I must give credit where credit is due and this place did a much better job than the last time we were here. The place is very clean the wait staff was very courteous and prompt and the food was good. I understand it is under new ownership and that might explain the changes. I would feel comfortable giving these folks another try and I would suggest others do too. Parking was an issue but my understanding is the museum has parking in their basement garage for a dollar an hour. read more

Had a fantastic time here with my group. Ate the soy glazed Salmon with the soup and it was delicious! My wife had the halibut and fries and thought it was very good and the carne Asada fries were very good too! read more

Muse - Soy glazed salmon - New American Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I had the pleasure of eating lunch at Muse today. I had a creamy seafood corn chowder and it wasn't the gloppy clam chowder style soup I was used to... this chowder was light yet creamy with bits of crab and veggies and had a slightly spicy finish. My mom had the Marx BLT = bacon, salmon, lettuce, tomato on marbled rye. The salmon added a nice dimension of flavor and gave it an oceany taste. It was served with a side of sweet potato fries and this awesome garlic aioli. All this plus a coffee came out to under $15. They also have happy hours thur-sat and cool looking infused vodkas (basil, ginger, blueberry, chile, to name a few) that I wish I had the time to try out. read more

We like to go here for the happy hour lunch special (half off the appetizers between 4 and 6 pm Thursday through Sunday). The food is consistently good, although not outstanding. We particularly like the eggplant spread and the ahi tuna wonton "nachos." The wait staff is very professional, they do a great job. The heated, free, public parking in the parking lot underneath the museum is another benefit of this place. Thinking of going there this evening for happy hour and tucking our truck in there so it doesn't freeze solid =) The only thing that's off about this place is the sea of red. Everything in this place is RED... Even some of the art on the red walls is... red! Oh well, every place can't be beautiful I guess. read more

So glad to have Laura Cole in Anchorage, we went to the Muse for lunch last week and was not disappointed! First of all, most of the menu items sounded fantastic, I almost got a vegetarian entrée. We received bread after we ordered lunch, the bread was delicious and was served with dill butter. My husband is not a big fan of bread, but we almost got into a knife fight over the last piece. I ordered the bouillabaisse, which was served with finfish, clams, and perfectly cooked scallops. The broth itself was quite tasty. The bouillabaisse also came with two slices of cheesy bread. This was perfect portion for me (if you like a big meal for lunch, you may need to add a salad/appetizer). There were a few little kinks (for example, I had a few empty clam shells), which I'm sure will be ironed out over time. The service was great too! The restaurant wasn't too busy around 11 am and food was served very promptly. read more

Great menu! We all loved what we got, and enjoyed our lunch on a nice outdoor patio. I ordered the salmon sandwich which did not disappoint, and my fiancee got the grilled shrimp salad. Service was excellent. Definitely worth a drop by if you are in town ... read more

Stopped here in 3/2011, 2/2012 and 1/2013; enjoyed the same delicious appetizer each time, the Melitzano Salata. This year I indulged in a slice of Chocolate Velvet Cake, which was lethally rich and *good*. Service has always been friendly whether at the bar or at a table, and the live jazz or blues music on the first Friday night of each month is most enjoyable. This is a fun, convenient stop that adds to the overall enjoyment of visiting the Anchorage Museum. Definitely recommend. read more

High quality food at regular anchorage prices. I've never had a bad meal here. Get the pot pie, you won't regret it. read more

Muse - New American Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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It took over an hour to get served. The food was cold. French toast was hard like a crouton. Same for the eggs Benedict the bread was hard as a crouton. The eggs were poached hard. I have eaten at the Muse many times. I don't know what happened....not sure when I'll go back. read more

We ate dinner at Muse Saturday night. Very close to four stars. Why: The service was excellent. The brussels sprouts were sublime. The roasted potatoes with the hint of orange essence - lovely! The atmosphere chic. The problems: 1) The salmon. Overcooked. Dry even. So sad. 2) The soup. So salty. We are definitely going again because maybe we were there on an off night. read more

