all, the folks who run Alas­ka Cake Stu­dio see dessert as edi­ble art— but they also offer a Euro­pean café-style spot where you can enjoy a deli­cious snack, sip a cof­fee and watch down­town life go by.

Fea­tur­ing the fine steaks and live­ly atmos­phere that have made Sullivan’s Steak­house a nation­wide hit, this out­let adds a north­ern twist: fresh-caught Alaskan seafood and local­ly dis­tilled spir­its. You’ll find Alaskan salmon, king crab, and fresh, sea­son­al spe­cials, along with house-made cock­tails like the ​“Knock­out”: Alas­ka-made vod­ka and hand-squeezed pineap­ple juice. And it’s all cen­tral­ly locat­ed on the cor­ner of the 5^th Avenue Mall — a…  ...more

Sat­is­fy­ing hun­gry down­town work­ers and Anchor­age tourists for near­ly 25 years, Café 817 (for­mer­ly known as Muf­fin Man) has the per­fect for­mu­la of qual­i­ty deli food served in a clas­sic setting.

Reg­u­lar­ly vot­ed the best live the­atre in Anchor­age. Cyra­no’s The­atre Com­pa­ny pro­duces a new play every month with an eclec­tic menu of come­dies, dra­ma’s, musi­cals and world premieres.

The inti­mate set­ting, qual­i­ty food, and good wine list make this the place where locals go for cel­e­bra­tions or roman­tic din­ners. Stand­outs include the steaks and the may­tag salad.

Willi­waw sets itself apart in a few big ways, too: for one thing, it is the only mul­ti-use-style venue found in Anchor­age — a cof­fee­house-eatery-live-music space is more like some­thing you’d see in San Fran­cis­co, Seat­tle or Port­land. Part of Williwaw’s com­plex includes a branch of local cof­fee roast­er Steam­Dot Cof­fee, and there’s even a dis­creet­ly tucked-away speakeasy on the premises.

This down­town Anchor­age lounge orig­i­nal­ly start­ed as an Arc­tic-themed ice bar — hence the name — but it has mor­phed into a warm but urbane haven for local exec­u­tive types and lovers of well-craft­ed cock­tails and food.

Din­ner and a $4 movie. Bear Tooth brings togeth­er inex­pen­sive, late-run movies, food, and draft beer and wine. Order yum­my piz­za and bur­ri­tos from full-ser­vice kitchen, deliv­ered to your the­ater table. Adults sit on the main floor, while any­one can sit in the bal­cony. Not in the mood to catch a show? There’s a sep­a­rate restau­rant. Part of Moose’s Tooth fam­i­ly. High­lights: Piz­za Pub & Movie The­ater Con­tact: 1230 W 27^th Ave, 907−276−4200  ...more

In an Anchor­age neigh­bor­hood between the air­port and Kin­caid Park, Tas­tee Freez is a place trav­el­ers used to find only if they got lost. Those lucky folks got to vis­it an Anchor­age insti­tu­tion that’s been open since 1958. Today, you don’t have to get lost to find some of the city’s best soft-serve ice cream and afford­able fast food. Of course, Anchor­age fam­i­lies know all about Tas­tee Freez, and on hot sum­mer days, you’ll spot them lined up for…  ...more

Enjoy great views of Lake Spe­nard in an atmos­phere that cel­e­brates the Alaska’s rich avi­a­tion his­to­ry. Dine on con­tem­po­rary Alaskan cui­sine with new Amer­i­can influ­ences and sus­tain­able seafood offer­ings. Sip cre­ative cock­tails while you take in the pic­turesque lake views. Brunch fea­tured on Thanks­giv­ing, East­er and Moth­er’s Day in the hotel lob­by. Hours Break­fast: 6am-11:00am Lunch: 11:30am-2pm Din­ner: 5pm-10pm (avail­able May15-Sept 15)  ...more

This is a local favorite that serves what could be the best piz­za in Alas­ka. It’s also a micro­brew­ery. That said, its crowd­ed and loud. They don’t accept reser­va­tions and a wait isn’t unheard of. But there is plen­ty of space inside and out­side to wait for your table. And, you can even enjoy a brew (or a home­made cream soda or root beer) while you wait. 

