Dallas Fort Worth International voted America’s best airport for food and drink
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is America’s best major airport for food and drink, with its restaurants and bars averaging 3.56 stars out of five on Google.
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston is second in Texas and joint twelfth nationally, with an average Google review rating of 3.29 out of five for its food and drink establishments.
- Austin–Bergstrom International Airport is third in Texas and twenty-sixth nationally, with the average rating for its bars and restaurants at 2.96 stars out of five.
A new study has revealed that Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is America’s best major airport for food and drink.
Commercial furniture manufacturer, Restaurant Furniture, determined the best airports for food and drink by analyzing Google reviews for all restaurants and bars with at least 20 reviews in the 31 busiest airports in America. These reviews were also used to identify the best-rated establishments in each airport, as well as the airports with the most highly rated locations for restaurant chains such as Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, and Dunkin’.
To prevent establishments with low review counts from skewing the data, each restaurant’s average review rating was calculated by finding the average rating for each restaurant after adding 20 reviews with 3-star ratings.
Texas’s large hub airports ranked by average rating for airport bars and restaurants
| Rank | Airport | Major cities served | Establishments with at least 20 reviews | Average rating |
| 1. | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport | Dallas and Fort Worth, TX | 74 | 3.56 |
| =12. | George Bush Intercontinental Airport | Houston, TX | 61 | 3.29 |
| 26. | Austin–Bergstrom International Airport | Austin, TX | 17 | 2.96 |
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport offers the best food and drink choices among major American airports, with its restaurants and bars averaging a rating of 3.56 stars out of five on Google.
Out of the 74 locations analyzed for Dallas Fort Worth International, the best-rated restaurant is the Terminal A Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, scoring 4.59 out of five on average. The airport also boasts the best-rated McDonald’s, Panera Bread, IHOP,and Panda Express, among others, of any major American airport.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which serves Houston, is the second-best major airport in Texas for food and drink choices and joint twelfth nationally. The airport’s 61 establishments average a rating of 3.29 out of five. The best restaurant in the airport is Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, with an average rating of 4.48 out of five. George Bush Intercontinental Airport also has the best major airport locations for Chick-fil-A and Whataburger, among others.
Austin–Bergstrom International Airport offers the worst options for airport restaurants and bars in Texas and the sixth-worst nationally, with its 17 establishments averaging a rating of 2.96 out of five. Salt Lick Cellars is the best restaurant in the airport, with a rating of 3.89 out of five.
The 10 best large hub airports in America by average rating for airport bars and restaurants
| Rank | Airport | Major cities served | Establishments with at least 20 reviews | Average rating |
| 1. | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport | Dallas and Fort Worth, TX | 74 | 3.56 |
| 2. | Miami International Airport | Miami, FL | 49 | 3.54 |
| 3. | San Francisco International Airport | San Francisco, CA | 25 | 3.44 |
| 4. | Denver International Airport | Denver, CO | 68 | 3.42 |
| 5. | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport | Atlanta, GA | 83 | 3.41 |
| 6. | Harry Reid International Airport | Las Vegas, NV | 35 | 3.39 |
| =7. | Nashville International Airport | Nashville, TN | 26 | 3.36 |
| =7. | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | Washington, D.C. | 28 | 3.36 |
| =7. | Tampa International Airport | Tampa, FL | 23 | 3.36 |
| 10. | Baltimore/Washington International Airport | Baltimore, MD, and Washington, D.C. | 37 | 3.35 |
Miami International Airport is the second-best major airport nationally for restaurants and bars, boasting 49 locations that average a rating of 3.54 stars out of five. Chef Creole Seasoned Restaurant is the best restaurant in the airport and the fifth-best restaurant in the study, with an average rating of 4.77 out of five. Miami International also has the best major airport locations for Chili’s Grill & Bar, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut,and KFC.
San Francisco International Airport ranks third among America’s large hub airports for dining options, with an average rating of 3.44 across 25 establishments. San Francisco International’s top restaurant is Mustards Bar & Grill, averaging a rating of 4.47 out of five stars.
Denver International Airport offers the fourth-best restaurants and bars on average, with an average rating of 3.42 on Google across its 68 establishments.The best restaurant in the airport is Bar Dough, with an average rating of 4.65 out of five. Denver International also has the best major airport locations for Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and Schlotzsky’s, among others.
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the fifth-best major airport for dining choices, averaging a rating of 3.41 out of five across 81 locations. The best restaurant in the airport and the third best in the study is Fresh To Order, with a 4.79-star average rating out of five. The airport also has the best major airport locations for Subway, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Saladworks, among others.
Harry Reid International Airport, whichserves the Las Vegas metro area in Nevada,offers the sixth-best airport dining options overall, with an average rating of 3.39 out of five across its 35 food and drink establishments. Rachel’s Kitchen is the best-rated restaurant in the airport, with an average rating of 4.22 out of five on Google. Harry Reid International also claims the best locations for Jimmy John’s, Quiznos, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Popeye’s Chicken of the 31 airports analyzed.
Three airports were tied in seventh with average overall ratings of 3.36 stars out of five for their bars and restaurants. These were Nashville International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Tampa International Airport.
Nashville International Airport gives diners the tied seventh-best selection of food and drink on average, with its 26 restaurants and bars averaging 3.36 stars out of five. Nashville International’s top restaurant, and the second-best overall, is Ole Red Nashville Airport, with an average rating of 4.8 out of five.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport alsooffers the joint seventh-best food and drink choices for travelers, with its 28 restaurants and bars averaging a rating of 3.36 out of five. The best establishment in the airport is U Street Pub, with an average rating of 4.66 out of five. The airport also has the best major airport locations for Legal Sea Foods, Five Guys, and CAVA, among others.
