Palmer / Wasilla Dining & Nightlife

Just a 45-minute dri­ve from Anchor­age, Raven’s Perch lies with­in the main lodge at the cozy Knik Riv­er Lodge, with big win­dows and an out­door deck look­ing out to a spec­tac­u­lar view. The focus here is on local, sus­tain­able ingre­di­ents and prod­ucts. The staff talks with local farm­ers and plans ahead to see what veg­eta­bles are com­ing into sea­son to cre­ate their menus.

The first thing you’ll notice here is the unique décor: down­stairs is a Euro­pean-style wine cel­lar with stone walls and stuc­co ceil­ings, while upstairs is a con­tem­po­rary take on a 1930’s-era pio­neer home. That same care extends to the food. Sal­ads, entrees, and desserts are made with fine ingre­di­ents and cre­ativ­i­ty, and wines can be ordered by the flight. It’s best to make reser­va­tions, espe­cial­ly on weekends.

Authen­tic Mex­i­can food comes out fast and hot and this sit-down restau­rant. The fresh chips are great, as are the chipo­tle and adobo sauces. And the plates are always filled to the rim.

Lasagna and piz­za are the spe­cial­ties at this local­ly owned restau­rant, known for its big por­tions. The inte­ri­or is big as well, but the set­ting is sur­pris­ing­ly inti­mate. The oth­er big thing here? The price tag. But come at lunch for a more afford­able alternative.

A bona fide small-town cof­fee shop on Main Street. They serve good cof­fee and espres­so drinks and have ample seat­ing. The atmos­phere is great, with lots of locals, Alas­ka-made art on the walls, open mic nights and art for sale. The food is stan­dard cof­fee shop stuff — soups, sand­wich­es, baked goods. It’s healthy and tasty, but noth­ing special.

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. 

Arkose Brew­ery is named after Arkose Ridge and Arkose Peak in the Tal­keet­na Moun­tain Range of Palmer, Alas­ka. You can enjoy a pint of arti­san ales, take a brew­ery tour (every Tues­day at 6 p.m.) or attend one of our fun events such as Beer Meets Can­vas and Beer Meets Choco­late. Find Arkose beer at many loca­tions through­out the state. See our web­site and face­book page for more infor­ma­tion. Cheers!