Gluten-Free Restaurants You Have to Try in Alaska
You probably think gluten-free Alaska won’t be that exciting. Alaska has a fantastic selection of gluten-free restaurants.
I was worried before we left and ensured I had a kitchen in every place we were staying. I did not need to be that worried!
Some of my favorite gluten-free restaurant options are in Alaska!
This is my guide to the best gluten-free friendly restaurants I tried while road-tripping through Alaska.
Just remember, my celiac isn’t your celiac or gluten-free journey (or anyone else’s). Some of the things I’m comfortable with, you may not be, and you may have a different experience with the restaurants than I did. I hope you do because I had a great experience! But, you do you, no judgment and no pressure. I hope to shed some insight to make your planning easier.
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Anchorage
Anchorage is one of the best cities I’ve been to regarding gluten-free food options. I assume it’s because it is a college city with a lot of tourism. Still, I was surprised by the restaurant options.
My trip started in Anchorage. Check out our Alaska trip itinerary and see where all the restaurants fit in!
Snow City Cafe
This cafe is in downtown Anchorage. This was my introduction to how Alaska does gluten-free, and it gave me hope! There wasn’t a parking lot, and street parking was cheaper than public parking. It does get busy. Go early for breakfast, especially if you’re coming from the East Coast and are up anyway.
If you can’t get there early, plan for a wait, and don’t try to go when you’re already super hungry. They are open for breakfast and lunch, so it’s a good option if you’re exploring the city or getting an early start.
We went twice, and it was excellent both times. My non-gluten-free husband loved his meals both times, and they really took care of me. I felt so safe eating here both times and wanted to return again, but we just couldn’t fit it into our schedules.
Yak & Yeti Himalayan
You will love this place if you like other Himalayan/Indian food. It is very clearly a local favorite. The family-owned restaurant is small but mighty! My husband ate there once without me and got takeout.
Sometimes, Indian food is hard on me since I don’t tolerate tomatoes well. He loved it so much we went to eat in the restaurant. I was able to get a lentil dish without tomatoes. It was incredible! There was an actual flavor explosion in my mouth. You should go here even if you don’t usually eat Indian food. It’s totally worth it!
Hearth Artisan Pizza
This pizza place is responsible for making one of my all-time favorite pizzas. I ate it leftover the next day from a microwave. That is the only pizza this is true of.
They were even able to work with my tomato sauce-free pizza requirement. They can also accommodate vegans with a vegan cheese option.
The pizzas are all a little different than what you’d get anywhere else, which is something I love. If you want to be adventurous when ordering pizza, this place is for you!
Wild Scoops Alaska
If you follow only one food recommendation in this post, it should be Wild Scoops.
Many of their ice creams are gluten-free, but the real winner is a gluten-free (or gluten-free and vegan) ice cream sandwich! I can’t even tell you how amazing this was. We ate here several times and tried to find a way to get back to it any chance we had.
The cookie was delicious, and the ice cream was a great addition. It’s not because I hadn’t had an ice cream sandwich in a decade. These ice cream sandwiches were just that good.
Months later, one of us will randomly say, “Remember those ice cream sandwiches. Man, those were good”. We joke about flying back to Anchorage to eat these ice cream sandwiches.
I even grabbed one after being in the wind in Katmai National Park all day.
Eva’s Cupcakery
This is a cupcake shop that has some gluten-free options. They are kept in the back, away from the other cupcakes. If you don’t see them displayed, ask. They bring them out and put the icing on them after you order them so you can even pick your combinations. There are chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and the same options for the icing.
We went to the bakery one afternoon to kill time. We weren’t sure there would be gluten-free options, so I only ordered a few.
The cupcakes were excellent, and we went back to get more of them!
Seward
Having the kitchen in our place paid off in this case. Visiting Seward at the end of the season meant many restaurants had closed for the season. If you go in the summer, you’ll have more options.
