When you go to an airport, you know that chances are your options for food are usually going to be pretty limited. Sure, there might be a diamond in the rough, like Cask & Larder at MCO or One Flew South at ATL (full disclosure: my husband and I gave up a chance to eat “Linner” (lunch/dinner) at One Flew South this past weekend by filling up with a late breakfast at Waffle House. But OMG, have you tried Waffle House’s new, limited-edition Cinnamon Crunch Waffles? Amazeballs).
But most of the time you’re going to be stuck eating some mediocre quick serve or fast food that fills your belly but also empties your soul.
The worst airport restaurants
The good folks at Altezza Travel must have eaten their share of soul-depleting “meh” food, so they decided to figure out which U.S. airports offer the worst restaurant experiences.
Their methodology
From Altezza Travel:
To identify airports where you’re most likely to have a disastrous dining experience, we analyzed the twenty busiest airports in the U.S. according to the Federal Aviation Administration. We used a scoring system ranking multiple factors:
- Average price per meal – based on the average user-reported price per meal in a Google Maps business listing
- Average rating – based on the average Google Maps business listing rating
- % of restaurants below three stars – the number of such restaurants divided by the total number of restaurants
- Visitors per restaurant per month – the total number of reported 2024 passengers divided by the number of restaurants listed in Google Maps and divided by twelve
Each category was assigned a score from one to five, with the highest score going to the lowest price per meal, the highest Google reviews rating, the lowest percentage of restaurants with a rating below three stars, and the fewest visitors per restaurant. In total, the maximum score is 20 points, with the lowest point total per airport representing the worst expected experience. Restaurants with fewer than 30 reviews were excluded from the average rating to ensure objective comparisons.
The five airports with the worst food
1. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
With an average price per meal of a hefty $23.10, the average rating for restaurants at EWR was only 2.6 out of 5. In fact, 70% of EWR’s restaurants earned less than 3 stars.
“Imagine stepping into an airport where nearly every meal feels like a mistake waiting to happen,” the report’s authors summarize. “[…] Despite being one of the nation’s busiest international hubs, Newark’s dining options fall shockingly short. And to make matters worse, you’ll pay among the highest prices in the country for food you likely won’t enjoy.”
2. O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
It might be the 4th busiest airport in the country, but ORD still ranked second worst for food. Granted, 33% of its restaurants fell below the three-star ranking, but the airport’s total rating was brought down by the high meal cost (an average of $20.60) and low average rating (3.2/5).
In one of the funny reviews mentioned in the study, a traveler described what he ordered as “radioactive green relish, stale fries, and a lukewarm Chicago dog with the fries placed sideways in the bag.”
Yum, huh?
3. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Compared to EWR across the river, JFK’s average price per meal is relatively cheap – “only” $18.60. However, 57% of its restaurants garnered less than 3 stars.
“Everything was wrong. Oversized, undercooked. Someone’s going to get sick eating this,” was one of the comments.
4. Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Despite Cask & Larder, LOL, MCO came in 4th place for worst airport food.
“With an average rating of 3.4 stars, restaurants at MCO are average at best. But what you might really be bothered with is the number of crowds. With more than 113,000 visitors per restaurant each month, Orlando ranks among the most overcrowded dining spots of any major U.S. airport.”
No lies detected.
5. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Average meal prices at LAX will set you back about $20. Nearly half of its restaurants (48%) received less than 3 stars. One reviewer said:
Ah, Lotería Grill… where expectations come to die in a lukewarm puddle of canned cheese. We ordered the nachos, hoping for a last bite of LA flavor before takeoff. What we got was a sad stack of chips dumped onto a paper plate, doused in what can only be described as yellow regret, and handed over with plastic forks—as if we were being punished, not fed. To add a twist of comedy, the whole thing was balanced precariously on a tiny side plate, as if they were trying to challenge gravity. Spoiler alert: gravity won. So did disappointment. If your dream is to eat gas station nachos in an airport setting while pondering your life choices, this is the place. Otherwise, save yourself—and your stomach—the trouble. Terminal 5 has other options. Probably. Bon voyage to flavor.
The five airports with the best food
It’s not all bad news, though – of the top 20 airports they ranked, some got some really good scores:
- Denver International
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- Miami International Airport
You can visit this page of Altezza Travel’s website for how they ranked that way.
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