Aviation Restaurants

[Scott Rose]

I'm compiling a list of aviation themed restaurants/bars.

Let me know of any near you.

[Lon Moer]

I don't know of any that are still in business.

The chains, I think they're all closed
- 94th Aero Squadron. (they had an awesome Sunday Champagne brunch )
- The Red Baron
- The Blue Max

and we had a great place locally that closed back in the '80s
- The Flying Lady (Morgan Hill, CA)

[OD/NG]

94th Aero Squadron at Van Nuys is still open:

https://www.94thvannuys.com/

Proud Bird restaurant at LAX is still open:

https://www.theproudbird.com/

The Proud Bird is my favorite of any aviation themed restaurant that I've ever visited. Not only are there are lot of aircraft on display, but the memorabilia on the walls is incredible. The food, though a bit expensive, is simply fantastic! What better place to eat and drink than to watch the incoming aircraft land at nearby LAX.

[marine air]

There are many aviation themed or “ on airport” theme restaurants. I’ll work on a list. A few that come to mind are at Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Chino, Epps Aviation hangar on the east side, the old terminal at Lunken Field, Lake Tahoe, and there are so many more. Centennial, Colorado, . Let me work on a list for a bit.

[Mark Sampson]

There is an excellent restaurant located on the airport at Sedona AZ. I was there last month (and have forgotten its name already). Fine dining in the evening and great breakfasts too. And of course spectacular views out the windows. Not really aviation-themed but a great place to go, even by car as I did.

[JohnB]

Years ago I ate at the airport restaurant in Oxnard.
Nothing too unusual about that, but I recall the "sneeze guard" above the salad bar was a canopy from a T-33. Great idea.

And this is a bit of a stretch...but in the early 80's, the McDonald's near Boise's Gowen Field had aviation decor. Back then the Idaho ANG were flying RF-4s and the restaurant had several very large (4' x 3' or larger) photos of the aircraft in flight around the restaurant. Also mounted on wooden faces were various instrument (airspeed, altimeter, etc) faces. At any rate, it beat looking at Ronald. Anyone know if it's still there with that decor?

Today, in the restored terminal at Spokane's historic (scene of the 1927 National Air Races and longtime Northwest Airlines stop) is the Airway Cafe. As you might expect, it overlooks the transient ramp. It's lined with photos of local aircraft dating back to the 40s-50s, and dozens of model aircraft (of varying degrees of quality but most pretty nice) hanging from the ceiling.
Photos of notable local pilots are also there.

In the public areas of the terminal there are great historic photos of the fields early days with photos of National Guard, airmail and airline operations. Well worth stopping at if you're in the area. There is a wind tee a few feet away erected by the EAA of a full size Formula racer (a Cassaut?) built and donated by a EAA member. A huge memorial clock adjacent to the terminal was built to honor local pilot Nick Mamer. He operated airline in the 20s-30s and later flew for Northwest. He was flying the Lockheed 14 that came apart due to flutter, leading to modifications to the entire fleet.
And a couple of hundred feet to the west the new hangar for the Historic Flight Foundation is nearing completion. Current plans are for the group to relocate their B-25 "Grumpy", and Pan Am marked DC-3 plus a recently restored silver Stearman, to that facility from the current museum in Everett.

Last edited by JohnB on Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[BigGrey]

The Taildragger Café at Minden NV airport has plenty of airplane pictures and Reno Race posters. They have good food for a fair price along with a bar and slot machines in the bar counter if you are so inclined. The transient parking is in front and a great view with big windows of the runways. Many locals eat there everyday and they do a brisk breakfast and lunch business.

[p51]

In Colorado Springs, there is one ironically called The Airplane Restaurant. They have a KC 97 stratotanker, the complete fuselage and the right-wing, right up against the building. I didn't get to eat there, but I did stay at the hotel that shares the parking lot with it. I wish we could have had dinner here instead as the hotel food was not very good!

Last edited by p51 on Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Clifford Bossie]

In Colorado Springs, there is one ironically called The Airplane Restaurant. They have a KC 97 stratotanker, the complete fuselage and the right-wing, right up against the building. I didn't get to eat there, but I did stay at the hotel that shares the parking lot with it.

The entire airplane is there. The left wing extends into the restaurant and I have eaten lunch beneath it. I took a friend to see it a few years ago and he wanted to eat inside the airplane. Having spent my entire life around airplanes my response was simply "No".

That airplane (53-0283) had been at the long defunct museum Southwest Aerospace Museum and was moved from Ft. Worth to COS sometime after 2000.

[aerovin]

In Colorado Springs, there is one ironically called The Airplane Restaurant. They have a KC 97 stratotanker, the complete fuselage and the right-wing, right up against the building. I didn't get to eat there, but I did stay at the hotel that shares the parking lot with it.

The entire airplane is there. The left wing extends into the restaurant and I have eaten lunch beneath it. I took a friend to see it a few years ago and he wanted to eat inside the airplane. Having spent my entire life around airplanes my response was simply "No".

That airplane (53-0283) had been at the long defunct museum Southwest Aerospace Museum and was moved from Ft. Worth to COS sometime after 2000.

Yeah, the only problem is if you sit under one of the engines...well, the oil drips onto your food. It gives a whole new meaning to oil and vinegar dressing....okay, just kidding.

[Chris Brame]

Current ones only or closed ones too?

[thunderbolt47d]

http://www.flightdeckrestaurant.net/

Lexington, SC

[Combatmech]

Sky Galley at Sunken Lunken. (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport).

[K5DH]

Airport Diner, Fredericksburg, TX

[p51]

I was surprised to find the 57th FG restaurant in Atlanta still exists:
https://www.the57threstaurant.com/
Tallichet's group still owned it, I think, the one time I was there in the 90s. We'd done a living history display with Sentimental Journey and we stunned the employees walking in with our AAF uniforms!

In Colorado Springs, there is one ironically called The Airplane Restaurant. They have a KC 97 stratotanker, the complete fuselage and the right-wing, right up against the building. I didn't get to eat there, but I did stay at the hotel that shares the parking lot with it.

The entire airplane is there. The left wing extends into the restaurant and I have eaten lunch beneath it. I took a friend to see it a few years ago and he wanted to eat inside the airplane. Having spent my entire life around airplanes my response was simply "No".

I'll take your word that the left wing is inside the building, as from the outside it didn't look like there was enough room for that. Are the engines/props attached on that wing?
I looked at their website at the time and I didn't see photos showing the wing inside but there were photos that looked like there were dining seats in the plane itself.
I was there with a tour group seeing railroads in Colorado, and we ate dinner at the hotel as part of the tour group. That was so-so at best and I'd wished we just bagged on that and eaten in this place anyway. Oh well...
The funny part was the people running the tour knew nothing about airplanes and I'd given them a heads up on the BUFF we'd just seen at the USAF academy. As we approached the airport area, one of them described this restaurant and asked me to ID the plane once we got there, only saying it was marked USAF, silver in color and it had props. I told them I bet it was a Stratotanker, without even seeing the place or knowing anything about it ahead of time.
Nailed it!