Resurrect Art and Coffee
This little coffee shop is a special find. It is unique and eclectic, so it is just the type of place I love! I had a latte with homemade Madagascar vanilla syrup, which was incredible! There were so many syrups to pick from that I asked the barista what her recommendation was. I was shocked she said vanilla, but the flavor was so unique and rich that I understood after I got my coffee! They also had gluten-free baked goods that looked trustworthy, but I had just eaten breakfast, so I didn’t indulge in any of them.
Lone Chicharron Taqueria
This was one of the only gluten-free restaurants still open, so it was the stop after our boat tour of the Kenai Fjords. I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable if the place didn’t get such good reviews.
But I was also in a state that I try not to get to.
We’d had an all-day boat tour and were getting ready to drive two hours to Anchorage. My husband was seasick, so I was driving.
This was riskier than I wanted for that scenario. There were no dedicated gluten-free options, and I didn’t have time to cook.
I was a little on edge. The staff was very aware of the gluten-free menu and seemed to understand, but I always get nervous. I worried unnecessarily, and the tacos were great!
If I could do it again, I’d plan to eat out on arrival to Seward and cook at the Air BnB after the tour so I wouldn’t be as stressed.
Palmer
Palmer and Wasilla (the town next door) have an impressive gluten-free food scene. I didn’t want pizza again, or I would have tried Humdinger’s Gourmet Pizza Co.
Thai Asian Cuisine
We ended up at a Thai place in Wasilla because we hadn’t had Thai food in a week, which is usually a staple in my diet. Thai food is also pretty safe and has large portions. We were in Palmer after two long days of food stress. This great option made me feel safe and got me plenty to eat. The pad ginger was new to me, and I loved it. Ginger always makes me feel better!
When in Palmer, we picked up some salmon and veggies. It was our last night with our friends in Alaska with us, and we wanted to do something unique. It was an enjoyable time. If you have a kitchen, I’d recommend finding some fresh Alaskan salmon at the grocery and making your own dinner one night.
Fairbanks
Like Anchorage, Fairbanks’ gluten-free options were unexpected for me. Again, it’s a college town that sees a lot of tourism, so I guess that’s why. I don’t know why they are so good, but my favorite restaurant on the trip was Fairbanks!
Little Owl Cafe
This little cafe is the best gluten-free in Alaska. It’s one of my favorite restaurants/bakeries ever. Follow them on Instagram before going to Fairbanks to see their most updated hours. They do a great job with their gluten-free offerings; you can pick from many things. The portions are small, so there are better picks than this one if you’re hungry. It was a great safe bet for me at the end of a long trip away from the safety of my own kitchen, though.
The Belgian waffles and breakfast sandwiches were my favorites from the menu. They also had a cardamom latte, which is now the standard against which I measure all lattes. It was incredible!
The lavender-lemon bundt cake was my favorite bakery item. This place was unusual because I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ordered from them and am usually pretty picky.
Blue Roof Bistro
If you’re like me, you will look at this menu and think, ” I don’t know about this.” We didn’t eat here our first night because we couldn’t determine what we’d get from the menu. The reviews on Find Me Gluten Free and GrubHub were great. We knew it had to be good, so we went for it even though we were skeptical. Don’t be us! Eat here; it was so good! This is one of the places we still talk about, and we kick ourselves for not going the first day in Fairbanks… we went every other day we were in the city.
The fries are the real win here. They have a dedicated fryer, and the bacon salt is gluten-free. Eat the fries! I ordered the salmon sliders the first day, which were good but not what I expected. They were like chicken salad in the South. So, if that’s what you’re feeling, they are excellent!
The burgers were delicious, and the gluten-free bun was good.
I had one of the specials one day, which was also excellent. Even though the menu is a little different than what you’re probably expecting, it will be worth it. If nothing else, you should order a burger and fries while you scope out what everyone else orders.
Gluten-Free Alaska
When planning a trip anywhere, it’s essential to know the options. Alaska is full of delicious {and safe} gluten-free options! You’ll want to make sure it’s still open season. A Mediterranean place near Denali closed for the season before we arrived, and that was a bummer (even though we were prepared).
Enjoy exploring the Alaskan wilderness and the Alaskan Gluten-Free Food Tour!
