Bears Den Restaurant and Bakery ... with Chef Ernie, in Soldotna, AK

Bears Den Restaurant and Bakery, where Chef Ernie offers his creations to Soldotna residents and visitors to Alaska, is open for lunch and dinner. The steakhouse is on K-Beach and the Sterling Hwy.



We reviewed this Soldotna restaurant several years ago. Co-owner Laura Pruett recently called to let me know they had made changes and the review was out of date. She invited me to stop in for lunch or dinner, so I'd have up to date information.

We went for dinner.

Bob and I shared an appetizer. We ordered the scallops wrapped with bacon. They were served in a bed of cream sauce.

We both choose the surf and turf for our dinner entrees. We seldom order the same thing, but since this was a "select your own combination," we were still able to sample various menu dishes. With the surf and turf, you choose from two steak sizes. You also choose a fish or seafood item, offered prepared in a variety of ways.

The steaks were neatly trimmed. They were cooked to the degree of doneness we ordered them. I chose a fettuccine with my steak. The fettuccine sauce was thick and rich. Bob ordered the deep fried coconut prawns with his. We ordered the smaller size steaks with our meals, and still had some leftover to take home.

The waitress said that they had no dessert menu, but she gave us a choice of cake, cheesecake, or personal custard cream pies. We opted to share one of the personal cream pies simply because it was the most intriguing. The personal part of the pie comes in that when you order, you choose a mix-in. The waitress said the berries were fresh, so we chose mixed berries.

For both of us, the vegetables stood out as the stars of this dinner. My favorite part of this entire meal? The carrots. They tasted to me as though they had been prepared with a sweet, brown sugar glaze. When I asked Bob how his meal was, he said he really liked the baked potato.

For one shared appetizer, two dinners, and one shared dessert -- nothing to drink except water -- the tab came to $85.00, plus tax, plus tip.

They do serve Bear Creek County wines and Kenai River Micro Brewery beers, but we passed on those. They also advertised flavored lemonade, which we also skipped, but that looking back, I wish I had tried.

The dinner menu included a variety of steaks, Alaskan seafood, and pasta dishes. Chicken, salads, and a Grizzly Burger were among the other menu items.

The Bears Den also advertises catering.

At the time of this review, they are not serving breakfast.

Bears Den Restaurant and Bakery, is located in the old Kenai Peninsula Steakhouse building. It is on the corner of Kalifornsky (K-Beach) Road and the Sterling Highway, near the bridge, in Soldotna, AK. The phone number for the Bears Den Restaurant and Bakery is 907-262-6545.

We ate at the Bears Den Restaurant and Bakery, and I wrote this review, in August 2010.



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