Aurora Bar and Grill

Disclosure that I was here on perhaps an unusual weekend: New Year’s weekend, so they place was packed and I’m sure they were possibly understaffed. Tried to go here New Years Eve as the only thing looking open at the lodge but it was a total slow line, instead we came for lunch the next day. Everything about it was slow: triple the usual expected time to get food, attention, drinks; the staff seemed withdrawn and resigned to their fate of being behind eternally without much cheer. The food was standard café food for high lodge prices. We didn’t have a car so we were stuck with this, otherwise I suggest skip it to go somewhere with more ambience and sense of service.

You know when you rate something 2 stars and Unilocal says «Meh. I’ve experienced better» as you write the review? That’s exactly how I feel.
SERVICE: Something rubbed me the wrong way from the moment we got there. Maybe it was how they literally had all but two tables empty and then made us wait a few minutes to be seated. They said wanted to get us a table by the window. Ok fair enough, but do you not clean off tables until someone comes along and wants a seat? Looked like someone had been sitting at our soon-​to-​be table 20 minutes ago and there was plenty of time for them to clean it in the interim. The waitress was fine, I guess. She acted like she was busy, but how can you be that busy if there are only 2 other parties (some of whom had other servers) in the restaurant?
FOOD: I got a veggie pizza that was supposed to have a pesto base, but I could barely taste the pesto. The veggies that actually came on the pizza were different than what was actually on the menu. I didn’t care, but those with allergies might.
SETTING: A redeeming quality. Tables do have a nice view of the mountain but so does everything in that resort. They have a good looking bar area, that could be a nice place to hang out at night, provided that there are actually other people there.

Service here is pretty horrible. Came here while the restaurant side was basically empty. It took the server 10mins before coming to take our order. I guess he was too busy finishing his conversation in the corner before acknowledging us. The hostess was super friendly though. It’s unfortunate that their servers aren’t at the same level. Food isn’t the best, but you’re kind of limited on restaurant choices in the hotel. The linguine Bolognese was decent though, much better than the clam linguine. Anyway, we finished our food and was ready to go. Our server walked by several times, never cleared our plates, never asked how the food was, never brought us our check. At this point, there were only 2 other seated tables. There’s no excuse for such poor service. We had to stop the server while he was passing by and asked for our check. I would definitely avoid this place if possible!

It took forever to get our dinner! Service was lack luster and we never got a water refill. The halibut was nothing to write home about. The kids cheeseburger has so much pepper on it my 5 year old couldn’t eat it. We all left hungry, lesson learned here. stick to their pizza if it is your only option! I also felt it was very overpriced, the mozz sticks was a small basket of 6 mini mozz nuggets for $ 18!

Awesome Restaurant! Let’s start off with it’s gorgeous view. The restaurant is situated inside the Aleyska Resort. Enjoy the Lovely view of the Ski Mountain and fireplace from the table and the beautiful drive down. Generous portions at a very reasonable price. $ 30 for 2 people and we were so full! i especially enjoyed the savory seafood chowder, it was by far hands down the BEST I’ve ever had. Great ambiance and excellent service!
Definitely worth coming back! Looking forward to yet another mouthwatering feast!”

It’s fine.
If you want to stay in the cozy hotel without venturing outside, it may be a decent option. Otherwise, there are better options in Girdwood.
I got a veggie omelet and it was alright, but the prices were hotel-​high.
I just don’t see much reason to eat here unless you’re already at the hotel.
The hotel has awesome ambiance and is worth a visit, I’d probably skip eating here, though.

Ok, first day here was ok. The halibut was good. Second day: I ordered halibut again. Not only did I get a different (half portion) of everything on the plate, I also got no apologies for it and got completely ignored by the server. Whatever! I ordered Baked Alaska, which is supposed to come with Meringue on top. So I checked the pics on Unilocal,Lo and behold there is the meringue in the pics. Not on my plate though, instead of meringue they put molten marshmallows. Take a look…

Just seems to get worse. Being tuesday nothing else open in town. ordered my standard, a burger. Waited and waited. Table next to me, seated after me, got their food. Table across from me, also seated after me, got their’s.
Suddenly, from around the corner and arm placed a plate in front of me. Never saw the body, just am arm. No «is there anything else?» No «here’s your damn food». Nothing. Just a plate thrown in front of me.
Sorry to say, this time the burger was over cooked and cold. The fries were cold. Probably sitting waiting for the waiter as i sat waiting for my food.
This place does not give a darn about the patrons. The management must be from Jackson Hole.

Food is just average bar food at over average prices. Had the clam linguine one night and the wagyu burger another. Burger tasted like a frozen patty from fast food joint. Clams were not impressive and server didn’t even ask how food was on either visit?

We went here because it was thought to be kids friendly. I have four kids and the youngest was 2 y/​o who was super active after a long drive and was going around some table. The waitress told us «you need to stop him cuz there’s people gonna eat there», I look around and practically there were very few guess and the table my 2 y/​o going around was empty. Never go here if your kids are too young to sit down or you will be reprimanded!!! The food was ok but that waitress just ruined our dinner

I ordered eggs Benedict and was very disappointed. The eggs where way over cooked. The hollandaise was very good and the atmosphere was kill. But the over cooked eggs killed it.

