Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon Territories!
Highlighting bakeries and restaurants in Whitehorse, Yukon.
When you visit a small town like Whitehorse there is usually a limited but quaint restaurant scene, and almost every recommended restaurant you hit is “the best” there is. As I mentioned in Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon it’s not a culinary destination yet, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing going on.
While The Northern Lights and local activities such as dog sledding are the main tourist attractions, the food scene isn’t too shabby.
In my short stay I managed to try their most locally recommended bakeries and restaurants. By “most locally recommended” I mean in the first 2 days I had at least a few recommendations for them from locals. I almost thought there were only 6 restaurants in town. These bakeries and restaurants were likely the “top” in their respective category, although I missed a few more I’ll put on the itinerary for next time.
Regardless of why you are visiting the Yukon, everyone needs to eat, so why settle for an average meal when you can try some of the local favourites? It doesn’t matter where I am, but I’ll always make an effort to find good independent restaurants making great food.
I summarized my first impressions of the food scene in Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon, but here are some restaurant recommendations and places I tried during my visit.
Follow Me Foodie Legend
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!
No diamond – Not recommend (Under 29%)
♦ – Okay, not necessary to try. (30-49%)
♦♦ – Good, with some hits and misses. (50-69%)
♦♦♦ – Very good, dining itinerary worthy. (70-89%)
♦♦♦♦ – Excellent, make a trip out for it. (90-100%)
♦♦♦♦♦ – Follow Me Foodie Must Try! (Bonus marks! 100%+)
Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon (Whitehorse) Bakeries & Restaurants!
Restaurant: Alpine Bakery
Address: 411 Alexander St, Whitehorse
Phone: (867) 668-6871
Cuisine: Bakery/Breakfast/Soups/Desserts/Organic
Price Range: $10 or less
I first heard of Alpine Bakery from my hosts Christiane and Jean-Marc of Takhini River Lodge. Being from Alsace, France they have a high standard for bread and Alpine Bakery is their preferred bakery. Jean-Marc is a professional baker who used to own two successful bakeries and Christiane also enjoys baking her own bread. They don’t always have time to make their own, but they have no problems resorting to Alpine who makes good quality bread.
It’s a German-American style bakery and they specialize in bread, so don’t expect French pastries. It’s mostly a to-go place, but there is a small eat in area if you want to enjoy a coffee and baked good or homemade soup or pizza.
They have a brick oven which gives their signature artisan breads excellent flavour and texture. They’re baked fresh daily and they have many options. It’s a rustic bakery using all natural and wholesome ingredients and if I lived in the Yukon, I’d buy my breads here too.
Brick Oven Flax – 5/6 (Excellent)
- $7.50
- This was recommended and it was fresh from the oven so I couldn’t even put it in the bag yet.
- It was even better toasted and it had a thick rustic chewy crust and interior.
- It’s a dense, heavy, wholesome bread with good nutty flavour.
- Any of their breads baked in their brick oven is a good representation of what they do.
Morning Glory Muffin – 5/6 (Excellent)
- $3.33
- This is very well liked by locals.
- It had a super crunchy muffin top which was my favourite part, as it always is.
- It had raisins, banana, apple, oats, sunlower seeds, carrot, zucchini, cinnamon, nutmeg and coconut. The ingredients might vary, but this is what I tasted in mine.
- It was rustic, nutty, dense and moist.
- It was not a fluffy muffin, but very substantial and hearty.
- It wasn’t oily or too sweet and if anything I just wanted walnuts in it, but that’s personal taste.
- There was no overpowering spice and it tasted naturally sweetened from the ingredients rather than added sugar, although there might be some (likely).
Menu features/highlights: Morning Glory Muffin and Brick Oven Flax are the only things I tried, but I would order both again. The Alaska Bread, Yukon Sourdough, soups and brick oven pizza are recommended by locals, but I haven’t tried.
Pros: All natural, organic ingredients, fresh, high quality, affordable, casual, family friendly, take-out options, environmentally friendly, allergy friendly options, local favourite
Cons: Not much of an ambiance.
Tips: Open: Tuesday – Friday, 8am to 6pm, Saturday, 8am to 4pm. Call to reserve specialty loaves.
♦♦♦ – Very good, dining itinerary worthy. (70-89%)
Restaurant: Baked Cafe & Bakery
Address: 108-100 Main Street, Whitehorse
Phone: (867) 633-6291
Cuisine: Bakery/Soups/Desserts/Sandwiches/Salads/Tea/Coffee
Price Range: $10 or less
I’m a huge fan of bakeries, and even before I started this blog I would always make a point to check out bakeries everywhere I visited. Nothing has changed.
Baked was located across from my hotel and the signage looked modern and cute so I grabbed breakfast there the next day. I also heard their whole wheat blueberry scones were excellent, so I wanted to play judge.
It’s a casual soup, sandwich and baked goods café with a large selection of coffee, tea and drinks. It’s mainly take out, but there is a spacious seating area. Everything is homemade and they have gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and many healthy options.
Smoked Salmon Quiche – 3/6 (Good)
- $6.67
- People love the quiche here and they have a few varieties.
- The salmon was overcooked, so next time I’d just go for the vegetarian or ham option.
