8 Best Restaurants in Anchorage, Alaska

On summer days, Snow City attracts some serious crowds—and for good reason. This modern but unassuming café, convenient to many of the Downtown hotels, serves one of Anchorage's best (and yet reasonably priced) breakfasts all day long. If you're not an early riser or haven't made a reservation, be prepared to wait.

Always the top pick when local newspapers rate Anchorage pizzerias, Moose's Tooth is packed all week, despite the ample seating (it can hold up to 300 guests). The reason for the popularity is obvious: handcrafted beers from the on-site brewery, and a seemingly endless roster of pizzas topped with inventive options like jalapeños, cream cheese, shrimp, and lime.

Part eatery and part community center and event space, this café offers plenty of healthy (or, at least, healthy-sounding) fare, including fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies, organic sandwiches, fresh vegan soups, and tempeh burgers. While vegans and vegetarian visitors to Anchorage should definitely make a beeline to Organic, omnivores are not left out in the cold: the menu also includes Thai chicken wraps, grass-fed burgers, and lamb.

What started as a creekside log cabin is now a 70-screen sports bar with room for athletic fans of every stripe, from hockey (of course) to mushing and beyond. There's also an outdoor deck, pool tables, and a large and varied menu of tasty bar favorites.

Perched on the edge of the city, South's expansive menu and bright airy space make it a destination brunch spot in Anchorage. The menu offers fresh Alaska spins on brunch classics like halibut tacos and salmon BLTs as well as a wide range of salads, sandwiches, and tapas. If you need a caffeine jolt as you drive south out of town, the attached coffeeshop is open all day long.

The amusing assortment of wall art here pays homage to the roadhouses that dot the state, but Spenard Roadhouse is by no means just a place to grab a quick meal while traveling. The warm and inviting restaurant offers creative comfort food, plus an unforgettable weekend brunch menu; the cocktails alone are worth the journey.

Whether you're at the cozy cocktail bar or on the wraparound lounge couches, this atmospheric fusion restaurant brings upscale Mexican flavors to the far north (the "61" in the name references the city's latitude). Though known for its tacos—including a duck confit option—the restaurant also prepares rib eyes, shrimp ceviche, and chipotle-glazed king crab.

This tiny seafood joint easily offers the quirkiest dining experience in Downtown: almost the entire room is taken up by a boat-prow bar. At the helm, owner Apollo Naff has created a convivial environment where fellow diners become fast friends over plates of Alaska oysters and other briny bites, such as crab cake po'boys, seafood chowder, and seared scallops in umami sauce.