The Wheelhouse — Restaurant in Valdez

So we (party of 5) learned there arent many places to eat in Valdez and this was one of the 'best options'. Well we had a mediocre experience at best dining here. I advise eating elsewhere f.e. the foodtrucks.

Firstly, prices are 5-10 dollar more expensive compared to similar dishes in lets say Skagway or Tok.

Secondly, we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated at a table that was all that time empty. There were about 12 tables occupied (half the restaurant) with half the serving personel doing nothing. After we were seated most of those 12 soon left.

There was also great confusion about the drinks. They have a huge drinksmenu, with a ton of beer. What we orderd was out, so we decided on a Ipa, we received an entirely different style (Sour) while they did have ipa s but only from other breweries. The waitress claimed she told us, but she didnt.

And the food was 'meh' too. 2 of the 3 pieces of fish & chips were dry. The salmon (grilled) was dry. They claimed the cook on the 8 oz NY steak they couldnt do better than medium. Add-on charge for chicken and steak-bites for pasta Alfredo was like 50-60%. Steak-bites was cooked well-done..... tiny pieces of rubber.... The burger was a little bit on the dry side. So all in all the food was not terrible but not great either, for insane prices. 190 dollar for party of 5, with not a single meal flawless. That cant be real. They charge 18% extra fee for groups of 6 and over.

TLDR: eat somewhere else, foodtrucks f.e.

Oh and btw, we had a boattour the next morning next to the restaurant. When we came back around 4 pm-ish, they still had all breakfast garbage sitting in the middle of...

Let me start by saying I’ve read several other reviews on the wheelhouse restaurant. The biggest negative review I have read was about the service. We went into the restaurant the other night and asked a couple questions to the waitress before we sat down to eat. After talking with the waitress We walked out. I have always wondered why people in the hospitality industry are rude to guest. We always tip well and are very low maintenance. If I was the manager of that restaurant I would start by firing the entire staff. You are losing money and I wonder if you realize it. And to all the waitresses that work there A little kindness goes along way if you are miserable when you come to work don’t work....

Had a lovely time getting a late dinner here a few nights ago. We were looking for an indoor table service dinner with local seafood, so we opted to try out this unlikely candidate. It was obvious as soon as we walked in that the restaurant was understaffed as there were just two servers and we had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated at empty tables. But the service was phenomenal! Our server, Corinna, was wonderful and made sure everything was taken care of. All it took was an observant eye to see that the staff were working as quickly as possible, and then a little patience from us. The food was great (we had halibut creole), drinks inexpensive, and the views…! Definitely will...