You just need css to style a button.
<p>
@Html.ActionLink("Create New Item", "Create",
null, htmlAttributes: new { @class = "mybtn"})
</p>
<style type="text/css">
a.mybtn {
background: #777;
color: #fff;
display: inline-block;
padding: 6px 12px 6px 12px;
text-decoration: none;
}
</style>