Anchorage Restaurant Week 2026: The Orders That Send the Most to the Food Bank

Anchorage Restaurant Week starts today and runs through Thursday, October 29. There's no set prix fixe price across town and no ticket. Most participating restaurants tie their donation to Food Bank of Alaska to a specific dish, drink, or menu category, so two tables in the same dining room can send very different amounts.

Here's a quick example. At Bear Tooth, half of what you spend on dessert goes to the Food Bank. At Humpy's downtown, 10% of the halibut taco goes to the Food Bank. Both count as eating out for Restaurant Week. Same city, same week, five times the difference.

How the week works this year

Food Bank of Alaska revived Anchorage Restaurant Week in 2024, under the old name "Dine Out Against Hunger." According to the Food Bank's 2024 Annual Report, nearly 30 restaurants signed up that first year and raised $20,000. The Food Bank's 2025 toolkit lists the event under that earlier name. By last October, The Alaska Current counted 51 participating restaurants, nearly twice the year before.

The 2026 goal is $50,000. The Food Bank's math makes each order easy to translate. Every dollar raised provides two meals, which is how the 2024 total became 40,000 meals. So when a restaurant donates half of a dessert sale, every dollar you spend on that dessert covers one meal. When it donates 10%, the same dollar covers a fifth of a meal.

Restaurants take part in different ways. Most of those on the Food Bank's page donate a percentage or a portion of sales from particular items, and one gives a flat dollar amount per item. A separate group runs no specials and shares no sales, but helps spread the word and gives diners a way to donate directly. Kinley's Restaurant & Bar, Midnight Sun Cafe, and Sullivan's Steakhouse are in that group.

The orders with the biggest share

These are the highest-percentage orders on the 2026 list, ranked by how much of your dollar reaches the Food Bank:

1. Dessert at Bear Tooth Theatrepub & Grill in Spenard: 50% of dessert sales.
2. Dessert at Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria, 3300 Old Seward Highway: also 50% of dessert sales.
3. Oysters on the Half Shell at Pearl, 417 D Street downtown: 40% of those sales.
4. A pint at Wild Scoops: 20% of pint sales. The Midtown Scoop Shop is at 530 E Benson Blvd., and the Downtown Scoop Shop is at 429 E St.

A pint from Wild Scoops survives the ride home much better than oysters do, which helps if you'd rather make a night of it on the couch.

One more order doesn't fit the percentage ranking. 49th State Brewing Company at 717 W 3rd Ave. donates $1 for every canned beer sold, whether you drink it there or take it home. A four-pack sends $4 to the Food Bank, which by the Food Bank's count covers eight meals.

The 10% tier, neighborhood by neighborhood

Most of the list sits at 10% or donates "a portion" of sales. In this tier, the specific dish matters even more, because many restaurants count only one item or one category.

Downtown

Downtown has the most participants close together, so it's the easiest place to plan a two-stop evening.

• Snow City Cafe gives 10% of every Benedict, including its featured Bokkeum-Bap Benedict.
• CRUSH Wine Bistro & Cellar at 328 G Street gives 10% of all special menu items and shareables, including a $52 three-course prix fixe.
• Crimson at the Wildbirch Hotel, 239 W 4th Ave., gives a portion of short rib sales and 10% of Crimson Burger sales.
• Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse at 610 W 6th Ave. gives 10% of food special sales and halibut taco sales. Next door at 600 W 6th Ave., its sister restaurant Flattop Pizza gives 10% of specialty pizza sales and weekend breakfast and brunch sales.
• Fletcher's and The Pantry, both at Hotel Captain Cook, give 10% of daily special sales.

Flattop's brunch donation applies only on weekends. That gives Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, a different list of options than the weeknights around them.

Spenard

Spenard has the most offbeat special of the week. Spenard Roadhouse is serving a "TV Dinner" of Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and a chocolate chip cookie. Ten percent of that dinner and 10% of all pizza sales go to the Food Bank. A few blocks away, Pizza Olympia at 2809 Spenard Road gives 10% of all pizza sales, for pickup or dine-in orders only. Since Bear Tooth is also in Spenard, you can have pizza at one place and the 50% dessert at the other.

Midtown and south

• Double Shovel Cider Co. at 502 W. 58th Ave. gives 10% of all cider sales.
• Motley Moo Creamery in South Anchorage, 11900 Industry Way, gives a portion of all scoop sales.
• South Restaurant + Coffeehouse gives 10% of all special menu items and Smashburger sales. Its specials include Rustic Corned Beef Hash and Herb-Roasted Chicken.

The rest of the list

Rustic Goat is running three Restaurant Week specials. There are Italian meatballs baked with mozzarella, Parmesan, and pesto cream. There's a broccoli rabe and sausage pizza on a garlic cream base. And there's olive oil cake with poached pears, a honey vermouth reduction, and vanilla ice cream. Orso gives 10% of dessert sales. Sweet Caribou gives a portion of macaron sales, and Pure and Pressed Juice Co gives a portion of its cold-pressed juice, smoothie, and snack sales.

Several restaurants have signed on but hadn't posted their offers on the Food Bank's page as of this week. They are AJ's Ohana Kitchen, Altura Bistro, Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, Glacier Brewhouse, Gumbo House, and Organic Oasis. The event page still has an open sign-up form for restaurants, so the list may grow during the week. No tickets are needed, but the Food Bank suggests calling ahead at restaurants that take reservations.

Saturday, October 24 works the same way

The same item-by-item giving shows up in the two biggest community events of the first weekend. Both are on Saturday, October 24.

From 1 to 4 p.m., the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage holds its Gear Swap at the Kincaid Wax Bunker, 9301 Raspberry Road. More than 100 consignors are expected, with classic and skate skis, roller skis, alpine touring setups, ice skates, snowshoes, and outerwear. Thirty percent of proceeds go to NSAA's upkeep of Anchorage's trail system. A deli-style ticket dispenser replaces the line, so you can browse the expo until your number is called.

Earlier that day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Hilltop Holiday Market at Hilltop Ski Area brings local vendors, handmade gifts, and Made-in-Alaska products. A raffle at the market raises money for Hilltop's Exploring Adventure Scholarship, which helps more kids get outside.

That makes for a full Saturday: Hilltop in the morning, the Gear Swap in the afternoon, and brunch at Flattop or a 50% dessert at Moose's Tooth in between. 49th State's taproom will come up again after Restaurant Week ends. On Thursday, November 12, it hosts Arctic Valley's Winter Kickoff Party. Doors open at 5 p.m., The Meat Rockets play at 6, a film starts at 7, and Wiley Post takes the stage at 8:15.

Years of running short-term rentals and training in hospitality taught me how much thought goes into a single menu item, and this week Anchorage restaurants are pointing that care at their neighbors. If you're planning a night out or hosting guests from out of town this week and want ideas, Claire Tatum Calhoun is always glad to talk about Anchorage's favorite tables. Let's Connect.