King Salmon Restaurant

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. This is the nicest venue at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, and you’ll find fine food as well as great views overlooking the Healy Mountains, Denali National Park, and the Nenana River. Yet the vibe is Alaska casual; rustic furniture, log timbers, and stone accents add a woodsy, intimate feel. Dinner is the busiest time here, but the restaurant also serves breakfast and lunch to lodge guests as well as independent travelers.

The restaurant is large, since it serves a large lodge, but the room is long and slender, so you’ll have views regardless of where you sit. Still, the focus is on the seafood. Dig into the restaurant’s famous Asiago-crusted halibut—a generous portion of Alaska halibut crusted in Asiago cheese, Japanese bread crumbs, and fresh herbs, then pan seared. It’s topped with fried capers and lemon butter sauce and served with Parmesan risotto and fresh vegetables. Or choose succulent king crab legs or the King Salmon accented with sea salt. If you’re not up for seafood, try the restaurant’s choice meats, including a slow-cooked prime rib. Entrees are served with scratch-made sauces and sides and can be paired with a wine from the cellar, which has more than 50 bottles.

There’s also a small bar attached to the restaurant, which serves up specialty cocktails, Alaska-brewed beers, and wines.

Breakfast at the King Salmon Restaurant is a sit-down affair (there are buffets at other venues at the lodge), but they know you’re probably heading off on a day’s adventure, so your food will come out quick. Try the King crab omelet—a rare treat, since most crab omelets in the state use Dungeness. And the Lingonberry French Toast is a favorite – brioche bread layered with sweet cream cheese and topped with berry compote. The restaurant serves Kaladi Brothers coffee, and there’s an espresso stand in the lobby.

Lunch is the quietest time here—the perfect chance to try the ½-pound bacon cheeseburger, made with Tillamook Cheddar, or the crab cake burger, made with Dungeness and King crab meat. Both are served with house-made BBQ potato chips and come on a Parmesan black pepper roll.