Southside Bistro

The Southside Bistro is about the best restaurant in town, as far as I’m concerned. The food, the service, and the atmosphere all make this restaurant a consistently great spot to enjoy a casual evening. The proprietor, Jens, has really mastered the art of bringing affordable, fine dining to Anchorage.

We always enjoy the Bistro! And tonight was no exception. We had the beef tip pasta off the specials menu and it was DELICIOUS — made with a Marsala wine sauce with a wonderful flavor. My husband had the fresh King salmon — it was delightful. The Butterleaf salad here is a must — and the Chocolate Mousse was excellent. The atmosphere is so warm and friendly. The service was superb. Our water glasses were promptly refilled, and plates were cleared quickly. We were reminded how nice this restaurant is, as it had been some time since we made it in. We will be back! What a pleasure to have this great place to dine in Anchorage!

Old hostess very rude. Went at lunch time walked in and was not greeted. But rather promptly he states, «Your behind all those people. It will be 25min.» There was no «hi welcome to south side bistro…» He glared at my husband who was holding our grandson. Got a bad vibe off him. Will not return. Not kid friendly at least the hostess wasn’t.

First time in years eating at South Side Bistro. Caesars Salad w/​Shrimp was incredible
Hans and staff were above & beyond. Thank you for giving Anchorage such quality food and service all these years

Everything from our appetizer to dessert was outstanding! Nice atmosphere and excellent service — even a personal greeting from one of the owners. I had the pork short rib for dinner and the banana caramel pastry dessert. Both were delicious. Very nice wine list, too. Good value for the price. I highly recommend this place for date night.

The Southside Bistro is a great place to go and enjoy a meal. We had great service and our food was excellent. They don’t have a big menu but enough choices to please everyone. We can’t wait to go back.

Great service, consistently great meals. Best wine selection and knowledgable sommelier and waitstaff. The terrine is the best dessert.

We were very disappointed in the food quality. There is a complete disrespect by the servers and cooks for vegetarians. The pasta dish was flavorless, uninteresting, and devoid of anything except for a few tiny bits of mushrooms and spinach. My dates salad was lifeless and pale. The selection of on-​tap local beers is very limited. The chefs should go to a real restaurant like Mesa Verde in Santa Barbara and discover how unbelievably delicious vegetarian meals can be. Oh, if you want to find out how it’s done locally, try the wonderful and tasty Eggplant Parmesan at Jen’s!

Amazing food and great service. The only thing I didn’t like was the hostess: short and unhelpful, maybe if she was less worried about consistently pulling down the thing she calls a skirt she might have been more help. I expect professional behavior and attire for this location.

This is one of my favorite casual dining restaurants anywhere, not just Anchorage. It ranks up there with Deanie’s in NOLA for me and you ll know how I love me some Deanie’s.
For Southside Bistro I say come for the Eggplant Parm at lunch and stay through dinner for everything else.

Our first night in Anchorage, went to Southside Bistro, a happening place in a shopping strip. Don’t be fooled by the strip center location, great food & the place to go. We spit the appetizers, calamari, blue cheese mouse & fresh alaskan oysters on half shell. There were lots of good choices but we settled on these three. Then we split the Caesar and the Wedge salads, very tasty. Our entrees were angel hair pasta, filet, roasted salmon, and the cilantro pesto lamb. The lamb was great as were the other entrees. Nice sized portions too. I thought the waitress was a bit scattered but it may have been the Friday night rush. Delicious special Zin by Frances Ford Coppola was great!

This was an incredible experiance. Even though I was only able to have the lunch menu my food was outstanding! My daughter and I shared the mussels and calamari and split a flatbread pizza. Then the reason for going a bottle of 2009 Col Solare at an amazing price. I absolutely recommend this establishment. Service, pricing, food and even the ambiance was fun and although older it looked loved and fresh.

The food is alright but I just can’t justify it for the price. I’ve gone several time with my parents (when they are paying) or on a gift card. I usually get their pasta dishes, the ham pasta with bread crumbs, or the angel hair dish. They are tasty, but $ 20 a plate… They’re just not *that* good. The meat dishes usually run about $ 25 – 30. For these prices Id expect more ambience or something. I find it a bit dark and dull. I guess you’re paying a premium not to drive downtown if you live on Southside. But if I was going to drop that kind of money on dinner Id probably go somewhere else.