I am a "James Beard tourist." In other words, I search the James Beard Foundation's website for nominees and winners and I dine at those establishments when I travel. A search ultimately led me to Laura Cole's Muse Restaurant at the Anchorage Museum. My partner and I had lunch there with a friend yesterday. While the food was quite good, Ms. Cole and her staff need to do a better job of handling the flow of diners. We made a reservation at 1130a, when there was virtually no one dining, for 1p. When we returned at 1p, the same young lady who took our reservation informed us that they were unable to seat us for another 20 minutes. As a result, we told her that we would return at 130p. When we returned, the same young lady appeared flustered and had to seek guidance from Ms. Cole. Because we had a reservation, we were able to enjoy lunch. As the former chef at 229 Parks Restaurant & Tavern in Denali, Ms. Cole knows to expect an influx of tourists between May and September. Other than that, the experience and the food was excellent. read more

The ambience is great, band wonderful, service terrible, food really bad, seriously poor in presentation, taste and portion size. I was very surprise to hear it is still being ran by Marx Bros. I have always liked their food. The food and experience were so bad, I thought it was being managed by someone else. The stars are for the band and the ambience. read more

We have been there several times and there is always something we end up liking but there is also always something we end up being really disappointed about. The restaurant used to be under a different chef and have one of the best burger in town. Now with chef Laura cole the menu is much fancier but with that comes a certain snootiness that the food itself doesn't deserve. The entrees are good but not amazing. The main course was good but nothing more than that. When they first reopened I ordered her berry tart which was on point! Gorgeous, delicious... today, got the same thing and I was disappointed to see it had shrunk, the shell was soft and some of the fruits were moldy (my sangria came with moldy fruits as well). Not worth the $8 for a mini pastry. We did order the fruit baked in the pastry shell served with home made ice cream and that was delicious (although slightly burned on top). read more

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT The Muse is now under new management, as of May 1st and is SO much better. I had lunch and it was surprisingly very good. We had Debbie as our server and she was wonderful. I noticed the chef going around and talking to tables, I always think this shows a level of caring from the kitchen. Try their chicken pot pie, very good. Everyone at my table had something different and everyone enjoyed it. I encourage everyone to go back to the Muse and give it a try. read more

I love the layout of this restaurant, it seems really classy with all the bottles of wine on the wall behind the bar, the deep rich red decor and the large floor to ceiling windows. However the selection of food on the menu isn't very diverse and for the 3x that I've been here there the menu was the same. I've gotten the salmon sandwich with the fries which is pretty good and I've also tried the fries with goat cheese which was solid. The last time I was there and asked about their soup option it was Miso. I feel like miso soup is what you get for free/included at some Japanese places so this didn't seem special to me. So I skipped and opted for the fries. The other disappointing thing about this place is the service. It was especially frustrating the last time I went for dinner. Our waitress was incredibly slow. She misunderstood a few questions that we had and the worst was how long we had to wait for the bill. We finished eating around 6:20pm and had to go to an event that started at 7pm. For nearly 20 mins we were just sitting there with dirty plates in front of us. I had to waive her down at 6:40 and some other issues slowed us down. We finally left at 6:55pm making us really late. I thought it was just her but I went back to the Muse for tea and again had nonexistent service and had to wave down someone for our check. During another instance, my out of town friend who was visiting kind of summed it up by taking a look at the menu and saying "nothing on this menu inspires. Let's go somewhere else." I think that's what it comes down to--the restaurant itself is beautiful but the food is mediocre and service not very attentive. read more

I had a groupon I didn't even use, because it is as though they got rid of all the waitstaff and decided to just keep the restaurant doors open and hope nobody noticed. On a recent Saturday evening we went expecting to face a crowd. Instead there were crickets. We thought perhaps it was closed for a private function. Nope, it was just empty. The waiter, after taking our drinks order, said he'd "try to locate the bartender" and evidently he meant that. 15 minutes later, when we received our drinks, we had already ordered out for takeout elsewhere. We finished the drinks and left without ordering the dinner we'd anticipated. Oh well, it was always better for lunch anyway. read more

