Denali National Park Dining & Nightlife

This show at the McKin­ley Chalet Resort tells the sto­ry of the first ascent of Mt. McKin­ley. Laugh, eat, and be mer­ry while the actors and actress­es do dou­ble-duty as your servers for an all-you-can-eat meal of salmon and ribs.

The farm-to-table menu fea­tures fresh seafood, includ­ing weath­er­vane scal­lops and Alaskan oys­ters. And Chef Thomas Chap­man knows what to do with them. Clas­si­cal­ly French trained, he has served as chef for Team Europe at the 2012 Ryder Cup and been a teach­ing chef for Sur La Table. His ethos is qual­i­ty over quan­ti­ty, only pur­chas­ing the finest qual­i­ty seafood from small fish­ing operations.

If you’re dying to try famous Alaskan salmon in a land­mark set­ting, this is tru­ly the place to do it. Known as ​“The Bake,” this restau­rant has been open since 1984. Just a mile from the park, it’s Denali’s orig­i­nal road­side attraction.

How unique is the 49^th State? For starters, it’s the only brew­pub restau­rant here that serves Alaskan yak, in the form of a yak burg­er. Or tuck into the buf­fa­lo meat­loaf, a spe­cial­ty. Don’t miss the house­made Bavar­i­an pret­zel. And Fri­days bring a spe­cial treat — a pig roast, with a pig from a local farm, roast­ed in ale and smoked over alder wood

The open-con­cept pub­lic house offers clas­sic food with a shot of Alas­ka flair. The pub­lic house’s spe­cial­ty is slow-smoked brisket, but the local­ly sourced menu also offers bacon-wrapped bison meat­loaf, cari­bou burg­ers and fresh, local sheefish. Wash down your din­ner with one of 12 local brews on tap and cock­tails such as the Amer­i­can Tril­o­gy (includ­ing Alas­ka made spir­its) and a Smoked Salmon Bloody Mary.

Stop into Fan­nie Q’s Saloon for break­fast, lunch, or din­ner. You’ll find dish­es inspired by the area served in a mod­ern saloon set­ting. And, in the evenings, enjoy live enter­tain­ment. Pop­u­lar dish­es include Bison slid­ers and a braised pork shoulder. 

Step inside and the first thing you’ll notice is the his­toric pho­tos and ani­mal pelts cov­er­ing the walls, giv­ing the place a real Alaskan feel. But this is no muse­um — you come here for great piz­za and beer, and this place deliv­ers. First off, they take piz­za seri­ous­ly: the dough is aged for 24 hours, then goes into a tra­di­tion­al oven for wood-stone hand-baking.

Re-open­ing in 2022. Please vis­it our web­site for oth­er activ­i­ties avail­able dur­ing your stay. The Cab­in Nite Din­ner The­atre, per­formed out of the Denali Park Vil­lage, offers a true-to-life Gold Rush tale of Alaskan adven­tures in the ear­ly 1900s. Enjoy songs, dance, humor, and a large fam­i­ly-style meal topped off with berry cobbler.

Check out our week­ly break­fast or din­ner spe­cials to plan that morn­ing or evening out. 

For Alas­ka seafood or fresh-caught fish, try the upscale King Salmon Restau­rant, which offers fresh seafood brought up from the coast three times a week. You’ll find fine food as well as great views over­look­ing the Healy Moun­tains, Denali Nation­al Park, and the Nenana River.

This high-ener­gy restau­rant at the Denali Princess Wilder­ness Lodge offers some pret­ty laid-back pur­suits. Sit out on the deck and watch rafters float down the Nenana Riv­er while sip­ping Denali Red, a beer brewed specif­i­cal­ly for Princess by Alas­ka Brew­ing Com­pa­ny. Or dig into a gourmet burg­er while soak­ing up late-after­noon sun­shine and views of the Nation­al Park and Healy Moun­tains. Of course, the inside of the restau­rant is pret­ty nice…  ...more

In a strip of restau­rants pump­ing out good meals, 229 Parks stands alone as cre­at­ing fine din­ing-qual­i­ty meals using the fresh­est, high­est qual­i­ty ingre­di­ents. They are com­mit­ted to qual­i­ty, and the menu changes often to reflect what is fresh or in sea­son. That could be berries, mush­rooms, fish or greens. Their sal­ads are excel­lent, as are the entrees. If you order small plates, you’ll get to sam­ple more of the menu! They also do pas­tries and  ...more

The only piz­za option at the Denali Princess Wilder­ness Lodge — and arguably the best piz­za in the area — this log-cab­in restau­rant serves piz­zas piled with top­pings and a tangy mari­nara sauce on a crisp, medi­um-thick crust.

Open week­days, 6a.m. — 5p.m.

Reopen­ing in 2022. Over­look­ing the Nenana Riv­er and Nenana Canyon, this restau­rant offers a menu with dry-aged steaks, chops and Alas­ka seafood: feast on your favorite cooked-to-per­fec­tion steak or try some of the local­ly-sourced Alas­ka seafood, includ­ing sus­tain­able jig-caught Alas­ka rock­fish. Pair your din­ner with a local craft beer, some­thing from the exten­sive wine list, or one of the hand­craft­ed sig­na­ture martinis.

Tucked behind big wood­en doors, Prey looks pret­ty unas­sum­ing from the road — you might even miss if you weren’t look­ing for it. But this restau­rant at the Denali Cab­ins — not too far from the Denali Nation­al Park entrance — is a gem with both tourist and locals.

Locat­ed along­side the McKin­ley Creek­side Cab­ins, this café offers the space to relax and enjoy the moun­tain views while sip­ping an Alaskan beer or espres­so. Serves break­fast, lunch, and din­ner. Their hal­ibut and salmon are ocean caught and come direct from Homer, Alas­ka. They can also pre­pare food to-go for day tour and any oth­er adven­tures you have planned while vis­it­ing Denali Nation­al Park. Hours Open Dai­ly from 6am-10pm   ...more