Little pricey, but I think food is well worth it. On my most recent visit I had the Pork Schnitzel and it was really delicious. It’s great having a nice quality restaurant on the south side of town instead of having to go all the way downtown for the same quality. The only way I would give them 5 stars is if the prices were just a little lower, then I would be able to go there more often.

Large party (12) for a gathering of friends. Some drink, some don’t… Waitress refused to split tab amongst parties, I’ve dined all over the world and never have I felt the need to write a negative review. Scallops were cold and waitress failed miserably at catering to our party. She knew she was getting auto gratuity. I’ll never be back.

The food here was ok, definitely not worth the price. The service was absolutely terrible, I could cook a better meal and serve it faster then what it took them! By the time our food came out it was all cold. The server we had was rude and condescending and didn’t give a shit since they were automatically charging 18% gratuity. Definitely not going there ever again.

The BEST meal I’ve had in a long time! My daughter and I had lunch here. We started with two orders of raw oysters. OMG… Absolutely delicious! There was a hint of garlic, a little bit of spice, and with a squeeze of lemon, they were sublime! We finished them off in no time and told the waiter that we might want some for dessert! (They were that fresh and delicious!) My goodness… I want some right now!
We then shared an order of calamari. Perfection! The batter was light, and they were sprinkled with bits of roasted garlic and parsley; they were cooked perfectly! (I prefer them with lemon, while my love prefers their wonderful marinara.) We polished off every tasty tentacle!
We then shared a caesar salad with bay shrimp. It was dressed perfectly and the bay shrimp were big and plentiful! We’ve had their caesar with the grilled prawns before, but we both agree that adding the bay shrimp is the way to go.
I was starting to feel a little full when they brought our ½ lb. bistro burger to share. Thank heavens we were splitting this because there was no way I could have eaten a whole one. The burger was a perfect medium. It was juicy and covered in gruyère and wild mushrooms. Yes… wild mushrooms… Heaven in every juicy, meaty, delicious bite!
We were stuffed but we wanted to end the meal with a dessert. More oysters perhaps??? ;-) Our lovely waiter suggested the dessert of the day which we decided to try. Wow! We sure were glad we tried it! I’m afraid I don’t recall the name of the dessert. It was poached pears with a hint of red wine in a ramekin, and the topping was cake-​like. It was a light and delightful dessert that complemented and ended our perfect meal, perfectly! We cannot wait to have another wonderful meal here!

We live now close to the Southside Bistro, but had never eaten there after 30 years in Alaska. We were looking for a nice place to go before a concert, without kids, and made our reservation through the Unilocal app. The reservation was seamless, we were immediately seated by a friendly hostess upon arrival — and all services from the get go were prompt and friendly. Water, bread, wine, and tea were all kept filled up and almost without noticing. My wife asked about a particular wine when ordering a separate glass, and without saying anything — the waitress brought back a sample in a nice glass for her to taste. This kind of effort rarely happens anymore and was a very nice gesture by the staff. Of course she ordered that glass for her 2^nd! :)
The food (Prawns and Scallops with Rice and Vegetables, and Lincod with Rice and Veggies) were above par, at least. From start to finish it was an enjoyable meal and experience and we plan to make this as regular a stop as it can be for us on date nights.
It is obvious why they have stayed relevant over time, as the product and service was quality throughout.
To the staff at Southside Bistro –Thanks a lot for making your part of our night a truly enjoyable experience. Keep up the great work.

I can’t say enough of this place… I absolutely love coming here. The food & service at its finest! Go see John at the counter bar:)

Good service in a welcoming environment.
We started with the calamari and Brie flatbread. Flatbread was okay and the calamari tasty, though I prefer aioli to marinara for sauce. Previously I came in and ordered the skirt steak, though prepared well, I found the meat not very appetizing and tough. This time I ordered the filet, and found a steak winner. My mom ordered the skirt and I tried to talk her out of it, and later she later said mine was better. Told you so!
Rounded out the meal with a flourless chocolate cake and thought it was nice and dense. I’m not much of a dessert fan but it was my sister’s birthday so we all indulged. They decorated her cobbler beautifully. Will come again to indulge.