Varlys Swiftwater Seafood - Ak

You pay beneath the menu posted on the wall. Staff will call out your name and bring you your food. Very nice and courteous group of folks. We ate the halibut and fries at around 25 per basket to include a soda. Great fresh fish!! I mean this is some seriously good food. This is not an upscale place by any stretch of the imagination. However, that doesn't matter. I felt like a local. To be honest I don't know if Whittier has any locals year round due to the remoteness of the area and the extreme weather. But you will feel like you're part of a secret club. I can't explain it.. just try it! There is not a lot of room inside or outside so come early or be patient with waiting. The only gripe that I had was the door. Lol! Thats it! It just about knocked me on my a because it prefers to stay shut as opposed to being open.

A little run down overall and its very small inside. The clam chowder was average and nothing special. Food was less than spectacular and overly priced. No bathroom.

The interior has lots of cool this from Alaskas past, and the servers were nice. However the food wasn't that great. The French fries were barely cooked. The fish didn't have much flavor and seemed to be frozen from a package and not hand breaded. It was $18.99 for the basket and that seems to be the going rate in Alaska.

After a wonderful cruise checking out glaciers and whales we stopped in to try out Swiftwater Seafood Cafe and were very pleased. We enjoyed their homemade clam chowder with a side of onion rings and they were both excellent. Very friendly staff who provided great service and the perfect atmosphere to enjoy a meal while looking over the marina. Cool people!!

My husband is from England and he says the fish and chips are excellent. I had the shrimp platter and a Caesar salad. The shrimp were so fresh and delicious. If I were to go there again I probably would get Cole slaw instead of the salad. You order from the front counter and then they bring you the food when it's ready. The place was packed and the line was out the door for 20 minutes while we ate. The restaurant has lots of fishing items on the wall and hanging from the ceiling via fishing nets. So they set the seafood ambiance before you even walk in the door.