The Top 10 US Airports for Food and Drink, According to the Experts

Airport dining in America has finally achieved the culinary status that travelers have craved.

Talde Noodle Bar at LaGuardia Airport

Airport dining in America has undergone a metamorphosis. Not long ago, travelers avoided eating in terminals, which tended to be stale food courts filled with fast-food chains and generic food options, with all of the country’s concourses feeling like Anywhere, U.S.A. But now travelers go to domestic airports early for a taste of the city’s flavors, as the emphasis has shifted from the pragmatic to the palatable.

With signs of aging starting to show, many major airports in the U.S. have undergone significant renovations. With the upgrades have come a newfound focus on local specialties. Atlanta is chock-full of Southern kitchens, Seattle brews up coffee beans from a variety of cafés, and Miami’s Cuban food options run the gamut.

Chef- and celebrity-driven eateries have also found space between the gates. Top Chef’s Dale Talde, who runs Goosefeather in Tarrytown, New York, opened a noodle shop in New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. Top Chef Masters and PBS chef Rick Bayless mixes up his beloved guacamole at Chicago’s O’Hare. Rapper Ludacris has a fried chicken shop in Atlanta, while NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway has a pair of restaurants at Denver’s airport.

While established favorites may set the scene, all trends need to be bucked. One of the finest examples is at this year’s top airport, where One Flew South launched in 2009 as Atlanta’s first fine-dining airport restaurant and has earned James Beard Award nominations twice for outstanding service. That led to the 2022 opening of a second location along the trendy Atlanta Beltline’s Westside Trail.

With airports doubling as dining destinations more than ever before, here are this year’s Food & Wine Global Tastemakers Awards’ top domestic airports for dining.

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