A Minted Location day guide
Dock & Dine in Ketchikan
Dining in Ketchikan works from a slip and a pair of shoes. No venue in town runs a guest float, so the plan is to berth downtown and walk — which, in a town this compact, is barely a compromise.
The Alaska Fish House sits on the water at Thomas Basin and describes "overlooking the historic Thomas Basin… incredible views right from the dining tables" — a view of the basin rather than a way into it. Cape Fox Lodge, Annabelle's, The Landing, Sweet Mermaids and Bawden Street Brewing are all the same proposition: reached on foot from a City slip.
So the walk is the whole plan. Thomas Basin and Casey Moran both sit downtown, a few minutes from Creek Street and the restaurants along it. Take a slip from the Harbormaster, register within the twelve hours the City requires, and go ashore.
The chart below is a navigation diagram rather than a dining one — the harbours, the Customs dock, the fuel floats and the two passages either side of town that decide when you can leave.
The stops, as their own docks describe them
| Spot | Where | Arriving by boat |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Fish HouseOn the water at Thomas Basin, in the operator's own words overlooking the historic Thomas Basin, with incredible views right from the dining tables. That is a view of the basin rather than a way into it — take a slip in Thomas Basin and walk round. | On the water at Thomas Basin | Berth in Thomas Basin and walk |
| Cape Fox LodgeAbove the town rather than on the water, and reached on foot from a downtown slip — a walk and a ride rather than a dock-and-dine. | Above downtown, reached by funicular from Creek Street | Berth downtown and walk |
| Annabelle's and The LandingNeither runs a guest float. Berth at Thomas Basin or Casey Moran and walk — both are minutes away on foot. | Downtown Ketchikan | Berth at Thomas Basin or Casey Moran and walk |
| Sweet Mermaids · Bawden Street BrewingDowntown, and reached on foot from Thomas Basin or Casey Moran rather than by water — the end of the same walk that takes in Creek Street. | Downtown Ketchikan | Berth downtown and walk |
Dockage notes are what each restaurant publishes on its own site — space is first-come and dinner-hour rafting is real, so hail ahead. Where a venue states nothing about docking, we say so rather than guess.
Planning more than lunch?
We represent buyers wherever the right boat sits — shortlisting, surveying and sea-trialing on the buyer's side of the table. Tell us the mission and we'll tell you which boat, and which berth, it calls for.