Ihop - Anchorage

My son rates it as a five-star restaurant. I loved everything, from the attentive waitstaff to the delicious food. The service was excellent.

I arrived a little after 9 PM on a Friday night. The open sign was lit, and the door stated that they were open until 10. However, as we walked in, two employees spotted us and quickly disappeared into the back. We waited for 10 minutes, during which every staff member remained hidden. I understand they might not have wanted to work late, but it would have been courteous if one of them had been brave enough to come out and inform us directly that they weren't serving any more customers that evening.

The waitress was fantastic, and the location couldn't be better. The seating arrangement is great, with open windows to enjoy the fresh air. The food menu was impressive overall. However, the waffles and pancakes were a bit dry and stale, but not too much to detract from the experience.

The spinach omelet that came had nearly a quarter cup of free grease/oil oozing from it and had to be rejected. This was probably due to the lack of cooks that lead to nearly an hour long wait despite there being 50% open seats. It appeares that they had a waitress for every seat, meaning that there was an over abundance of wait staff for the number of people seated. The waitress serving us that morning still seemed to make us feel as though we were a bother to her and that we should get our own food. Which I did. Our table didn't have a full complimentary set of syrup until we asked. My water wouldn't have been refilled unless I had asked. Overall it was a not a good experience and I feel I didn't come in with high expectations.

It's been awhile and one of the first dining opportunities since the pandemic! Thank you for a pleasant time and a fine meal. ??