- It was a good quiche though and it was nice and eggy with a flaky puff pastry, but it was a bit too soggy.
- It had good flavour and was enjoyable, but not necessarily a “must try” if you’re visiting the Yukon. As a local, it makes a great lunch or snack since it’s a bit small.
Whole Wheat Blueberry and Almond Scone – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)
- $3.25
- The scones are signature here and they are massive. Half will tie you down until lunch and a full one will hold you down until 3pm.
- It wasn’t too sweet and it had a nice crisp exterior (not as crunchy as the Morning Glory muffin at Alpine bakery though), but being whole wheat it was a bit drier.
- The almonds were slivered almonds and there was a decent amount of blueberries, but I wanted more almond flavour.
- It was a good scone, but I preferred the gluten free cranberry coconut scone.
Gluten Free Cranberry Coconut Scone – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)
- $3.25
- I’m not even gluten-free and I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon, but sometimes gluten free can taste better than gluten items. I find it rare, but sometimes I’m surprised like I was here.
- The gluten free scones are more moist and have a nicer texture than the whole wheat ones.
- They are more crumbly and fall apart easily since there is no gluten, but I liked the texture more.
- It wasn’t all rice flour and there was some almond flour which gave it more flavour.
- It had more flavour than the whole wheat one and it wasn’t too sweet.
- I prefer blueberries to cranberries, so ideally I would have liked their Gluten Free Blueberry Coconut Scone which was sold out.
- I also love coconut and there was a good amount of shredded coconut in this.
- I was impressed with this and I’d come back for it.
Menu features/highlights: Soup, Scones, Quiche, Gluten Free Scones, and the Sticky Cinnamon Buns I hear are good.
Pros: All natural, fresh, good ingredients, home made, nut free options, gluten free options, vegan options, healthy options, local favourite, casual, family friendly, affordable
Cons: Very casual place and not necessarily a “destination spot” or anything mind blowing, but I had some good items.
Tips: Open: Monday – Friday 7 am – 6 pm, Saturday 8 am – 6 pm, Sunday 9 am – 5 pm
♦♦♦ – Very good, dining itinerary worthy. (70-89%)
Restaurant: Chocolate Claim
Address: 305 Strickland St, Whitehorse
Phone: (867) 667-2202
Cuisine: Bakery/Soups/Sandwiches/Cakes/Desserts/Chocolates
Price Range: $10-20
In two days I had three local recommendations to come here for their chocolate cake.
The Chocolate Cake has a cult like following and apparently it’s the cake locals order for all birthdays and special occasions. I like chocolate cake, but I’m not obsessed with it although I won’t turn one down. I put this magical cake on my itinerary and when I got to my hotel the front desk staff recommended it again, but also suggested the carrot cake as a “must try”. Well now I was more than curious… and convinced.
It is a bit pricier than the other two bakeries and the selection is perhaps slightly more “gourmet” than Baked. It’s still a casual cafe though and they have signature items people keep going back for. It’s been around since 1987 so they have a loyal following.
Chocolate Cake – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)
- 9” – $60 Cake slice $8.25
- I’d consider this a Yukon tradition, so just go try it.
- It was a pretty delicious chocolate cake and it was everything you want in a traditional chocolate cake.
- It was an old fashioned cake made with good quality chocolate and not just cocoa.
- It was rich, dense, and not too sweet, but still sweet.
- I couldn’t have more than half, although many could finish the whole slice… regretting it later. It has weight and it’s indulgent!
- It made me think of the German chocolate cake scene in Matilda that Henry had to eat. I imagine that cake tasting like this one.
Carrot Cake – 5/6 (Excellent)
- 9” – $60 Cake slice $8.25
- I’m more of a carrot cake person than a chocolate cake person and I loved this carrot cake even more.
- It was an excellent carrot cake, even though a carrot cake is something you can make at home.
- It was moist, dense, and full of shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, and big pieces of walnuts.
- I love walnuts, so I was happy how generous they were with them.
- It wasn’t too sweet, but more of a dessert than say a muffin or “healthy” cake.
- It wasn’t too oily and the crushed pineapple makes it extra moist, but it doesn’t taste like pineapple.
- I could taste cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom which was the secret ingredient. I love cardamom.
- The icing I wasn’t keen on though and I found it too sugary, grainy and sweet.
- There were also sliced almonds coated all around the edge of the cake which I liked.
Menu features/highlights: Chocolate Cake and Carrot Cake. I hear their hot chocolate and sandwiches are also very good.
Pros: Home made, local favourite, cozy, family friendly, good ingredients, allergy friendly options, cakes and chocolates are gift appropriate
Cons: A bit pricey for a homestyle cafe.
Tips: Open: Monday-Friday 7:30am – 6pm, Saturday 9:30am – 5pm, Closed Sunday
♦♦♦ – Very good, dining itinerary worthy. (70-89%)
See – Elk Sausages and Bison Burgers at Muktuk Adventures (Dog Sledding & Lunch)
See – Breakfast and dinner at the elegant bed and breakfast – Takhini River Lodge
To be continued…
… sneak peek…
See my post for Sanchez Cantina
See my post for Antoinette’s
See my post for Antoinette’s
See my post for Wheelhouse
See my post for Wheelhouse
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