Muse is great for those "fancy" work week lunches and dinners. I've had several sandwiches off their menu for lunch (toasted trio, the burger), and all were delicious. I actually don't like their sweet potato fries (either too mushy or too crispy but nothing just right), but their regular fries are yummy. I also love the half-price happy hour on Thurs/Fri/Sat. The seared ahi tuna was fresh and delicious - it's usually $13.50 but during happy hour it's actually a steal at $6.75. I wasn't as impressed with the crab cakes, surprisingly Sacks has the best crab cakes I've had in downtown. For dinner once I had the filet mignon which was tasty but a little small. Service is generally fine, but sometimes it's a struggle to make sure they see you because of the way the tables and booths are set up. I would highly recommend for lunch and happy hour, maybe not so much for actual dinner. read more

We had a quick layover with The Park Connection tourlines for lunch. I wasn't expecting much, because my experience with museum restaurants is they have beautiful menus with dissappointing results (old/wilted food, small portions, high prices). Muse fully flipped my expectation: Muse still had the enticing, beautiful menu, but the salads we ordered (ahi & tobiko on greens and a green tomato & fried kale caprese with tuna) were incredible, creative, filling, AND a lower price than we have paid for fish & chips at non-tourist dive joints. The king crab chowder had massive chunks of crab in it and was perfectly tasty. We are planning our return trip to Anchorage specifically so we can eat our largest meal of the day at Muse and we suppose we will actually enter the museum this time too. read more

Delicious! Just what you'd expect from the owner of 229 Parks - delicious and creative food. We went for lunch and the portions were appropriate and the prices were reasonable for the quality. read more

Museum food but not bad. The museum is so fantastic that you'll probably have to eat a meal there since you'll be there for so long. Good soups and sandwiches. read more

Stopped in for lunch and to see how the new menu stacks up. 3 entries were all excellent. Very fresh ingredients and the lemon pasta I had was maybe the best I've had. Wait staff was attentive. We'll be back. read more

Went to this restaurant for the first time. The atmosphere was good, I like the decor. The menu was misunderstanding, the entree included included sides that were not mentioned in the menu, today people are allergic to many things i think its important for them to include what's on the entree. The waiter seemed nice but note taking was not her strong suite. About the entrees, I ordered a sirloin and considering the amount of people in the restaurant it took way to long for the food to come out. Another person order noodles and there were more onions an tomatoes then noodle. Overall, they left a bad impression, wont be visiting them anytime soon. read more

Went to Yelp with two friends yesterday at noon, for Sunday brunch before going to the museum. The experience was not a good one. The three of us were seated by 12:10. We waited with menus for more than 20 minutes before we were approached by a server. We waited another 25 minutes to be served - no beverages were offered during this time. At 12:56, our food (and coffee) was presented. The server or manager (unsure which) whom we spoke to was quite dismissive about the delay, saying that someone hadn't shown up for work, and that was just how things happened, wasn't it? There was no meaningful validation of the fact that we had waited almost an hour for a salad, a bagel with lox, and two eggs. When the bill was left on our table, there was no mention that Museum members could get a discount. Each of us had individual memberships, but we were unaware of this policy until after we left, after we had paid the full price. I wonder if our treatment would have been different if we had been a party of three men, instead of three women. We were treated as if we were fortunate to be sitting there at all. I have been to Muse before, and it was not like this. It will take me a while, however, to want to try it again. read more

I have frequented the muse multiple times and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the restaurant is run by a new vendor. Marx brothers is no longer associated with the muse, and instead NMS is now in charge. My girlfriend and I had lunch there the other day and it was fantastic, the service was outstanding and the food was above and beyond what we expected. read more

Muse is always delicious. Very clean and the staff is always very friendly. I love the atmosphere. Calm, classy and there are TVs at the bar in case you roll solo. Plus when you're done you can always go check out the museum. Great place for lunch or a date. They also have a fabulous wine, beer, and champagne selection. read more

