Chilkoot Charlie's — universally known as Koot's — is the city's most famous bar and has been since 1970. Twelve themed rooms with sawdust floors, three dance floors, several stages for live music, and a notoriously rowdy crowd. The bus and limo from downtown is the safe way to get there and back; the cab line out front is a sign of how hard it is to leave on a weekend night.
Not subtle, not for everyone, but the closest thing Anchorage has to a defining bar experience. Open very late.