Simon & Seafort's Saloon & Grill — Restaurant in Alaska

I stopped by recently on a whim. As a local I tend to avoid the busy times here and, for the expense, don't usually choose it as a random dinner option but I was with a friend and it was a nice night so we wanted a place with a view and a nice atmosphere. As always, Simon's delivered on both. It did not deliver on much else. We sat ourselves on the bar side. I know it's open seating but sometimes like to check with the bartender if there's a section I should try or a window seat coming open. It wasn't very busy. Maybe 30% capacity and a few folks bellied up to the bar. I waited patiently, if not awkwardly, for several minutes to get his attention. I would have been more than pleased with just an acknowledgement. A greeting would have been awesome but even some eye contact could have sufficed. After about 10 minutes I decided it wasn't going to happen but it also wasn't going to ruin my night. My friend and I stepped away from the bar and chose a booth away from the window but still with a decent view. From there we were greeted, after several more minutes, by a waitress who brought the menus. We then sat unnoticed and unserved, no water or drinks, for the better part of 45 minutes. Just as we had decided to leave a different waitress rounded the corner and apologized for the wait. Apparently they'd "mixed up the floor plan" and didn't know who was serving us. She was nice and it was almost believable except my friend noticed our original waitress pointing us out a few times and got the vibe she was trying to trade us off to someone else. We probably didn't look like a big ticket that day. Jeans, casual tops, nothing fancy, but we both work in food and beverage and know what to expect, look for, and tolerate and we tip well, probably too well. So when we finally did get a waitress she was extremely apologetic, friendly, and attentive. Her service was the only redeeming part about the rest of the meal. We ordered a few appetizers: artichoke dip, steak bites, coconut shrimp. We could have gotten the sampler but wanted full portions of each. We also hurriedly put in our order for an entree since we had plenty of time to decide: New York steak with potatoes and wedge salad. It took another 30+ minutes to receive our apps. The drinks were solid tho. Everything was shared. The dip was very tasty, came out hot, but the bread was extremely hard. Steak bites were very good, hot and tender, but the bed of rice was cold. We did like the shrimp. Unfortunately the drinks and apps were the highlight of the meal. When the NY steak came it was chewy, tasteless, overdone and disappointing. The potatoes were cold and dry. If I do go back it would def be for the salad. It was simple but well-executed. I could've just had that all night and been happy. For what we paid, (and tipped), the food experience overall was abysmal. For a weekday evening, not even close to full capacity, I expected better. All 3 stars go to the waitress. She really turned the night around by keeping up with the drinks and checking on us regularly. Sadly it'll be a while before I return. Hope they adjust...

We came here for our 10th Anniversary dinner, and was so excited to try Simon & Seaforts. Especially since I grew up in Washington state and they have Stanley & Seaforts in Tacoma which was one of my favorite restaurants, the prime rib was to die for there. So decided to go here, because I thought it would be just as good. But the food was so disappointing. We had reservations and were seated very quick. They decorated our table with curly ribbon! Our waitress was very kind, and checked in on us. I asked her if she would recommend the prime rib or one of the seafood dishes (since we’re in Alaska) she said the seafood dishes were a must and we took her recommendation. I got the halibut stuffed with crab, my husband got the halibut cheeks. We ordered lemonades since we don’t drink alcohol and calamari. The lemonades were good, and they offer a few different flavors. It took a long time for the calamari to come out and when it did come out it was barely warm. We didn’t see our waitress for a while when she gave it to us so we just ate it since we were really hungry. Then it took almost an hour for our entrees to come out. The veggies and mash potatoes were luke warm, the fish was hot. But it was dry, especially the crab. The waitress brought me more veggies but somehow it still came out as the same temperature as the original veggies. My husband’s dish was mediocre. He didn’t touch the salad and finished about half his fish. The flavor of all the food we ordered was lacking. The waitress kept apologizing, and the manager came over to apologize to us as well and sent us home with a dessert. The people behind us complained about their fish being dried out, the manager looked at it and agreed. He was very apologetic to him as well. The people sitting on our left had a few complain about their food. I’m not sure if they were just having a bad day or what. But there was definitely a decent amount of complaints going on with the food while we were there and it wasn’t just us. I really hate leaving bad reviews and I usually don’t. But for how much money we spent here, I wouldn’t recommend. You’ll get more flavor and warmer food from a deli. I only gave two stars because the staff were nice, and the...

We seem to have this problem in Anchorage, bad restaurants don't close they stay open based on factors other than that which are important. To explain my experience I have to talk about another long gone establishment here in town, once upon a time there was a place that had a mining theme with a cool interior, it was at one time the most popular restaurant in town for years and rightly so, great food and cool ambiance. Then little by little it began to slip and it was clear no money was being reinvested, their aim was to appeal to tourist who didn't know to stay clear, not necessarily to satisfy locals. Which brings me to Simons as it is affectionately known, this was the best restaurant in town, it was the place you judged all others by, why? Consistent, you knew you would be greeted and served by excellent staff and the same dishes cooked to perfection, every time. Somewhere along the way, it went I don't know corporate? Gone is the consistent excellent food, and stellar staff and whats left is, mediocre food and people who don't seem to really want to be there. We went on Wednesday night straight to the bar, sat down, and....some long time later someone showed up with water. No menus, no what can I get you to drink, were in the bar remember? After another un reasonable amount of time, someone finally tossed menus on the table and....walked away. After another long pause, finally we got our order in, then our server came back to tell me I could not have the drink I wanted because they were out of a key ingredient, what? So I ordered a different drink because it's the only thing that even remotely sounded ok. After almost an hour in this establishment someone comes and plops bread on the table, i'm not kidding. Next come the cocktails, good you ask? No. Finally appetizers not dinner arrive at around an hour maybe longer, yes the crab dip was good, as it has always been thank god, but the portion was about a third less the size. The clams, not fresh. So for $100 for two drinks and two appetizers way disappointed and yeah...