Muse is amazing. Having a three time James Beard Nominee like Laura is such a treat. The food was delicious. We visit her restaurant at 229.parks located outside Denali National Park. Now looking forward to stopping by Anchorage at muse as well. Love the fresh local organic greens and free range meats. So much care placed in each dish. I urge everyone to check it out, read more

Been to Muse for both lunch and dinner on several occasions. Food and service has always been excellent. Last August I had my wedding reception at the museum and Muse catered. Muse management and staff went above and beyond to making our reception perfect. Rachel and Emily assisted with planning every detail. The attention to detail and professionalism was more than I would have ever expected. Catering our wedding reception was a large part of the budget, but you get what you pay for. In our case Muse was more than we had bargain for. I HIGHLY recommend Muse from an afternoon lunch to catering the most important day of your life. read more

Under new management, they no longer serve cocktails -- a REAL shame, since they had unusual options based on unique infusions, such as a basiltini you couldn't get anywhere else. (Weirdly enough, this was the 2nd time in a week that I ran into favorite restaurants that had changed their liquor licenses. A trend?) I ordered their special of the day (off-menu) - chicken marsala; it was OK as a chicken dish, but didn't seem very much like any marsala I've ever had. It had very little sauce and not much marsala flavor. I also ordered a red wine that I wish I could remember the name of -- something Australian w/lovely spice. Perhaps the best red wine ever. Very good service. Tasty artichoke spinach dip! read more

Sunday brunch is good, so is the selection of drinks. Service is really slow, wait staff could be a little more upbeat and attentive for sure! As they kind of have this "Can you eat and leave? I've got a close game of Words with Friends going on in the back." deamoner. The atmosphere is nice here but for the price point they could make a few changes to the service aspect of the restaurant. 3 stars cause service is really important no matter how good the food is. read more

Grabbed a bite here last week during a break in training. Loved, loved the atmosphere! It's almost as if Anchorage finally has a place that measures up to its contemporaries. Prices were reasonable, given the average around here. Service was great. The food was a solid B. I had the seafood chowder and beet salad with chevre. The seafood chowder was fantastic, but the chevre on the salad tasted off--like it had started going bad. Then again, in my ignorance of haute cuisine, maybe chevre is on the list of GOOD stinky cheeses? Otherwise, a solid choice for the downtown crowd. read more

Great place to dine! Food was creative, well plated and our server was extremely knowledgeable. Very impressed! read more

Muse - New American Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Great food, best halibut I had. I brought two kids to the place. Service is top notch as well, waiter is very polite and friendly with our request. read more

Not worth the money. Sloppily run restaurant, but they don't have to be good, since they get first-timer foot traffic from the museum. Weak menu. Indifferent service. Huge portions though. read more

Can't exactly rave about the food. Not bad, but definitely forgettable; especially for the price. Waitress was very friendly and accommodating. Best part is definitely the window wall, especially when the sun is out. read more

Had the crab cakes with a salad and it was absolutely delicious. Service was good and the coffee, beer and wine var exceeds expectations!

Vegetarian options almost non-existent. The first time I ate here I paid too much for a soggy sandwich. The second, I paid too much for a limp, room temperature salad. My water was never refilled. read more

Great atmosphere, delicious food, and awesome service from Nicholas!! A must try!!!

It's pricey but worth it, food & service wise. Thoughtful and inventive options, but nothing so outrageous you wonder what the heck they were thinking. The decor is modern and sleek at first glance, but after sitting down, you see 50s chairs and chips in the table paint. Overall, great place. read more

Went with friends and we were all disappointed. The food was just OK and the wait staff was very slow. The restaurant seemed very clinical and cold. read more

This is attached to the museum and reminds me a lot of restaurants attached to museums in Northern Europe. Wine, beer, good coffee, etc. are available. One difference between this and Europe is that the portion sizes here are huge at the Muse in Anchorage. It's a bit on the pricey side, but it's both Alaska AND it's a very nice place for a meal. read more