Photo Credit: Fannie Q's Saloon

Denali National Park Dining & Nightlife

You’ll find lots of great dining choices in Denali. Many restaurants are conveniently located within or attached to hotels, making for a convenient dining experience. But don’t limit yourself to your hotel’s offerings—everything is so close together that you can easily pop over to another property and explore its delectable menu as well. Denali also boasts some culinary gems, like the renowned 49th State Brewery just north of the park in Healy. And for a truly unforgettable evening, indulge in a delicious dinner accompanied by a captivating show at one of the two area dinner theaters. You’ll simultaneously enjoy a good meal and learn about the park’s rich history, presented in a delightful musical format.

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Dining and Nightlife

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. 

How unique is the 49th 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

Season: Mid-May to Mid-Sept $69.95

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.

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.

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.

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.

Season: May 18 - Sept 19 $90

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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