Had a good experience here. Quick and friendly service. Very yummy gluten free pizza!

Not happy with the service, especially as a party of 9. Food not worth the money. Paid $ 10 for 4 pieces of shrimp (citrus sauce was disgusting). $ 25 for my chicken parmigiana and it was burnt and the sauce was too tart. I have no idea why we even had a waitress we did everything ourselves including getting our drinks she forgot. Overall a horrible experience.

Thank you Devon for the… Very poor service! I’m glad you took your sweet time and made sure everyone got their food except our table. My steak tasted like dirty dishwater but I had waited so long that I ate it because I didn’t want to wait another hour/​two hours and you never came back to see if I liked it. Never again will I come here, I feel like there could have been a better experience?

I’m giving 3 stars mostly because it took so long to get our food. Granted there were 6 of us, but there were only 4 other people in the entire restaurant and it took quite a while for our food to come out. I ordered the quinoa salad with Dijon chicken. It tasted great and the Dijon chicken was so good. Definitely a bigger portion that I was expecting, but I’m glad because it was rather expensive costing about $ 18. The menu here is rather pricey and at this time of year (April) it’s one of the only restaurants open at the alyeska resort. They also only serve lunch at certain times and then it switches over to dinner. Definitely a good place to come for a bite to eat and a cocktail. Not as kid friendly as some other restaurants I’ve been to while on this vacation

I got the seasonal risotto, with upgrade for seared halibut.
Very generous portion of risotto, it was decent, I think it might have been slightly undercooked, good sized price of halibut, but for the $ 19 price. Overpriced but so is everything at a resort.
Good service, not too loud either.
Was not satisfied with the meal completely, I Alfredo looked good, maybe next time.

My group of five went for brunch due to the Seven Glaciers Tram was closed because of a high wind warning.
Pros: Our waitress was attentive. The ambiance is great. Large windows overlooking the lower mountain. Rustic fireplace. Dim lighting, great for those hangovers.
Cons: The service was horrible. We didn’t order anything extravagant. Three eggs Benedict, two hamburgers and a bottle of champaign for mimosas. Before I continue, we sat on the restaurant side. There were plenty of tables. Only 4 occupied tables, including us. To start, the waitress took nearly 15 minutes to bring the mimosas. She only brought two glasses for our party of 5. Our food order took 30 additional minutes. When our food did reach us, it was cold. My hamburger was mediocre at best. The Wagu hamburger was not seasoned and overcooked. I added some gorgonzola cheese and there was a mountain of cheese on my hamburger.
My other friends complained that the hollandaise sauce was ice cold. We asked them to take it back to warm it up. Upon return, still cold. It took two additional trips to warm it up. Even then, it still was a lumpy and cold.
Overall: Mediocre at best. I will come again to compare. I don’t believe that a restaurant should never be visited again just on one experience.

This is a great little place to grab a drink at night with some friends or significant other. We definitely enjoy sharing the cheese platter and having a nice glass of wine or cocktail. In the morning there’s a nice little menu for brunch.

Completely mediocre. Carrot and maple soup was a touch too sweet, but was the best thing we had. We ordered two pasta dishes, which took quite a long time to get to us. The house made meatballs tasted mostly like Italian sausage, the spaghetti was not very good and the sauce rather bland. The Alfredo was better, but not great.
Overall, service was slow and the food was overpriced.

Finding ourselves a bit weary after making our way to the hotel (and for it appearing to be a bit out of the way to get to anywhere else remotely close by), my friend and I decided to have an early dinner at Aurora. It’s a casual bar on the 3^rd floor of the resort, with a general dining area that has solid views of the mountain behind the resort (as well as the gondola), along with a bar area. Service was pretty solid, with a friendly waitress who was good about getting our drinks and food out quickly. The food itself gears itself more towards the Italian spectrum, but it could be best defined as new American. We went with the appetizers of clams in garlic sauce, which was solid enough — the sauce was a little creamy, but it didn’t overwhelm the garlic that adds the pinch of herbed flavor to the dish. I went with the wagyu steak here, which was okay but nowhere near as good as the version as the one at Seven Glaciers — it’s covered a bit too heavily in steak sauce. That said, it was a solid cut of meat — no extra fat hanging off of it. My friend got the smoked seafood pizza, which is a solid concept but is just really standard pizza… I never got much of a sense that you’re eating well-​done seafood on the pie; the cheese drowns out the rest of the flavors. As a New Yorker who likes pizzas kept simple, there’s simply too much happening on the pie.
Overall, this is a pretty standard restaurant if you’re looking for nothing too fancy/​expensive. The beer selection is pretty decent, with a mix of brand-​name beers to go with Alaskan and other Pacific NW craft brews. If I were here longer, I would’ve probably eaten here a few more times.