Tampa International Airport’s 23food and drink establishments average a rating of 3.36 stars out of five, also tied in seventh-best overall. The top establishment in the airport is Cigar City Brewing, with reviews averaging 4.13 stars out of five. Tampa International also has the best Wendy’s and Burger 21 in a major American airport.
Baltimore/Washington International Airport offers the tenth-best restaurants and bars overall among America’s 31 large hub airports, with its 37 establishments averaging a 3.35-star rating out of five. NY Halal Food Cart is the best restaurant in the airport, with an average rating of 4.73 out of five,and the airport also boasts the best major airport locations for Arby’s and Ledo Pizza, among others.
The worst large hub airport in America for food and drink is Midway International Airport, which serves Chicago, Illinois. Its 21 bars and restaurants averaged a rating of just 2.3 stars out of five. The best-rated restaurant in the airport is Harry Caray’s Shortstop Midway, with a rating of 3.86 stars out of five.
Nick Warren, Head of Ecommerce at Restaurant Furniture.Com, commented on the findings,
“Airports aren’t usually renowned for their choices of bars and restaurants, and this is often because people just want to get through the airport and onto their final destinations as quickly as possible. However, a good airport bar or restaurant can provide a great rest stop after a long flight, and these positive experiences can go a long way towards travellers choosing which airport they will fly from in the future.
“This made us wonder which of America’s 31 busiest airports gave travellers the best choice of food and drink on average during their visit, and which airport bars and restaurants are the best overall.
“We found that Dallas Fort Worth International Airportoffers the best selection overall among large hub airports, with many of the best locations for major restaurant chains found here.
“It was particularly interesting to find that the best-rated restaurant in any major American airport is the Shake Shack in Newark Liberty International Airport, with an average rating of 4.89 out of five. This is despite Newark Liberty International ranking as the second-worst of America’s 31 busiest airports overall for food and drink choices on average.”
ENDS
Please credit and link to https://www.restaurant-furniture.com/ if you use these insights
Sources:
Google Reviews via Google Maps
Wikipedia, List of the busiest airports in the United States
Methodology:
The list of the 31 busiest airports in America was obtained from Wikipedia, List of the busiest airports in the United States. These 31 airports are referred to as large hubs by the FAA because they receive one percent or more of the annual U.S. commercial enplanements.
The footprints for these airports were outlined on Google Maps, and any establishments within these airport footprints were included in the study. The reviews for these establishments were then scraped. Establishments in non-restaurant categories (e.g., gift shops, lounges), with fewer than 20 reviews, and permanently closed venues were removed.
For each remaining restaurant, a Bayesian rating was calculated. This was done by adding 20 three-star reviews to all existing reviews for an establishment, then calculating the average rating of the reviews and these additional 20 reviews. This was done to prevent establishments with low review counts from skewing the data.
The average Bayesian rating for an airport was then calculated by averaging the ratings for all bars and restaurants within each airport.
Airports were then ranked by average Bayesian rating. Additional rankings for all bars and restaurants in the sample, as well as the best airports for each restaurant chain, were also produced. A restaurant was considered a chain in this analysis if it had at least two locations in the sample.
The 31 large hub airports in America ranked by the average rating for all bars and restaurants in each airport
| Rank | Airport | Major cities served | Establishments with at least 20 reviews | Average rating |
| 1. | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport | Dallas and Fort Worth, TX | 74 | 3.56 |
| 2. | Miami International Airport | Miami, FL | 49 | 3.54 |
| 3. | San Francisco International Airport | San Francisco, CA | 25 | 3.44 |
| 4. | Denver International Airport | Denver, CO | 68 | 3.42 |
| 5. | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport | Atlanta, GA | 83 | 3.41 |
| 6. | Harry Reid International Airport | Las Vegas, NV | 35 | 3.39 |
| =7. | Nashville International Airport | Nashville, TN | 26 | 3.36 |
| =7. | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | Washington, D.C. | 28 | 3.36 |
| =7. | Tampa International Airport | Tampa, FL | 23 | 3.36 |
| 10. | Baltimore/Washington International Airport | Baltimore, MD, and Washington, D.C. | 37 | 3.35 |
| 11. | Philadelphia International Airport | Philadelphia, PA | 38 | 3.32 |
| =12. | San Diego International Airport | San Diego, CA | 14 | 3.29 |
| =12. | Salt Lake City International Airport | Salt Lake City, UT | 36 | 3.29 |
| =12. | George Bush Intercontinental Airport | Houston, TX | 61 | 3.29 |
| =15. | Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport | Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN | 55 | 3.28 |
| =15. | Orlando International Airport | Orlando, FL | 45 | 3.28 |
| 17. | LaGuardia Airport | New York City, NY | 35 | 3.23 |
| =18. | Charlotte Douglas International Airport | Charlotte, NC | 38 | 3.19 |
| =18. | Detroit Metropolitan Airport | Detroit, MI | 39 | 3.19 |
| 20. | Daniel K. Inouye International Airport | Honolulu, HI | 15 | 3.18 |
| 21. | Dulles International Airport | Washington, D.C. | 33 | 3.14 |
| 22. | O’Hare International Airport | Chicago, IL | 47 | 3.12 |
| 23. | Logan International Airport | Boston, MA | 47 | 3.10 |
| 24. | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport | Phoenix, AZ | 48 | 3.09 |
| 25. | Seattle–Tacoma International Airport | Seattle and Tacoma, WA | 43 |
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