Com­ing down the street, you can’t miss the shiny, stain­less steel exte­ri­or of this clas­sic, 1950s-style din­er near Spe­nard. But this din­er has seri­ous, con­tem­po­rary street cred, too: It’s run by two of Anchorage’s most eru­dite restau­ra­teurs. The menu is rich in com­fort-food nos­tal­gia. Clas­sics include Lenny’s Reuben, Monte Cristo sand­wich­es, pot roast, and liv­er and onions (dubbed ​“Put Out the Lights and Cry”). 

If you shop at REI (right next door), you’ll like this place. The menu is cre­at­ed for the health-con­scious, active, food­ie type. There are lots of vegetarian/​vegan options and they spe­cial­ize in healthy wraps, home­made soups and chili, and fruit-packed smooth­ies and fresh juices. Of course they have a large selec­tion of teas and some cof­fee. They have a nice patio with views of the moun­tains, and serve a good break­fast, com­plete with egg…  ...more

Even peo­ple who have vis­it­ed all kinds of bars, all over the world, tend to say they’ve nev­er been to a water­ing hole quite like this icon­ic Anchor­age bar. Or, to be more accu­rate, bars. This rather ram­bling com­pound in the funky Spe­nard area actu­al­ly includes 10 bars — with enough dis­tinc­tive vibes, atmos­pheres and offer­ings to suit pret­ty much any taste or mood. 

A few miles from Anchorage’s Kin­caid, this seem­ing­ly out-of-the-way restau­rant has a menu that lives up to its sophis­ti­cat­ed atmos­phere. The sump­tu­ous menu fea­tures duck lol­lipops, wild troll caught salmon, grilled duck with man­go glacé and Alaskan king crab with saf­fron risot­to. You’re best off chang­ing out of your hik­ing gear before you arrive. Hours Open Tues – Sat, 5pm – 10pm. Reser­va­tions strong­ly rec­om­mend­ed. Prices Appe­tiz­er $9-$12,…  ...more

Beer steins, hats, hub caps, and license plates all hang from the rafters and walls of this fun restau­rant. Sure, its chaot­ic, crowd­ed, cramped, and loud. But you’ll find one of the best steaks in Alas­ka, if not the entire coun­try, as well as great seafood and appe­tiz­ers, often made with Cajun/​creole seasoning. 

Alyeska’s Sitz­mark Bar and Grill offers alpin­ers the best of both worlds – day­time refu­el­ing between ski runs, and a fes­tive night­time hang­out with live music, open mic, triv­ia and movie nights. (The sum­mer sea­son has sim­i­lar offer­ings – just think ​“après hike” or ​“après bike” instead of ​“après ski.”)

This cav­ernous, slight­ly run­down bar at the base of the moun­tain is a great spot for après-ski. You’ll find an exten­sive selec­tion of tap beers and good whiskeys, along with large por­tions of tra­di­tion­al bar food like burg­ers and piz­za. And as with any après-ski venue, it can be loud and wild, even on weeknights. 

Enjoy atten­tive ser­vice and fun, com­mu­nal seat­ing options at this Asian Fusion find tucked away in the Alyeska Resort. Sushi lovers will appre­ci­ate the cre­ativ­i­ty and qual­i­ty of the menu, but will also be tempt­ed by the ben­to box­es, steak, and lob­ster offerings!

This small-town cof­fee shop fea­tures couch­es, com­fort­able tables, and a fire­place, along with top-qual­i­ty cof­fee, tea, and baked goods. It’s def­i­nite­ly a local hang­out: friends chat, teens do their home­work, and the baris­tas know most everyone.

Don’t let the strip-mall exte­ri­or throw you — inside, you’ll find very good Greek and Ital­ian food, includ­ing piz­zas, sal­ads, dol­mas, and lasag­nas. Com­ing here with lit­tle ones? They’ll love the kids’ piz­za, and you’ll love the price.

Piz­za­’s the spe­cial­ty here, and Piz­za Man does it well. The sauce is a nice com­bi­na­tion of sweet and spicy, and they’ll make the dough with whole wheat, if you ask. They also serve ​“schooners” of beer.