The Top Local Restaurants In Fairbanks, Alaska

Beauitful aurora over the night sky at Ski Land, Fairbanks, Alsaka
Beauitful aurora over the night sky at Ski Land, Fairbanks, Alsaka | © Chon Kit Leong / Alamy Stock Photo
Oliver Griffin

Fairbanks, Alaska – known as the Golden Heart City – is one of the most northerly cities in the world, with 24-hour sunlight in the summer months. Despite being relatively removed, Fairbanks has some top quality restaurants, from fine dining establishments to old-school favorites. Here are 10 of the best in this Alaskan city.
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The Pump House

The Pump House restaurant and bar is based on the reconstructed design of a 1890s workshop, complete with Victorian era pool tables. The interior is decorated with period oak and wood furnishings, with low beams and cosy decorations, while the restaurant itself looks out over the beautiful Chena River, providing stunning rooms in either summer or winter.

Pike’s Landing

Attached to the Pike’s Waterfront Lodge hotel, Pike’s Landing is a fine dining experience in Fairbanks. The restaurant hosts guests on its outside patio in the summer months, inviting them inside once moose hunting season kicks off and the winter weather drives people away from the elements. The restaurant is perhaps most famous for its Sunday brunch, the revolving menu of which features smoked seafood and cheeses, as well as luxury breakfast meats.

Lemongrass Thai Cuisine

Lemongrass Thai Cuisine offers diners vibrant eastern tastes from southeast Asia. Unlike many Thai restaurants, which cobble together simple variations on popular Chinese cuisines, Lemongrass offers only authentic Thai specials. These include the typical green, red, and yellow curries, as well as noodle paad thai, and noodle soups.

Silver Gulch

Silver Gulch has a claim quite unlike any other, in that it is America’s most northern brewery. And, as guests have to travel so far to get there, it even comes with its very own restaurant. The brewery creates four regular beers, all of which can be enjoyed in bottle or draught form. Of course, trying all that beer is hungry work, which is why the traditionally decorated restaurant, serves nothing but hearty Alaskan fare.

Wolf Run Restaurant

Not only a fine dining restaurant, Wolf Run Restaurant is also a nutritionally sensitive eating establishment that prepares food harmonizing with both the environment and the diners’ digestion. For those looking for a lighter meal, there is also a range of freshly prepared sandwiches.

Lavelle’s Bistro

A French-style restaurant in the middle of Fairbanks, Lavelle’s Bistro boasts fine multi-national cuisine and one of the city’s largest wine cellars. Main dinner dishes include roasted half duck, grilled rack of lamb, and Alaskan king crab legs; the restaurant also offers a porterhouse interpretation of pork, rather than the typical steak version.

Chatanika Lodge

Situated just outside of Fairbanks, Chatanika Lodge is a hotel with a difference. The attached bar and restaurant is decorated with Alaskan artefacts and is open all year round. These artefacts include a selection of state memorabilia, as well as a classic car. The menu offers classic home-cooked food that is freshly prepared to order each day.

McCafferty’s, A Coffee House, Etc.

With artisanal coffee houses exploding all over the western world, McCafferty’s, A Coffee House Etc. is an independent coffee shop in the heart of Fairbanks. The walls of McCafferty’s are adorned with independent artworks, while local band Sand Castle provides live music twice a week. The coffee shop also provides a number of great small plates, such as freshly made sandwiches, snacks and cakes.

The Cookie Jar

The Cookie Jar in Fairbanks is not just a pit stop to feed some sticky cravings; although the dessert section is suitably indulgent. It is also the a restaurant boasting great American diner food that is a hit with families. The diner itself has a friendly, cosy atmosphere, and a family feel, serving dishes for all times of the day.

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